On 5/15/08 I received a bill from Signet Diagnostics for an x-ray that my son had in May 2006. The bill came in my son's name...who would have been 13 at the time of the x-ray...so I called them (their call center is apparently in India - the reps I spoke with had very thick accents, but their names were "George Williams" and "Thomas Johnson"...yeeeeaaah, RIGHT.) I asked 1) if they had filed with my insurance company...they said they had, 2) why was I just getting this bill 2 years after the date of service??...they said there was a computer glitch that was recently fixed and they just realized this bill had never been paid, and 3) was this bill going to go to collections since it stated "90-days past due" even though it was the first bill I received...they said no, it would not go to collections. They kept saying "Don't worry. Don't worry."
I was worried.
The very next day on 5/16/08, guess what? My son received a letter from Medicredit, a collection agency!!! I called Signet Diagnostics again and asked what the heck?? They said it should not have gone to collections and they were very sorry, and to just ingore the letter. Then I asked them to verify the insurance information that they had filed. Turns out they had my ID# one number off from the correct ID#, which would be why my ins. company did not pay 2 years ago. So I provided them with the correct # and they said they would re-file the claim.
A week later I called them to make sure the claim had been re-filed. They said yes, and that they were taking the bill out of collections status.
On 6/30/08 I received a call from Medicredit. GRRRR. I explained what happened (they were VERY nice, and even spoke English clearly...) They confirmed that the debt had not been reported on my son's CR...yet. But it's scheduled to report on July 15th if payment is not received by then. I immediately called Signet Diagnostics and "Shanti" answered the phone and asked me about fifty times to hold on the line while he pulled up my account. Apparently there was mass confusion and he could not pull up my account right away since it seems that my insurance company paid the claim in the last couple of days. When he finally did pull up the account, he told me "Don't worry. The bill is paid. The collection company should not call you anymore." I said I wanted HIM to contact the collection company to make sure they knew the bill was paid. He kept saying "Don't worry. If they call just tell them it's paid." I said (about ten more times) "I want YOU to call them." He put me on hold, came back and said "Don't worry. The bill is paid." Incompetent *&^%$&)!@!!!!!!
I am worried about my son's credit being ruined before he's even old enough to GET credit. Do I need to write a letter or something? And to who - Signet Diagnostics or Medicredit? And what do I need to say?? Help!
Medicredit suggested that I call them on July 10th to confirm that their records show the bill was paid, and if not that I could pay it myself (to avoid having it report on my son's CR) and then get reimbursed by Signet Diagnostics. YEAH, because they've been SOOOO easy to work with and I just KNOW they'll give me my money back right away. UGH. But I will do that before I will let my son's credit get ruined over this ridiculousness.
Any advice is appreciated!
