Collections Account Help Appreciated

[Anonymous]

Hi Everybody,

My name is Jake. I'm very hopeful that someone can help me with this.

I received a letter from a collections agency for a hospital bill, which I never received since I moved shortly after I received the services. It says I have 30 days to respond to the validity of the debt and it has not yet been reported to my collections agency. I just called the hospital and was informed it was for services that I received. However, they mailed the bills to my old address and never called me before sending it to collections.

I told told the manager of patient financial services at the hospital that I would like to pay it off with them directly instead of the collections agency and they said that is fine. I asked them to please provide me a signed letter first stating that they would instruct the collection agency not to report the collections account on my credit report with any of the three credit reporting bureaus. They said that they would agree to that, but are not allowed to give this letter to me ahead of time, and could e-mail it to me after I paid it over the phone. I explained that I needed assurance that it wouldn't be reported as "Paid Collections" by the collection agency before I make the payment. However, they will not do this and before payment is made and will only agree to send me a letter stating that after payment is made.

I was thinking I could make an audio recording over the phone (with their knowledge) and ask them to agree to the following statement. "If I pay the total amount due via credit card today, you agree to immediately instruct any collection agency you are in business with to never report this debt or any information or reference to it in the future to any of the credit reporting bureaus. And you are certain that you have the power to make that final decision on behalf of the hospital. Do you agree to this?"

Here are my questions:

In the event that they do not come through with their promise to send me the letter promising to not report the debt...

1.) Am I already safe from having this reported on my credit report just by paying the hospital directly in the first place? If not, is it possible that the collections company could still report it as "Paid Collections" in the future, even though it has not yet been reported it to the credit bureaus, nor have I made any contact with them?

2.) Would the audio recording of their promise suffice as an enforceable legal agreement to protect me from it being reported?

3.) If not, do I have to just hope they do what they say they will?

Thank you very much for your time and your responses. Having a paid collections on my report would be terrible and any help you can provided would be greatly appreciated.

-Jake

[Anonymous]

If they won't agree to send a letter they probably won't agree to be recorded but I would suggest paying the hospital. A collection agency would have to pay a fee to enter the account as a paid collection to the credit bureaus they are more than likely not going to do that for an account that is not already being reported.

[RobertEG]

Once a debt collector has obtained collection authority, the debt collector has the right to report their collection to the CRAs.

A letter from the creditor instructing them not to report is a business request, not a legally binding requirment.

An agreement between a consumer and a creditor that the creditor instruct a debt collector not to report is not a legally binding term in a contract between the consumer and the creditor.  It imposes terms on a party who is not a party to the contract.

While a debt collector may be likely not to report if requested not to do so by the assigning creditor, they are not under a contract provision that prevents them from doing so.

To the contracry, debt collectors are under separate contract with the CRAs, which includes the provision that they agree not to delete reporting based on consumer payment of the debt.

Recording an "agreement" with the creditor will not impose a requirement on the debt collector.

You can, if you wish to establish a legally binding agreement not to report, make a pay for not reporting offer directly to the debt collector.

Choice to pay the OC removes having obtained such an agreement directly from the debt collector.