I paid my emergency room bills? How should I go about getting them removed from my credit report?

[Anonymous]

About a year ago after getting home from my job I had gotten very sick. I afraid that something was seriously wrong so I went to the emergency room. When I got there I sat in the ER for a few hours. They put on an EKG machine and took my blood pressure, told me I didn't have any serious problems and sent me out to one of the emergency room doctors. I waited in there for a few hours until she finally came in and when she did she just asked me a few questions, told me I had a condition (which I don't have) and gave me some medication (that didn't work). The next thing I know I get a bill in the mail for 600 dollars.( At the time I didn't have medical insurance) I called the doctors office to ask why it was so much and the only explanation she gave was that ER bill cost way most than a primary doctors office. Then a few months later I get a bill for another 350 dollars. I called to ask what this was for and they told me that the emergency room doctors charge separate from the emergency room. I couldn't afford to pay either bill because I was only working part time at a retail store and I had just paid out a ton of money for school. About a few months later I saw that both of theses charges where on my credit report.(2 separate accounts reported from 2 separate collections agencies) When I got a better job I paid both bills thinking they'd be removed from my credit report. They both only show up as paid and my credit score hasn't improved by much after paying those bills off. Other than these 2 delinquent accounts I usually keep my credit up. I pay all of my credit card bills on time. I considered writing a goodwill letter to the collections agencies to see if they could remove this charges from my credit report since I did pay them (reluctantly, but I paid them) but I'm not sure if that will work. Can someone please give me some advice on how to go about getting these items removed?

Is the med collection on your reports? Yes

Is it paid or unpaid? Paid

If paid, who did you pay, the OC (original creditor: doctor, dentist, hospital, etc.) or the CA (collection agency)? CA 

If unpaid, do you have the money to pay it off in full? N/A 

Do you remember the date(s) of treatment? 7/2008

Have you ever disputed the med collection? If yes, when and how? No

If you did dispute the collection, is it currently marked as "disputed and/or verified" on your report(s)? N/A

Have you ever requested debt validation from the CA? If yes, what did they send you and when did you receive it? N/A

[fused]

Welcome to the forums! Please read over the HIPAA letter process thread in my sig line. Here are the first few steps:

Step #1: Opt Out of two things: Your Credit Reports and All Creditors. The first one ensures that the CRAs will not sell your personal data to anyone else (haha…no more data mining). The second one will prevent JDBs (and CAs) from buying and selling bogus collections.

Use this link to opt-out of your credit reports

OPT-OUT CREDIT REPORTS (or call 1.888.567.8688)

Use this link to opt-out from all of your CURRENT creditors that you're in GOOD standing with. Do not attempt to opt-out with any CAs or current creditors that you're in BAD standing with (i.e. charge-offs, or currently late).

OPT-OUT ALL CREDITORS

Step #2: Also, be sure to update your personal information with the CRA's before attempting to reestablish your credit.

Step #3: Send the pre-HIPAA dispute letter to the CRA ('s) CM (no RR, this is the only letter in the HIPAA process where you will not send it CMRRR) and wait up to 35 days for the results of the their investigation(s). Be sure to handwrite this letter (and the envelop too) using personalized stationary and teal blue ink. If your med collection is deleted, you're finished.

PRE-HIPAA MEDICAL DISPUTE LETTER