All CCs paid off, one medical collection lingers..help getting rid

[creditcardnoob]

I finally managed to pay all cards off at once (6 out of 7), so now I have a total balance of $0

 

 

I only have one problem, there's a medical collection I had during the summer but I forgot about it because of school. Can

 

someone please give me a step by step process that's a little more simple and direct to my situation than those sticky links?

 

It's a medical collection for $125, less than 6 months old, I haven't contacted any CA's or the doctor's office that reported the

 

collection. My insurance was supposed to cover it, but I blame myself for not going after them while I had the chance. You snooze

 

you lose I guess. Anyway, I appreciate the help in advance!

[creditcardnoob]

bump!

[Why Chat]

I finally managed to pay all cards off at once (6 out of 7), so now I have a total balance of $0

 

 

I only have one problem, there's a medical collection I had during the summer but I forgot about it because of school. Can

 

someone please give me a step by step process that's a little more simple and direct to my situation than those sticky links?

 

It's a medical collection for $125, less than 6 months old, I haven't contacted any CA's or the doctor's office that reported the

 

collection. My insurance was supposed to cover it, but I blame myself for not going after them while I had the chance. You snooze

 

you lose I guess. Anyway, I appreciate the help in advance!

Have you opted out??

http://whychat.5u.com/OPTOUTINST.HTML

Did you pay CA's on these credit card debts??

 

If so, are they now reporting as "paid" collections??

 

I am sorry you did not have the patience to read and follow the "sticky links", because I think you probably paid off CA's and did not improve your credit report scores, as a "paid" collection can decrease your score more than an unpaid one because of the more recent activity date.

 

As to the medical account, if you are SURE that the amount is correct, and you have DOUBLE CHECKED with your insurance Co. to make ABSOLUTELY sure that they did not receive the claim, did not pay ANYTHING on it and that they will reimburse you the correct amount if you pay it, then you can pay the Dr. with a CASHIERS CHECK or BANK MONEY ORDER with a copy of the ORIGINAL bill from the Dr.'s office.

 

On the BACK of the check/money order, print "for deposit only account of (name of Dr.)"

 

Make a copy front and back of the check before sending it. DO NOT USE A PERSONAL CHECK,( even if certified)

 

As soon as that check/money order has cleared, send any CRA where the account is reporting, this; ( follow ALL the directions)

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

Edited October 21, 2009 by Why Chat

[creditcardnoob]

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

To clear up the confusion, I paid off my credit cards in full (which are not late) and have no collections on them. I was just plugging it in because I was here previously trying to pay down my debt a few months ago, and I finally managed to bring all balances to $0. I have no negatives or lates besides the medical collection I've been meaning to get rid of.

 

So to start the process from the very beginning ( because I haven't been in contact with any CA's or the original debtor), I send out:

 

LETTER TO COLLECTION AGENCY VALIDATION/DISPUTE/CEASE & DESIST

Basic All Purpose Letter

 

and when they reply, I send out :

 

HIPAA LETTER PROGRAM-DISPUTES AND PAYMENTS

For Medical Account Collections

 

 

Is that the correct process?? thanks in advance!

Edited October 21, 2009 by creditcardnoob

[Why Chat]

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

To clear up the confusion, I paid off my credit cards in full (which are not late) and have no collections on them. I was just plugging it in because I was here previously trying to pay down my debt a few months ago, and I finally managed to bring all balances to $0. I have no negatives or lates besides the medical collection I've been meaning to get rid of.

 

So to start the process from the very beginning ( because I haven't been in contact with any CA's or the original debtor), I send out:

 

LETTER TO COLLECTION AGENCY VALIDATION/DISPUTE/CEASE & DESIST

Basic All Purpose Letter

 

and when they reply, I send out :

 

HIPAA LETTER PROGRAM-DISPUTES AND PAYMENTS

For Medical Account Collections

 

 

Is that the correct process?? thanks in advance!

 

NO, you wanted to avoid the "long" HIPAA letter process. I gave you a "short-cut" method;

As to the medical account, if you are SURE that the amount is correct, and you have DOUBLE CHECKED with your insurance Co. to make ABSOLUTELY sure that they did not receive the claim, did not pay ANYTHING on it and that they will reimburse you the correct amount if you pay it, then you can pay the Dr. with a CASHIERS CHECK or BANK MONEY ORDER with a copy of the ORIGINAL bill from the Dr.'s office.

 

On the BACK of the check/money order, print "for deposit only account of (name of Dr.)"

 

Make a copy front and back of the check before sending it. DO NOT USE A PERSONAL CHECK,( even if certified)

 

As soon as that check/money order has cleared, send any CRA where the account is reporting, this; ( follow ALL the directions)

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

[creditcardnoob]

my mom just told me original bill was around $500 and my insurance paid half, so it went down to about $225. To get everything straight, when I call them tomorrow I should find out the exact bill amount, and what else? because if they paid half they obviously received the claim right? so once I find out the exact bill amount I should go by the doctors office and pay it with a bank money order along with a copy of the bill? (and the insurance will reimburse me? just curious, dont care if they do or not I just want this thing off my CR)

 

sorry for jumbling everything up!

[Why Chat]

my mom just told me original bill was around $500 and my insurance paid half, so it went down to about $225. To get everything straight, when I call them tomorrow I should find out the exact bill amount, and what else? because if they paid half they obviously received the claim right? so once I find out the exact bill amount I should go by the doctors office and pay it with a bank money order along with a copy of the bill? (and the insurance will reimburse me? just curious, dont care if they do or not I just want this thing off my CR)

 

sorry for jumbling everything up!

No, here is how it works.

You go to the Dr. he sends in a bill to your insurance for $500. the insurance ALLOWS $250 for that procedure, ( assuming no co-pays or deductible) the Dr. writes off the discounted amount. A CA "picks up" from a data miner the written off amount and tries to collect it from you.

 

You need to get an EOMB from the insurance, ( explanation of medical benefits) to see what the PATIENT liability is AFTER they have paid the approved amount.

 

You MAY still owe a co-pay or deductible, or you may owe nothing.

 

You should, in this case start with the initial dispute letter to the CRA's where it is reporting;

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

[creditcardnoob]

Sounds simple enough, i'll send out that letter right away. I just cant remember which credit agency is reporting the negative.. should I send it to all three? and use the address on their site right?

[Why Chat]

Sounds simple enough, i'll send out that letter right away. I just cant remember which credit agency is reporting the negative.. should I send it to all three? and use the address on their site right?

Are you saying that you do NOT have your credit reports??

 

What in the WORLD are you DOING??

 

You can NOT do ANY disputing, or anything else without recent individual copies of each credit report!!

 

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

Edited October 22, 2009 by Why Chat

[creditcardnoob]

I just got a free experian credit report and score from freecreditreport.com

 

Anyway, I apologize in advance for the confusion, BUT it looks like I finally got the story straight after looking at this thing... check out the attached pictures if you need to.

 

First problem:

 

The negative collection on my account is for $125, but it is listed as CLOSED. and I have no idea where its from and its the only collection on my credit report.

 

Second problem:

 

my Chase credit card which was closed while still having a balance on it (you remember when millions of other accounts were closed too? the WaMu problem?) anyway they closed but let me pay it monthly online. Is there anything I can do about removing this too?

 

[doinks]

You really should get "true" hard copies of your reports from all three CRAs. The information in third party reports (like freecreditreport) is not as accurate or detailed as the info. available in the full reports from each CRA.

 

All the info you need to get your reports can be found in the link Why Chat provided.

[creditcardnoob]

Well I already got them from anualcreditreport earlier this year and I want to avoid paying for all 3 unless it's completely neccessary

[Why Chat]

Well I already got them from anualcreditreport earlier this year and I want to avoid paying for all 3 unless it's completely neccessary

Did you get free credit reports from each CRA that you have hard copies of??

 

How much "earlier" this year did you get them??

 

The "free" credit report you received from "freecreditreport.com" is a rip off as it requires a very expensive and worthless credit monitoring service.

 

Look at your original copies that you obtained from the official Government "annualcreditreport" site and see if the account you originally posted about is on THOSE reports.

 

You can dispute with the initial dispute letter from the earlier REALLY FREE credit reports as the one you just received is only good for Experian ( and not THAT good anyway) Hopefully it has a report # that you can use in the dispute.

 

You can try going on line to Eq and TU and using the "dispute" link, see if your report #'s from your earlier FREE reports will work.

DO NOT DISPUTE ANYTHING on line, just print out your reports from the dispute section to see what is there.

 

As to the closed Chase account, leave it alone, it is showing as a positive, not a negative account. ( WHY did you close it??)

[creditcardnoob]

Did you get free credit reports from each CRA that you have hard copies of??

 

I never ordered hard copies of the report, I always viewed them online

 

How much "earlier" this year did you get them??

 

last time I did it was around January. I don't think it'll let me view them again

 

The "free" credit report you received from "freecreditreport.com" is a rip off as it requires a very expensive and worthless credit monitoring service.

 

tell me about it... anyway I'll be canceling the 30 day trial, I just did it to get my free credit report from experian

 

Look at your original copies that you obtained from the official Government "annualcreditreport" site and see if the account you originally posted about is on THOSE reports.

 

they were online and since there wasn't any log in information, I lost them as soon as the browser closed. BUT that negative account wasn't on either of them. It showed up later down the road this year

 

You can dispute with the initial dispute letter from the earlier REALLY FREE credit reports as the one you just received is only good for Experian ( and not THAT good anyway) Hopefully it has a report # that you can use in the dispute.

 

You can try going on line to Eq and TU and using the "dispute" link, see if your report #'s from your earlier FREE reports will work.

DO NOT DISPUTE ANYTHING on line, just print out your reports from the dispute section to see what is there.

 

I dont have the report #'s anymore, had to delete my last email because of tremendous spam

 

As to the closed Chase account, leave it alone, it is showing as a positive, not a negative account. ( WHY did you close it??)

 

I didn't close it and nor did I want to. it happened when Chase began closing the millions of credit cards it absorbed from WaMu. I believe there was a thread about it here; over 3 million people having their cards closed for no reason.

 

Anyway it's really so much more complicated that it needs to be.. I should have ordered hard copies earlier. I guess I'll have to order one from Equifax and one from Transunion now, right? then we can get this process on the road? thanks for bearing with me on this I really appreciate it

Edited October 23, 2009 by creditcardnoob

[creditcardnoob]

EDIT: I found out THIS CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY. Dated 10/20/09. I can scan it if you need me to

 

 

It's a letter on THIS MEDICAL CLAIM for $125, saying that the insurance PAID IT OFF (the letter itself is from the health insurer). that is why the collection is displaying as "closed" on my report..

 

 

so now that we have all the guess work sorted out, where can we go from here? it looks like my mom got in touch with them in the last month and got the insurance company to pay it off.

 

Is this good or bad?

Edited October 23, 2009 by creditcardnoob

[Why Chat]

EDIT: I found out THIS CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY. Dated 10/20/09. I can scan it if you need me to

 

 

It's a letter on THIS MEDICAL CLAIM for $125, saying that the insurance PAID IT OFF (the letter itself is from the health insurer). that is why the collection is displaying as "closed" on my report..

 

 

so now that we have all the guess work sorted out, where can we go from here? it looks like my mom got in touch with them in the last month and got the insurance company to pay it off.

 

Is this good or bad?

Is it reporting as "closed" or as a paid collection account?? Is it in the derogatory section of your report??

 

In THIS CASE, you can try to dispute it on line with Experian from your credit report as paid-never late.

 

If it is NOT listed as a "derogatory" then leave it alone.

 

Next time you get your free credit reports from annualcreditreport.com PRINT THEM OUT

[creditcardnoob]

it's reported as "closed" and derogatory. I want to report it from experian but what about transunion and equifax? where can I get all 3 reports and dispute them all at once? (annual credit report.com only takes you to each seperate credit bureau site. isnt this costly to buy from each one?)

[creditcardnoob]

I just disputed the Experian credit report, stating it was paid on time and never late. I gave all the insurance information confirming the payment (which was on the letter I received). Should I go ahead and dispute the other two bureaus?

[Why Chat]

I just disputed the Experian credit report, stating it was paid on time and never late. I gave all the insurance information confirming the payment (which was on the letter I received). Should I go ahead and dispute the other two bureaus?

How can you dispute with a CRA when you have no copy of their report showing it is on there??

 

Get your other 2 reports, you do NOT need the "scores")

 

Have you been denied credit or had any other "adverse action"?? If so, you would have received a letter stating your right to get a credit report FREE from the credit bureaus, you can call THAT # or go on line to the URL in the letter and get a credit report FREE. I suggest you do it by phone and have it mailed to you, it will take longer, but will save your having to print out the reports from on line.

[creditcardnoob]

I had the report from freecreditreport.com. Once I disputed it with Experian online, it took me to Experian's site and gave me the full, government issued Experian credit report. And the negative collection was still on there. so I went ahead and continued with the dispute.

 

I don't have any denied credit letters or anything of that sort... guess I'll have to order the other two bureaus and pay the price

[creditcardnoob]

Hey WhyChat, I have one last question. I disputed the collection on Transunion and Experian, but Equifax remains because I can't do it online. Which letter do you advise that I send in first?

[Why Chat]

Hey WhyChat, I have one last question. I disputed the collection on Transunion and Experian, but Equifax remains because I can't do it online. Which letter do you advise that I send in first?

Have you opted out??

http://whychat.5u.com/OPTOUTINST.HTML

 

You should, in this case start with the initial dispute letter to the CRA's where it is reporting;

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

[creditcardnoob]

I just opted out for the first one online. What does the bottom one (ralph nader, opt-out for privacy of information) do to benefit my chances of removing the collection?? Can I just send out the bottom letter immediately to Equifax?

[Why Chat]

I just opted out for the first one online. What does the bottom one (ralph nader, opt-out for privacy of information) do to benefit my chances of removing the collection?? Can I just send out the bottom letter immediately to Equifax?

The opt out from the CRA's is enough for your purpose.

 

The opt out from ALL creditors, accounts, banks utilities is, IMO not necessary in most cases.

 

Yes you can send the initial dispute letter to Equifax.

[creditcardnoob]

WhyChat, I need some serious help...

 

 

before this thread I had already initiated an online dispute with Experian in the hopes of writing a letter for the other two CRAs.

 

Today, Experian finished the results of my online dispute. Status: Updated. "• Updated - A change was made to this item; review this report to view the change. If ownership of the item was disputed, then it was verified as belonging to you."

 

I didn't send a pre HIPPA letter to the other ones because I had already initiated this one, and I was afraid they'd link me or something and take legal action for sending two different statements.

 

 

BOTTOM LINE: what can I do now? the other two bureaus are most likely to follow suit