So far I've opted out, pulled all three CRs, and had old/invalid addresses removed. I have one unpaid medical collection from two years ago that shows up on all three reports. I am planning on sending the pre-HIPAA letter to all three CRAs, but the Equifax CR does not list the entire account number - for example, instead of saying "#123456" it says "#123XXX".

I know what the account number is because it's (a) on the other two CRs and (b) the CA has mailed it to me numerous times, but filling in the blanks for them seems like a mistake. Should I send the pre-HIPAA letter to Equifax with the account number blanked out as it appears on the CR?

Also, I don't know if anyone will be able to explain this (or if it even matters), but the amount that the CA is reporting to Transunion as due on the collection is $6 less than to the other CRAs. In any case they've jacked the bill way up from what it was original (interest, I guess?), but I had never pulled all three CRs at the same time and thought it was weird that they didn't match.

Thanks in advance for your help! :)

Thank you so much, that's what I was leaning toward but it's so nice to hear confirmation! I lovingly penned my letters in purple today, complete with Xs for the account # - it looked silly but, hey, that's what they gave me! Now I just have to sit on my hands and see what my new friends have to say. (Yeah, I really am that happy about this - the whole situation with this CA has gotten so depressing because even though my credit score isn't that bad, it's like lenders see "collection" and just press "declined". It's so nice to actually be DOING something about it now.)

Okay, so now I have responses from all three CRAs, and all of them verified - not surprising, since this began as a valid bill that I genuinely do still owe. Most of all I want to get this off of my CR, and so would like to know if the CRA verification is enough to establish the kind of relationship between the CA and the OC that I need to proceed to the HIPAA letter using Insert A (http://whychat.5u.com/hipltr.html). I don't think I should use the Medical DV letter (http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html) because the debt is valid and within SOL, but maybe I'm wrong about that.

Just to make sure I don't leave something important out, here are the specifics from my replies:
- EX lists it as "closed" (and always has) but added the comment "Account in dispute - reported by subscriber".
- EQ (through CSC) reports as "unpaid" and added "CONSUMER DISPUTES THIS ITEM - MEDICAL".
- TU still lists it as an "open" account on paper, but if I pull the report from their website, there's a line that reads "Date Closed: 09/2009".
None of them sent the documentation requested in the pre-HIPAA letter ("...I also would need the name of the person providing this data, and the manner in which it was provided...").

Other posts in this forum lead me to think that eventually the CA is supposed to send me some evidence that they are working directly for the OC, but I'm worried that they won't do that because, much earlier and before I understood anything about credit, a family member called the CA and told them to stop sending us letters. (Since then they switched to bi-weekly voicemails, but I haven't had any of those since I began Why Chat's HIPAA process.) If we somehow specifically told the CA NOT to communicate in writing, should I try to undo that for the sake of better establishing a relationship between the CA and the OC?

Otherwise, if I am ready move on to paying the OC, can I just pay the original amount due (I still have last bill from the OCjjjjj, and I didn't have insurance), or should I pay the CA's interest/fees as well?

Thanks so much for helping!

If you have recived no communication from the OC or the OC to fully validate the account and establish a business association between the OC and the CA then you would send the reporting CA this:
http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html
as soon as you have the green card back send any CRA that is reporting the account this:
http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html#DISPUTE
This may have been a valid bill at one time but since you have not received full validation, then paying with the HIPAA letter with insert "a" is not the right path to take.
Full validation may be a copy of the OC statement or a list of medical services provided,these are just examples of what to look for.
Having the account verified by the CRA doesn't constitute full validation and it doesn't establish any type of relationship between the CA and the OC.