Got a hospital bill for my mom

[laz98]

sometime last week i got a hospital bill for an ER visit.  confused, i called my mom & asked if she knew what it was about, since we have the same name.  i figured it was just a stupid mix-up.  sure enough, she said it was hers, but that she didn't recall giving them my address.  she remembered giving my brother's address, which is where she lives, because she had mixed up the numbers & my brother had to help her get it correct.

i thought if i went to the hospital, they could straighten it out.  no such luck.  they said this is an outside billing company, & that i would have to call them & find out what's going on.  so i did, & she said she could see that my information did not match what was in their records, but that she did not have the authority to change it.  the woman advised me to write a letter to the company so that there would be a record of a written dispute of the bill.

this is the letter i am thinking of writing.  comments, suggestions?  i don't want to cause my mom any grief, but i have suffered because of my own credit mistakes, & i am not about to start over with a new bill.  i'm hoping this will get them off my back.

Dear Sir or Madam:

Recently I received a bill from your company for an emergency room visit on October 13, 2010 in the amount of $1,209.00.  However, I have never been to this hospital, much less the emergency room there.  I believe you may have confused me with my mother, who has the same name.

I spoke to someone at the hospital who verified that they have no record of my information at all.  I called your 800 number and spoke to another person who told me she could see that the information in your records did not match my birth date or SSN, but that she had no authorization to change it.  She advised me to write to your company so that there would be a written record of my dispute of this account.

This is not my bill, and I am not going to take any responsibility for it whatsoever.  I am sorry that you have mixed up my information with someone else, but I truly have no idea how you got my information in the first place.  I have checked my credit reports and there are no signs of identity theft as of today.

To help you verify that this is not my bill, my birthday and last four digits of my SSN are listed below, along with my mother’s.  This should be enough information to verify what I have already stated.  I would appreciate a prompt response.  Thank you for your cooperation.

[MarineVietVet]

To my untrained eye that sounds pretty good. I hope it does the trick.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[haulingthescoreup]

+1

And be sure to do the CMRRR bit, too.

Not only does it help your records, but it might put them on notice that you're serious about this.

Good luck, and I hope your mom feels better.

[laz98]

 thank you guys!  she's doing better, it is an ongoing thing for her.

[Anonymous]

NONONO!!  Do NOT give them YOUR SSN and DOB!  Then they can open bad accounts on your credit! (Yes, it may be a mix up, but they still may try to open them and you'll spend a lifetime trying to correct it.)  They don't need that information.  Don't EVER EVER EVER give out that information to someone unless they ask for it, need it, and provide you with a privacy act notice.  Seriously.  Too man people ask for it and really, no one needs it... I don't even think these medical people need it either.

Ask them for proof of your visit.  Inform them that you have never been there and they need to prove it was YOU who was there. 

The rest of the letter looks good.

[IOBA]

If it's not too late, I agree.

Do not give your DOB or your last four SSN.

Keep the letter factual.  

Fact - you have never been to that hospital or received care from the emergency room

Fact - you dispute the bill as not yours

Fact - you have verified with the hospital and the billing agency that the bill is not yours.

Fact - the bill is your mothers.

If you wanted to be super nice, you could include your mom's contact information.  IF you do that, also state that she is legally independent and you are NOT her guardian or power of attorney.

[laz98]

so 2 votes for including my info, & 2 votes against....anyone else?

i didn't think it was a big deal really, but I can just leave it out.  I'm indifferent. 

[MarineVietVet]

I still vote to include. With the DOB's and last four of the SS#'s they can compare records much easier. But if you have any concerns at all then do what makes you most comfortable no matter what any of us think. 

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[laz98]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

I still vote to include. With the DOB's and last four of the SS#'s they can compare records much easier. But if you have any concerns at all then do what makes you most comfortable no matter what any of us think. 

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i was thinking the same thing.  it also makes me look more cooperative, not just someone who is trying to get out of paying a bill.  that was my thinking.

[haulingthescoreup]

Well, I don't think that they can do much with the last four of your SSN, which was all you were going to provide, but I can see leaving off the DOB.

Alternatively, send your great letter without the SSN and DOB and see if that's enough.

You probably don't want to get on a searchable database with collectors and other lovely people. 

Do you have a middle initial that's different from your mom's? I can see future problems similar to this one. If you can get your name a bit different from hers, that might help a bit. (Not that collectors and CRA's are exactly detail-oriented, though. )

And it looks like this is an excellent reason for you and anyone else who shares a name with a family member to continue with credit-monitoring services for all three reports.

eta: Oh good, I've added to the confusion!