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Is PFD a violation of the CARES act?

W261w261
Frequent Contributor

Is PFD a violation of the CARES act?

 looked at my wife's credit and found two small items from a local hospital, totaling around $250.  They had been assigned to a local collection agency.  The agency is acting as an agent for the hospital.  I called up agency and said I would pay the items, but only if they would do a pay for delete.  The collector said they don't do PFD's, as they violate the CARES  act.  Is that true?  I've seen so many people on here talk about negotiating PFD's.

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Is PFD a violation of the CARES act?


@W261w261 wrote:

 looked at my wife's credit and found two small items from a local hospital, totaling around $250.  They had been assigned to a local collection agency.  The agency is acting as an agent for the hospital.  I called up agency and said I would pay the items, but only if they would do a pay for delete.  The collector said they don't do PFD's, as they violate the CARES  act.  Is that true?  I've seen so many people on here talk about negotiating PFD's.


Since the CA doesnt own it. Pay the hospital in return of recalling the debt.



Homeowner Sept 2020. 2021 Explorer ST Chase 3.1%. Sharing my recovery after BK from learning here. Started 540's. EX FICO 9 801 as of 05/03/2023. I stayed around to pay it forward for those who helped me back then.
Message 2 of 5
Cowboys4Life
Frequent Contributor

Re: Is PFD a violation of the CARES act?


@W261w261 wrote:

 looked at my wife's credit and found two small items from a local hospital, totaling around $250.  They had been assigned to a local collection agency.  The agency is acting as an agent for the hospital.  I called up agency and said I would pay the items, but only if they would do a pay for delete.  The collector said they don't do PFD's, as they violate the CARES  act.  Is that true?  I've seen so many people on here talk about negotiating PFD's.


No it doesn't violate the CARES Act, it has nothing to do with that.  More than likely this is the fall back reason they give to avoid arguments with those who call in.  My guess is that their policy is they simply do not do it which a lot of CAs JDBs and creditors have as a policy.  

Message 3 of 5
Remedios
Credit Mentor

Re: Is PFD a violation of the CARES act?

PFD violates accurate reporting.

Any creditor can elect to remove their reporting, but when done for payment, it goes against instructions provided by three major CRAs. 

 

CRAs haven't been enforcing this, so PFD has increased in terms of how many CAs are willing to do it. Some still play by the book, others don't.

 

 

Message 4 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Is PFD a violation of the CARES act?

About a month ago, my daughter shared with me that she was able to get medical collection accounts deleted from her credit reports by claiming they are a violation of HIPPA. According to her, anyone who pulls your report can see you've visited a medical facility, which could lead to conclusions as to the care you received, and in order to collect the debt, the original creditor has to disclose the initial bill/diagnosis codes. I haven't looked any further into it for myself as I don't have medical bills on my reports; however, I have always obtained PFDs on medical collections as the original creditor (hospital/doctor/facility) approves it. If you can pay the bills, contact the medical provider and offer to pay them in full if they pull the debt from the collector. 

Message 5 of 5
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