MCV Collections Confusion

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I have an issue with an item reporting on my Equifax report from MCV Collections Department.  I gave a call to the number on the report, which gave me an automated message directing me to call another number which rang to their regular billing department.  When I asked to speak with the collections department they stated that they do not have one, and that all collections are handled through their billing department.  I was unable to talk to anyone about a PFD, and no managers were able to direct me towards a phone number or address to this so called Collections department.  I went ahead and paid the outstanding balance, and went to investigate further.  It has since updated to a 0 balance, however I would still like to speak with them about the possibility of removing it from my report.

On my credit report it is listed as "Other Accounts" which by Equifax defines as "Other accounts are those that are not already identified as Revolving, Mortgage or Installment Accounts such as child support obligations or rental agreements"

It is titles as "5.2 MCV COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT (CLOSED)"

Account Number - BLANK

Account Status - COLLECTION

Debt-to-Credit Ratio - Infinity%

Comments 1 - Medical

Comments 2 - Collection account

Account Type - OTHER

Date Opened - Aug 07, 2013

Delinquency First Reported - Apr 01, 2015

Creditor Classification - UNKNOWN

It reports in the payment history from Apr 2015 through May 2018 as "C" Collection Account.  There is no payment history prior to that. That is all the information that is available.

I called Equifax to see if there was any other contact information for the collection department, but sadly what is on my report is all they have available.   They were able to give me an account number so that's a plus I suppose.  I asked them if it was a collection account, why it is filed as "Other" and how the original debtor can act and report as a collection agency without having any way to contact them in that capacity.  The lady just repeated over and over that it is a collection account for the Medical College of Virginia and that is all she knew.  She stated the only thing that she could do was file a dispute, so I went ahead and did that.  The debt is indeed mine, so I don't believe that this is the resolution I need. 

I am wondering if anyone has ever dealt with something like this, and if there are any avenues I can take to try and get it resolved/deleted from my report.  I have called every number I've come across to try and get in touch with an actual collections department for MCV only to always get routed to the regular billing department.  I'm at a loss! 

Thanks for the help!

[austingal]

Medical collections can be fairly easy to get removed from your credit reports due to medical privacy laws (HIPAA).

Google "hipaa process credit confusion" and read the information and follow the process. I have had success with this in the past and I'm about to do it again.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the response!

I have read about that before.  In my situation the collection agency is the actual hospital.  The debt was just delegated to an internal collections department that doesn't seem to exist other than to report to the CRA.  Unless I am understanding the process wrong, I don't believe there is any legitimacy for a HIPAA violation.

[RobertEG]

While a debt collector is normally a third party who is collecting on the debt of another, it is not always the case.

The FDCPA explicitly includes under the definition of a debt collector any creditor who uses a name other than their own in attempting to collect on the debt, thus inferring to the consumer that the collection attempt is from another party.

If they are using a name that does not directly imply it is from the original creditor, that is permissible, but makes them a debt collector under the definition provided in the FDCPA.  They can thus report a collection to the CRAs.

Unfortunately, at this point, your issue with them is solely a request for their voluntary good-will.

You are not contesting any violation of the FDCPA or FCRA, and there is no basis for disputing the accuracy of their reporting.

To the contrary, CRA policy is that a debt collector may not delete their reported collection based on payment of the debt.

I would suggest contacting an upper level manager in their company, and explain the situation.

If you dont have a specific name, then I would contact their executive office.

Upper management has the authority to grant good-will exceptions.  Lower level employess,  even if you can get one on the phone, are unlikely to have the authority to delete if the company has a standard non-deletion policy fostered by their credit reporting agreement.

[Anonymous]

Thank you RobertEG.

I believe I understand. They are able to act as their own collection agency, but they have not changed in name. The Medical College of Virginia is the original creditor, they just added collection department to the end of the name. Likely completely legit, otherwise they wouldn't be able to do it.

I suppose I'm mostly confused as to why it's listed as "other account" rather than a collection account, but states it as collections (the letter C) in the payment history. It's probably me just getting overly obsessed with semantics, and it may actually be better this way for me, but it bugs me none the less.

I suppose what's done is done as far as the dispute goes. I never intended on disputing it. I have yet to dispute anything on my reports as all the debts are mine, but in trying to find contact information for anyone in the actual collection department the rep for the CRA said that's all she could do. Maybe I will get some more information from that once it is verified.

In the mean time I will try again to find someone in the billing department that can get me to the correct individual to talk about a good will removal. I've spoken to a few first line managers but they had no idea whom I could speak with. I'm not sure who an executive would be for this situation being that it is a State College hospital on a State College campus. Thank you again for the help! All the best!