Hi...This is my first post..I am a newbie so id like to get started right away...I got this off my EQUIFAX report..its one of a few MEDS id like to remove..Ive tried to get the CRA's to remove this but no luck by denying its mine...Would INSERT C work on this one in the HIPAA letter? How else should i do this one? and should i try using a PRE HIPAA letter first?

Thanks
Sam



HEAD MERCANTILE CO INC
Agency Address: 837 Crocker Rd
Westlake, OH 441451028

Date Reported: 04/2007
Date Assigned: 07/2005
Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care
Creditor Name: DRS SASS FRIEDMAN AND ASSOC
Accounts Number: 381XXXX
Account Owner: Individual Account.
Original Amount Owned: $60
Date of 1 st Delinquency: 12/2004
Balance Date: 04/2007
Balance Owned: $0
Last Payment Date: 24/10/2005
Status Date: 04/2007
Status: P - Paid
Comments: Medical

First thing you need to do is opt out and delete old addy's.

From your post and insert "C". Is this truly not your bill? I see that this is a paid acct. Who did you pay CA or OC?

We need to address all the Med collections at one time. Do as you have done post how its being reported. Remove any identifying information. State if its a paid collection or not. And who was paid.

Here is the list of my MEDS ...and this is just on EQ..

FIRST FEDERAL CREDIT CONTROL
Agency Address: INC.
24700 CHAGRIN BLVD #205
BEACHWOOD, OH 44122
(216) 360-2000
Date Reported: 04/2007
Date Assigned: 11/2006
Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care
Creditor Name: RADIOLOGY GROUP
Accounts Number: 698XXXX
Account Owner: Individual Account.
Original Amount Owned: $52
Date of 1 st Delinquency: 01/2006
Balance Date: 04/2007
Balance Owned: $52
Last Payment Date: n/a
Status Date: 04/2007
Status: D - Unpaid
Comments: Medical

FIRST FEDERAL CREDIT CONTROL
Agency Address: INC.
24700 CHAGRIN BLVD #205
BEACHWOOD, OH 44122
(216) 360-2000
Date Reported: 04/2007
Date Assigned: 09/2006
Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care
Creditor Name: GEMMA D O
Accounts Number: 688XXXX
Account Owner: Individual Account.
Original Amount Owned: $58
Date of 1 st Delinquency: 01/2006
Balance Date: 04/2007
Balance Owned: $50
Last Payment Date: 12/10/2006
Status Date: 04/2007
Status: D - Unpaid
Comments: Medical

FIRST FEDERAL CREDIT CONTROL
Agency Address: INC.
24700 CHAGRIN BLVD #205
BEACHWOOD, OH 44122
(216) 360-2000
Date Reported: 04/2007
Date Assigned: 11/2003
Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care
Creditor Name: THOMAS CO 360
Accounts Number: 426XXXX
Account Owner: Individual Account.
Original Amount Owned: $52
Date of 1 st Delinquency: 01/2003
Balance Date: 04/2007
Balance Owned: $22
Last Payment Date: 20/06/2005
Status Date: 04/2007
Status: D - Unpaid
Comments: Medical


The top 2 i have paid myself just recently to the OC..I have a letter from 1 dotor office (second on list) saying that they talked to the CA and they would remove it ASAP...YEA RIGHT!!..Its still there..that was few weeks ago...The first one on the list i have paid also and all they said on the phone was that they agreed to remove it (verbally) that they would have the CA remove it...i just got in the mail a copy of the recipt that i paid it and a record of the bill...NO FORMAL LETTER!!..Im a lil pissed off at that..i want a formal letter!...The last collection .i have continuosly denied was mine was verified...and they wont reinvestigate!..WHAT CRAP!!...i mean i know its mine but if it means paying 22 measly dollars to get it removed then fine ill do it!

Sam

i hope nobody forgot about me here.

What method of payment did you use?

List each acct in one letter. Don't add other info to the besides the accts and don't take away from it.
Send to each CRA that is reporting. Once the CRA respond you will do the OC letter with different inserts for the paid accts and non paid accts. Do not have any contact with the CA. Also don't have other disputes going on while you are disputing this.

Opt out and delete old addy's if possible.

Send the medical dispute letter to the CRA's

http://whychat.5u.com/hipltr.html#DISPUTE

2 of them i paid cash, one i paid with CC

OK so i send the med dispute to the CRA's first separately each by certified mail?...and what did u mean "dont take away from it"?

I believe bbjdb meant send the medical dispute letter as is, do not reword, edit, etc. other than adding the collection accounts you're disputing.

I would just like to chime in here. I have recently started my credit repair adventure, and after only a month and a half, I have removed 100% of my baddies on Equifax, 80% medical. I would say 90% of my baddies are/were medical.

I just sent a simple letter to EQ with very strong language quoting the FCRA and court cases and blah blah and they were very helpful

It is my experience that a simple validation letter (again, the only ones I sent were very "quote happy" with the FCRA and court cases and opinion letters) worked very well even if the dispute with the bureaus didn't go too well.
Granted, I'm still very new at this, and all is subject to change, but so far, so good, and this is the first time I've seen this forum...

any chance u may wanna post that letter?....id like to see what you used to scare them

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=175055

94 is correct. Send to CRA's wait for a full response. Once you get a true response then proceed further with Whychat's Hipaa letter process. Just ask if you have questions.
http://whychat.5u.com/hipltr.html

Yah, I'll get my letters posted asap. I have different letters than any i've seen here, and i feel they would be a nice addition. I will admit, I did not make them, however I did edit them. I'm not sure where they came from, but they're pretty damn good if I do say so...
at any rate, I'll post before the end of this week, i swear

I hate to reply to myself, but I wanted to add that I am in no way saying this HIPAA process doesn't work as well as what I did. I'm just saying, it seems alot of people on these boards believe there is only way to skin this credit cat, and start to panic if they feel they might not do it "properly". I was just wanted to chime in with my experience that medical baddies are still just baddies.
Make them validate, threaten them if needed, quote FCRA or even act ignorant. YMMV, and I am currently viewing the HIPAA process as another tool in the toolbox. But like an allen wrench, it only fits a certain kind of screw...

I am glad your "letters" worked for you. IMO sometimes almost ANYTHING will work some of the time for some of the people in credit repair.

The only problem I see is that IF someone wanted to "try" your letters/advice, and they did NOT work as well for them as they did for you, they would have negated the possibility of using the HIPAA letter system, which requires NO contact with the reporting CA.

The reverse, however, is NOT TRUE, i.e. if someone tries the HIPAA letter system and follows it exactly and goes to the end of the program without the desired results, they can STILL use "your" letter/advice and see if THAT would work.

In addition, IMO, the BIGGEST drawback to YOUR advice is that any payments made would be to the reporting CA, and not to the OC health care provider, this is NOT any part of ANY of my "programs" as I am unalterably opposed to paying ANY CA a RED CENT

I appreciate the quick lesson, and I hope I wasn't stepping on your toes or anything.

I think I misunderstood a few things. I was under the impression that if you happen to have sent a letter to the CA, as long as you didn't pay anything, you were still able to do the HIPAA program? I can't even find where I read that now...maybe the newbie section..I'll look around tonight for it.

Also, I would like to make the statement that I am opposed to paying anyone anything. The OC, the CA or anyone in between. If a company cannot maintain legal and accurate records, even if I did receive the services and/or goods, I won't lose one bit of sleep if they can't prove it.
I have not EVER paid a CA, and the only way I ever will is if it's a pay for delete. No two ways about it. I dont feel guilty about it, and I truly don't care about them. If they do their job and have their records, then I might offer a PFD, or more than likely, wait till it drops off. So i can completely appreciate your stance on paying a CA, and if I made it sound like i was suggesting that, I'm sorry, because I am as against it as one can be.

Now, back to the validation, if I am not able to send the HIPAA after a validation request, I'm not a happy camper, because I sent out 4 more letters this morning. The only reason I did not use the HIPAA program, is because I dont fully understand it yet, and can't dedicate the few hours it would take to get a grasp of it. I dont like to send blindly if I don't full understand. However in the future, the HIPAA will be the first I send.
In fact, it will probably be the only thing I send, as all i have now is medical...

My program was designed to get deletions on accounts that were no longer "in current communication status" with the OC and to PAY the OC on accounts that ARE in current communication status. I do not believe in any "PFD" to any CA for any reason unless someone is FORCED to on a NON MEDICAL account because of a mortgage closing etc.

all things aside I just learned like 3 things reading your replies...and gave myself a headache
So, lets say I have several (AND I MEAN SEVERAL) medical accounts, none paid, none out of SOL, all under 1000$, would you recommend the HIPAA for each and every one of them? obviously depending, but as a generality?

What "SOL" are you talking about?? If it is the SOL for being sued and you are in the same area where you incurred the medical debts, then I would do NOTHING, unless you are ready willing and able to PAY the OC health care providers.

If you CAN pay, then, yes the HIPAA letter proccess, starting with a medical dispute letter to the CRA's ( no more than 3 medical accounts in one letter)is, IMO the way to go.

Do the oldest ones first.

hrmm..i haven't waited for any to be all the way out of the SOL...although, I have never issued an ITS or anything of the like. I just ask for validation and dispute whatever validation they provide...

There is realistically NO "SOL" for many medical debts, as the Courts generally will find for the health care provider if the ONLY defense is a "technical" one of SOL.

Remember, most health care providers have SOME degree of financial reimbursement from Governmental agencies so the Courts consider them exempt from a technical defense of SOL.

In addition, they must PROVE that they have made a good faith effort to collect, otherwise they risk losing their reimbursments.

The only time I have seen it even TRIED, ( and this was a 10 year old emergency room bill) the Judge said that the State has to reimburse the healthcare facility for ALL "non payers", and he considers that the taxpayers have enough of a burden paying the medical bills of the truly indigent without subsidizing those who CAN pay but do not.

heh...well I guess if it gets nasty I'll just be all "oh wait...for THIS account? oh yah, i'll pay that...no need for a lawsuit..why didnt you say for THIS account...hey, btw, will you remove it too"

I am sorry you feel that way "LooGie".

I designed the HIPAA letter program so that people who were able to pay their legitimate medical debts to the OC health care provider could do so AND get it off their reports.

If you CAN pay your medical bills NOW, why don't you do the right thing and ( after confirming with the medical dispute letter) get your medical bills paid.

Unless, of course, you have been the victim of medical malpractice.

whoa whoa, i was making a joke. ahem, tough crowd...
the fact is, I dont have the money to pay all my debts, and if they dont keep accurate records, that's not my problem anyway.
however, I will be honest when I say if I get sued for an account, i'll go out of my way to avoid court. Even if I have to pay them. I'll prioritize my expenses, if you know what i mean.

and can't you dispute the accounts with the HIPAA program as well?

The dispute method of the medical dispute letter is to dispute the REPORTING, not the "validity" of the CA account.

Exactly WHO are you referring to about "and if they dont keep accurate records," ?? The CA or the OC??

If it is the OC, and there really IS no legitimate bill because they haven't properly billed your insurance, or didn't account for the correct co-pays or didn't discount your bill properly, then insert"b" is available ( after sending the medical dispute letter)