Debt Collector Harassment

[Anonymous]

So I have about $1700 of medical debt in collections with Evergreen Professional Recoveries. This company started calling me back in June and called me 2-3 times a day and left ten minute long voicemails every time. I filed a complaint with CFPB on 7/8/19 including screenshots of their calls multiple calls. The daily calls stopped around mid-July, however I also moved and changed my phone number around that time. Somehow they got my new number and have called me at least once a week for probably a month now. They responded to my complaint on 12/19/19 (over five months later) with "The company responded that they are not the appropriate company to address your issue."

I filed a new complaint on 1/8/20 regarding their communication tactics, the lack of response within thirty days of my complaint, and the fact that (to the best of my knowledge/recollection) I never received a written notice of the debt and it's now reported with at least two bureaus. I stated that they have violated several FDCPA regulations.

I received this response today (my name and contact info has been redacted):
"Evergreen Professional Recoveries has reviewed the complaints filed with your agency on December 30th, 2019 & again on January 8th, 2020 and below are the details of our findings: On 06/25/19, we received a collection account for x for unpaid services to x. A collection notice was sent to x. Over the past 6 months, we have attempted to reach X at the numbers we had for her, x & x, without any success. We have left her multiple messages during that span of time without any response back. X never requested a debt validation, neither verbal nor written. Furthermore, she has never indicated that she didn’t want any calls made to her regarding the matter at hand. All the attempts made were following all the laws we abide by and there were no FDCPA violations found. In fact, no violations of any sort period. Evergreen Professional Recoveries have placed the account in question on hold and have requested validation from the original creditor which will be mailed out to x upon receipt. We have concluded that x's allegations are simply unsubstantiated, with no merit or validity, and as a result consider this matter closed."

CFPB has closed my complaint.

Where do I go from here? The definition of harassment per FDCPA is vague, however it does define "repetitious phone calls that are intended to annoy, abuse, or harass you or any person answering the phone." As far as response to the complaint, I was under the impression that they were required to respond within 30 days by law? They also claim that they sent the dunning notice to my old address, but I never received it. Again, they allegedly took over the debt on June 25th (which is the day they started calling me). I moved on July 25th and had my main forwarded immediately, so had they sent written notice within 30 days, I should have received it.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I could try to dispute it but they firmly state that they're not breaking any laws so I'm not sure how successful it will be.

Any advice?

[Anonymous]

Are we talking 2-3 calls every day? You have proof of this? Even then, I’m not sure attempting to reach you with a couple calls a day meets the threshold needed for harassment. It’s simply annoying to you because you don’t want to talk to them.

This is what collections agencies do. They try to reach debtors. Honestly, it’s going to be an uphill battle for you to prove that they’ve broken any law so far.

Have you considered trying to settle the debt obligation with them? If this debt is within the statute of limitations, I wouldn’t be surprised if they seek a judgement now. You’ve sort of told them you don’t wish to work with them and they may feel their hands are tied now.

[FireMedic1]

"Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), if you request that a debt collector stop contacting you completely, it must do so (with a few exceptions). Your request must be in writing. Think carefully before you do this. If you want to keep tabs on the status of the debt or open up the lines of communication with the collector in order to, this might not be in your best interest. If you request that the collector cease communication with you, it can't contact you except to serve you with a lawsuit."

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/handling-debt-collection-calls-dos-donts.html 

And thanks to @gdale6 :

1. Call the OC and see if insurance can be billed, (or-rebilled), collections ultimately paid by insurance get removed per new rules that came from CRAs settlement with 22 state AGs. If not then
2. see if you qualify for Charity Care, if not then
3. ask that they recall the collection in exchange for full payment
4. Send the reporting CA a PFD offer
5. Google the HIPAA Process and contact its creator for help, this process cannot be discussed in any forum of myFico.

[Anonymous]

It's been over a year since this and I no longer have the same insurance. The hospital gave me full financial assistance for the hospital bill, but this bill is for anesthesia, which was billed differently and through a different company. The anesthesiologist was out of network (which is horrible because it's not like I got a choice in who provided anesthesia) so my insurance covered it at an out of network rate and of course that bill was the first one sent to insurance so I hadn't hit my max OOP yet. I already tried to get financial assistance from the anesthesia provider and they turned me down for it because they don't offer it for anyone with insurance. I was on a payment plan but didn't realize that I wasn't on an auto pay like I was supposed to be so the payments weren't made.

I don't think payment plans, insurance, or financial assistance are options unless there's other ways to approach it. I think my tax return will cover a good chunk of it, if not all, but I'd like to use that for other financial plans.

[Anonymous]

Yes 2-3 calls every day with ten minute long messages each time for at least two weeks.

I'd love to be able to work with the OC on this but I don't really know if it's an option at this point because I can't pay the full amount. They're very unwilling to work with me and I've struggled to get any sort of help from them.

[FireMedic1]

Then go to step #5. We cant talk about it here. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

If they provided you with a service and you have not paid, they have the right to try to collect. From your post, it sounds like even when you get the money, you are not planning to pay them. Are you saying it's not a valid debt?

[Bkewlbro]

If you're just looking for the calls to stop, if you tell them to stop calling you and that you demand they only contact you via snail mail. They will be forced to stop calling. But be warned! You'll need to deal with this or most likely end up getting sued.