Not sure if this is a scammer or a CA.

[Digby]

Hi folks,

 

I'm not sure what to do about this phone call that I received yesterday, so I hope that someone here might be able to nudge me in the right direction.

 

I had a bunch of medical treatment and surgery back in '08, and I'd thought that I'd settled the account.

 

Yesterday I received a call from a gentlemen with a thick Asian accent that sounded like he was claiming to be from "Legal Claim Services". He made a point of mentioning my name, last 4 digits of my social & my home address during his message. The rest of the message was just him telling me that he was calling in regard to either "several" or "civil" complaints against me (I couldn't tell which) - but he never mentioned what the basis of the complaints might've been. He made a point of urging me to call back immediately and said they'd be sending legal documents to my home - whether or not I chose to cooperate. He was obviously trying to intimidate me in the message - he even called 2x back-to-back when I didn't answer the initial call. (I was in a meeting at the time.)

 

Google couldn't find anything related to "Legal Claim Services" in the town from which he'd called. Neither the number that he'd called from nor the return number that he'd given me lead to anything on google, either. I initially wrote it off as a scam and moved on. I didn't want to call the number back and risk letting a potential scammer know that I'm a live lead, either.

 

...And then my father called me last night to tell me that they'd also called his house and left a similar message.

 

So, I pulled my credit report (...for the first time in longer than I'd care to admit) and found a collection from a local CA. (Two different accounts, about $4k in total.) A few google searches later and I found that my hospital would seem to use the CA that's listed on my report. The timing of the collection roughly coincides for the timeframe when I was creating a spree of medical bills. (Even if this is new information for me.) The SOL will expire next year, so I could see a debt buyer looking to sue at this point.

 

How should I proceed? Can they sue me without any contact other than a phone call? Should I wait for documentation to show up in the mail? Should I immediately start the HIPAA process? Is it too late for that?

 

Should I return their phone call, or would that be a bad choice?

 

I want to do the right thing here, but I also don't want to negatively impact my credit rating any further than I already have. If the charges are legit I'll have to do some scrambling, but I can take money out of my 401k (with penalties. ugh.) and at least put this behind me. I just want to ensure that my next action (or set of actions) are the most effective choices.

 

Thank you.

 

Edit: I'll be starting the opt-out process and deleting all old addresses now. (I don't live in the same residence that I I occupied when the surgery took place.)

Edited May 15, 2013 by Digby

[Digby]

One update - I signed up for the USAA credit monitoring service and saw an inquiry from Platinum Partners Associates.

 

Google tells me that these are rather scummy people. Would it make sense that they're trying to collect on this debt, even if they don't own it?

[pblors]

Looks like a scam similar to something I went through. I would contact the AG in California and the FTC.

[Why Chat]

Follow all these steps:

 

http://www.whychat.5u.com/GUIDEBOOK.html

 

You will be using the HIPAA letter program

 

http://www.whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html

 

Given the date of service ( over 4 years ago) It is CERTAIN that this is a scam scum JDB ( junk debt buyer)

 

In your case you should send the initial dispute letter to each CRA, ( after opting out and having your address deletions go through)

 

But for now you should send the medical DV to this scum scam CA to the address they give on your credit reports.

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

 

If they call you again, ask for their name and address and tell them the call is being recorded and will be turned over to your State Attorney General's Office.( I don't think you are in Ca. as is "pblors" but if you are, yes file a complaint with the Ca AG office.

( Threatening legal action is a BIG violation of the FDCPA and the Ca FDCPA.)