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I'm trying to follow the method here: http://whychat.5u.com/hipltr.html on a medical collection account appearing only on my friend's Experian credit report. I first disputed with Experian and it came back with the result of "Remains". They did not supply the name and address of the doctors nor the dates and type of service, nor to whom the services were supplied, nor the name of the person who supplied the information to them. The Experian collection entry only states the CA and the original creditor as PROVIDER and date opened. Is this response as expected and was I right to continue to the next step? Then I sent a DV to the collection agency and I got two letters back from them. The second letter, sent five days after the first states in part: Spelling error is theirs. Below the signature line are listed three accounts with $0 balance, but none of their "Our Acct #" match the collection account number reported to Experian, although the "Client Name" does match what Experian shows. The first letter that I got back first states in part: The first letter also includes a computer printout for the account at CA for PROVIDER, however, no mention of what service was provided, only a total balance, date of service, date of referral, and interest charges at 10% per annum. Now, this is not proper DV as there is no signature provided by me and a computer printout is not DV. Further, they did not comply with my request to provide a copy of their agreement with PROVIDER that grants CA authority to collect on the alleged debt nor did they show my HIPAA authorization. Therefore, I think the next step is to do the following: Send HIPAA letter to Health Care Provider. Include the original debt amount (ignoring the interest CA added). Is this correct, do I ignore the interest charges and only pay the principal? Or since I don't have proper DV, should I not pay the principal either? Does the letter confirm a current relationship since they did not provide. Alternatively, perhaps I should keep waiting until CA gets validation from OC and passes on to me? Alternatively, perhaps I should send "FOLLOW UP LETTER TO CRA" via CM (no RR)? My ultimate goal is to get the CA deleted from Experian in the fastest way possible, so paying more than I might if I take longer is worth it.

After quite a few months of research on credit repair I've decided to begin my quest to clean-up/correct my own credit reports. Below is a history of what I've completed, as well as a list of the steps that I have ahead of me. If anyone has any additional information for me along my path I'd certainly appreciate it! Steps Completed: 1) Request copy of my Credit Report directly form the CRA with corresponding report number 2) Opt Out 3) Clean up old/outdated/incorrect address data Next Step: 4) Send Initial Dispute Letter to all 3 CRAs (hand written and addressed, certified mail only) Accounts Being Disputed: Equifax :: 2 accounts (IC Systems - $208, and Collection Srvc of Athens - $245) Experian :: 2 accounts (IC Systems - $208, and Collection Svc of Athens - $245) TransUnion :: 1 account (IC Systems - $208) As a resident of Texas I admit I've been a bit confused as to which methods best apply to me, but even as as a TX resident WhyChats HIPAA process seems to be "the way." I am set to send out my 3 initial dispute letters tomorrow, but I wanted to check in with the group to make sure Im am on the best path for ME. to everyone who reads this, and especially WhyChat. thank you for your help! -aj

Hello, I am new to CreditBoards, but have been pouring over the material and am very excited to begin my credit repair. I have triaged my reports and am looking now to tackle a number of old accounts that went to a collection agency for medical services. All of these accounts went to the same collection agency (for services at two local hospitals) and range between 6 and 2 years old. I paid the CA in full, directly, for all of these accounts. The CA is Skagit Bonded Collections, a local collection agency in northwest Washington State. I have 7 similar accounts on my credit reports from CA Skagit Bonded Collections. I read PsychDoc's very helpful sessions, and have begun reading up on Why Chat’s HIPAA program, but have been unable to locate a clear path for what to do to have these removed from my credit reports, if possible at all. I am sure I can find it in Why Chat’s excellent material, but so far I have been unable to locate information for when the CA was paid instead of the OC. If memory serves, I simply went to the CA and paid out of pocket for all of these services once I knew I owed them. I may have set up a payment play or two. I am not sure if I signed or turned in anything to the hospitals at the time of services, but I doubt it. The pay status on all accounts is, "Account Paid in Full; was a Collection." The responsibility on all accounts is, "Joint Account." I was married at the time I paid all the accounts and incurred services, but I am now divorced. Some of the account remarks state, "ACCT INFO DISPUTED BY CONSUMR; >PAID COLLECTION." While others just say, "PAID COLLECTION." I do not remember disputing any accounts, though I may have said I never received any notice that I was to pay. I moved around quite a bit during this time, so that may be why I did not receive bills. I just moved again, and am awaiting my new driver's license and once I receive that, will begin work on deleting old addresses. But, I wanted to get going on this so I am ready once my old addresses are (hopefully) removed. Do I begin by writing to the hospital directly? Or should I write to the CA, who I paid in full for all services after they went to collections? Does anyone have a sample letter, or can you point me to one, that deals with paid CA accounts (paid to the CA) for medical services? Should I begin with a Goodwill Letter? Or should I jump right to a different kind of letter? And one non-medical related question - Can I get old addresses removed if I do not yet have my new driver's license with my new address? If yes, how so? Or should I wait until my new license arrives? Any and all information is very welcome. Again, I am relatively new, so if I am completely missing something, or there is a post somewhere that answers all this that I have yet to find, please let me know. Essentially, I just need to know where to begin/what to do. Sorry for the long post and let me know if any additional information is needed. Thank you!

Hello, I have been following this forum for a while and decided to try using WhyChat's HIPAA process to try and have some medical collection accounts removed from my Credit Report. I had 7 accounts on my Credit Report - all opened in 2010 - which I disputed with some success. I did the following after reading the HIPAA guide: 1. Opt-out 2. Remove old addresses - EQ/TU obliged while EXP would not agree initially 3. Pull Credit Reports 4. Send initial dispute letter I had pulled my credit report from all 3 bureaus and sent them a letter asking for clarification on all the medical accounts on my report. I had mailed out my letters on the 11/18 but received a letter on 12/2 from Experian stating that the report I had based my dispute on was not eligible and I would need to pull another report. ( I had purchased a single report from their website after speaking to an agent but it turned out they have two services - a Credit Report with Score Watch for $11.xx on their main page and the Credit Report with a report number which can be used for dispute but which is only available through their dispute page.) I then sent in a written request to ask for a credit report on 12/9 which reached them by 12/13. On 12/15 I saw that TU had removed all the accounts disputed from their report while EQ had removed all but 1 (which was about $50). I also saw that EXP had removed all the accounts that EQ had even though I had not sent them the dispute letter with the report as yet. My Questions are. 1. The report which I will receive from EXP will most probably have the accounts removed - is there any way I can get them confirmed as deleted so that I can address them if a reinsertion occurs? 2. One account remains on the EQ and EXP reports. I have not got any confirmation from them about the deletion as yet so should I wait for that before proceeding? If the confirmation doesn't explicitly state that they were deleted should I ask for it to assist with any dispute in the case of reinsertion? 3. I have 2 non-medical collection accounts - can I DV the CAs of those accounts in the meantime now? Thanks!

Good read for those with medical collections. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-spotlights-concerns-with-medical-debt-collection-and-reporting/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/heres-how-medical-debt-hurts-your-credit-report/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/consumer-advisory-7-ways-to-keep-medical-debt-in-check/

Good read for those with medical collections. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-spotlights-concerns-with-medical-debt-collection-and-reporting/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/heres-how-medical-debt-hurts-your-credit-report/ http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/consumer-advisory-7-ways-to-keep-medical-debt-in-check/ Whychat's HIPAA program: http://whychat.5u.com/hipltr.html

My wife has an outstanding account with Emergency Phys that has been turned over to Gold Key credit. The total ballance is $195 in which I am willing to pay. I called Gold Key, they told me that I could pay them and then they would ask a superviser if I could have a PFD. I refused. I then called Emergency Phys and tried to pay them they wont take my payment. According to Whychat you have to pay the OC if the OC will not accept the money how do you make this work?

Hello - I would really appreciate some guidance with this. I have looked at all of Whychat's guides and prepared DV letters for the CA's, however looking closer, I read if DV's are sent within the SOL, then I could be sued. How do I go about getting this taken care of while within SOL? Does SOL start with the date of delinquency or with date of when it went into collections? We are in Florida, so I think SOL is 5 years for written contracts. I have one medical bill for $260, I honestly don't know what it was for exactly. I never got bills for it that I know of, though I did move around a bit in the past few years from getting married, moving to a different state and back, etc. so they may have gotten lost in the shuffle. I had the same health insurance for about 8 years, but I no longer have it with the same company and am not able to retrieve information from previous claims or denials of claims. I have contacted my previous insurance company to see what I can do to get this information, but have not heard back. It is reported with all three agencies - with Transunion it was placed for collection in August of 2010, but updated July 2014, with estimated month and year that this item will be removed as 2015. With Experian it has date opened Aug 2010, last reported July 2014 and it says the account is scheduled to continue on record until 2015. With Equifax it has the date of first delinquency as 2008, date reported 07/2014 and date assigned as 08/2010, with no mention of when it should be deleted. Should I just wait out the year until it is removed from the reports or should I do something about it now? My husband and I are trying to get a loan and I would like to fix this dirty spot on my credit report so we can first of all get the loan at all and if we do so we can get a better interest rate. I'm afraid if I stir up "trouble" that it will come back and bite me somehow. Any advice?

I am looking to purchase a 2nd home soon and i realized i need to cleanup my credit report. Amongst all other things I have one medical collection that just reported a couple of months ago. This obviously has the biggest impact on my scores and has become #1 priority. Details below NCO FINANCIAL SYSTEMS PO Box 15273 Wilmington, DE 198505273 06/2014 04/2014 Medical/Health Care MEDEXPRESS URGENT CARE NJ XXXXXXXX Individual Account. $60 12/2013 06/2014 $60 N/A 06/2014 D - Unpaid Medical Unfortunately, Ive just paid this with the Original Creditor (Medexpress) and realize I should have waited to go through the process per Whychats HIPAA Letter program.. Anyways Steps Ive taken so far: 1. Opted out 2. Pulled all three reports 3. Spoke to billing at Medexpress (OC) and they are going to put in a request to remove from reports but said they cannot "guarantee" anything. Did I make a big mistake speaking to Medexpress rather than sending a GW letter? The first person i spoke to refused, then i requested to speak to the supervisor who heard me out and agreed to put in a request. even said she would call me when she had resolution. 4. Drafted out Pre HIPPA Dispute letters to be sent to CRA's on 09/11/2014 using Whychats format I will post my updates as they become available and i am hoping the experts on this forum can hold my hand through this process.. Thanks in advance.

Hi WhyChat – I’m still “on break” with my own TLs, as you suggested. But I am working on my Significant Other’s medicals while I wait. And I’m at a sticky point and need guidance. I’ll try to make this as clear as possible. He had NO INSURANCE at the time of care for any of them. (He has been covered for a year now, though.) We’ve done all the initial steps: · opted out · obtained hardcopy reports directly from the CRAs · deleted all old addresses and incorrect name spellings and one SSN variation · sent the Pre-HIPAA Dispute (handwritten, using your form) to all 3 CRAs · waited for and received responses back from all three CRAs My challenge stems from having disputed online and then sending “standard” DVs to all but two of the CAs on his reports last June (2013) – before I found you – so please keep that in mind as I describe the specific TLs and their current status. The two I didn't DV last year were fresh collections from late 2012, so they haven’t been mucked-up by my aimless Pre-WhyChat efforts. I started with a total of 12 accounts from 6 CAs, spread across the 3 CRAs: EX – 9 total TLs from 5 total CAs (one CA holds 5 accounts totaling $1,920) EQ – 9 TLs from a total of 3 CAs (same CA as above reporting 5 TLs; another one reporting 3 TLs) TU – 6 TLs from a total of 3 CAs (same CA as above but reporting only 4/5 TLs they own) NONE are paid; all but one are within SOL, but half of those will be out of SOL (4 yrs.) in October. EX refused to reinvestigate 7 of 9 on that report, because of my prior disputes. Of the 7 TLs EX refused to investigate, 2 of them are ONLY on EX, as one was never on the other 2 CRAs, and one was deleted by EQ using your Pre-HIPAA dispute this time. There are 11 remaining TLs from 5 CAs, spread across all CRAs after the Pre-HIPAA disputes. EX – 8 total TLs from 4 total CAs (one CA holds 5 accounts totaling $1,920) EQ – 8 TLs from a total of 2 CAs (same CA as above reporting 5 TLs; another one reporting 3 TLs) TU – 2 TLs; 2 separate CAs To make matters worse, the CA who holds 5 accounts (all from the same OC) sent what would have been proper validation last year in July – billing info printed from the OC’s accounting system dated the week they sent it to me, HIPAA release forms signed by the patient, etc. But that was almost a year ago, so I’m not sure how to handle that now. The CA actually sent it to us via CMRR, so they were legit at that time. They've also continued to update their reporting almost monthly in the past year. The OC is a partnership of physician-owned, emergency/urgent-care facilities in TX. Obviously this CA is my sticking point – here are the dates of service and amounts on those TLs: 1. 10/10/2010…….$360 2. 10/24/2010…….$600 3. 10/29/2010…….$360 4. 11/6/2010……...$360 5. 4/10/2011……...$240 All 5 are on EX & EQ – EX refused to investigate again; the CA verified them all to EQ. TU only had 4 out of the 5 on it, and 3 were deleted in this Pre-HIPAA dispute. (Yaaay!) The only one remaining on TU is the one for $600. (Go figure.) I’ve sent the HIPAA DVs to 4 out of 5 CAs, but I don’t know what to do with this CA and their 5 accounts. Again, they sent confirmation of a then-current business relationship with the OC last summer. And they are updating their reporting most months. I’m grateful TU deleted all but one TL, but they're killing us on EX & EQ, and we don’t have the money to pay these in full at this time. The total is $1,920. Should I send them the HIPAA DV…? Should I leave them alone until they’re out of SOL…? Should I press EX to investigate them again, since TU deleted 3/4 of them on this round…? As always, thanks for your tireless help -- to us and others (like the kitties!)

Hello and first of all thanks to everyone especially why chat for the valuable information on this forum. I am about to start the process of trying to get a single medical collection off my wife's reports. The collection is from 6 years ago so has just a year left, but it will hurt our attempts at a mortgage this year, so that's why I'm going to go through this. Mostly I am starting this thread to document our progress. Hopefully this will be valuable to others as well. At this point I have done the quick opt-out per Why Chat's instructions. We have moved a couple times since the medical bill in question from 2008. So I will be sending the letter to delete the old address from my wife's reports that matches the medical collection. However, my wife also had a different married name (from a previous marriage) at the time. Should I also try and get that name deleted?

Hello all, haven't posted here in a good, long while. I'm back to seek some advice. I'm helping my wife repair her credit. There's an account on her Exp report that she needs to deal with - a small medical bill of $298 from 2009 that went into collection in 2010. We were going to use Why Chat's HIPAA letter program to try to deal with this, but there's a notation on her report that the account is in dispute. Just wondering if this "Acct in dispute" notation should be dealt with first (try to get it removed), or does she just proceed with the HIPAA letter process? Thanks!

Have been following the WhyChat hipaa process for a couple of medical collections which showed up on my reports. #1 - $216 which showed on Experian only #2 - $40 which showed on Experian and Equifax These are my ONLY medical collections. In December, I opted out, deleted old addresses (Successfully) and drafted the initial letter to the CRA's regarding these 2 account. I copied the sample letter (verbatim, changing only my specifics) in handwritten cursive and sent them certified, no return receipt. They were received on Jan 3, with near immediate deletion of the $216 collection from Experian, as well as the $40 deletion from Equifax. This leaves only one account visible on one CRA (Only the $40 collection on Experian, which shows "Pending") I'm obviously hoping that the $40 account deletes as well before the 30 days has expired... Here's my question, I received the following response from experian the other day, not really sure what to make of it. (See below, I've redacted the personal info). http://i1317.photobucket.com/albums/t632/bmh75/ExperianResponsetoWhyChatletter1_Redacted_zpsae384173.jpg~original On one hand, it states neither intent nor refusal to delete - and as of this morning the sole remaining $40 account still displays as pending. I'm taking it as "you asked for too much and this is us saying we aren't interested in supplying the info you requested". That being said, both the remaining account and the one experian deleted were included on the same initial letter. Anything to be concerned about or address in any way before the initial 30 day period has elapsed? If not, I'm going to wait it out and proceed with step 2 of the WhyChat method. Thanks for the input! (and thanks for the help, WhyChat the single deletion which has already occurred has had a major impact on my credit score!!! )

Hi, I'm reviewing WhyChat's HIPAA process and didn't see anything about this. If I've missed it, please just direct me to the right info. (wouldn't be surprised if I had) What I'm wondering about is what if you confirm a current relationship between CA & OC, then follow up with the payment made to OC, but OC refuses to accept it? If it helps, a little background on why I'm asking: I'm currently dealing with a debt on my CR that might be (I'm not 100% sure yet - just getting started so no verification) one that I have previously tried to pay. The OC got the payment, but returned the check, telling me that it was already sent to a CA and that they couldn't accept it anymore. I never heard from the CA. This was 5-ish years ago. If it's the same debt, I anticipate a similar situation. But even if it's not - I'd still be interested in knowing what the options are in such a case. What are the next steps once payment is refused?

I've been hanging around CB for a few months and have made significant progress, but I admit that I didn't follow a very organized Game Plan. I've learned SO much, but I also made the mistake of following only bits-n-pieces of the advice I've seen on here along the way. Now I find myself somewhere in the middle of dealing with several medical collections, and I'm hoping that WhyChat The Wise & Wonderful can help me salvage something from the (albeit haphazard) work I've already invested. Go easy on me, WC...I'm a noob! Please keep in mind that I started the DV process on all collections before I found WhyChat's Method, and I was having success with the low-hanging fruit. But now I'm stuck on a few pesky ones from a total of 3 CAs. This post will focus on only ONE of those CAs, who lists 3 TLs showing in varying combinations on all 3 CRAs. It's also the only one that... 1. I KNOW is mine (actually, there are 3 small accounts listed by one CA, all from same OC) 2. I can pay in full immediately (under $200 combined total) 3. I have confirmed the CA is in a current relationship with the OC (I spoke to the billing dept of OC today. I KNOW...BAD idea, but it turned out to be a GOOD thing in this case. I'll explain in a moment.) Here are a few facts: A. The TLs are for an urgent care clinic (2 separate locations in a national chain) B. The dates of service are 8/2009 & 9/2009 C. I'm in Texas -- SOL is 4 years, so I'm up now & the end of next month D. I had some really crappy insurance at the time that denied more than 50% of all claims for a full year b/c they hadn't received an affidavit I sent regarding pre-existing conditions. After a year of this, I finally got to the bottom of it and they went back and re-processed about 2 dozen claims (labwork, imaging, specialists, etc.) that they previously denied. (This is important to the story!) Here's the scoop: I spoke to the OC today, because the CA validated when I disputed a couple of months ago. Actually, they sent several screen shots from the patient invoicing system of the OC, which listed my insurance info and itemized my diagnosis and all billing activity. BUT since there's no date on the documentation that indicates they obtained it from the OC RECENTLY, I wanted to be sure, as the debts are 4 years old. So I called the corporate office of the OC and spoke to the billing department. The guy was super nice and gave me his direct number to call back if I need to. Here's what I learned from Jim in Patient Accounting: 1. The largest of the 3 "outstanding invoices" listed by the CA ($110) was PAID by my insurance carrier at a later date, with the exception of $20 of it that was applied to my deductible. And they wrote off the $20 b/c it was too minimal to assign to collections. So that one is null, unless I want to pay that $20 on principle (which I'm seriously considering doing, and that's part of my upcoming question.) 2. I DID ask him if he can send me anything in writing that shows that invoice for $110 as being "paid" (bearing in mind that the $20 was written off,) but I really don't think he was listening because he was busy keying around to confirm the info he had just given me. He was clearly "thinking out loud" of how he could best help me. (see #4 below) 3. The remaining 2 invoices are for $87 each, and they were for something that I am certain was NOT covered by my crappy insurance. 4. He said I can pay them (OC) directly if I want to, but he cautioned me that he has no way to remove the reporting from my CRA reports. He said the only thing he, personally, can do is take a payment if I choose to do that, and then he will "email the lady who handles Texas" (whatever that means) and let her know I've paid the 2 delinquent accounts and that the other one is reported in error. But he never claimed that his email would result in any specific CRA action. Of course, I graciously declined his offer and told him I'll call back if I have any other questions. So now for the question: Should I pay the OC (with bank-issued cashier's check) and use insert A for ONLY the two invoices THEY show as still due, and also insert B for billing error on the $110 invoice (except that I don't HAVE proof of payment, since he only told me via phone today that it was paid)...? Keep in mind that when I gave that invoice number to Jim today, he was really confused because he saw immediately that it had a $0 balance on his end. So the OC had no idea that the CA was reporting that one in error. Or would it be okay for me to use only insert A and INCLUDE (b/c technically I owed it to them before they washed it off their hands) the $20 that they wrote off (ins. applied to my deductible) and make a note of that in the itemization of what the payment includes? Would doing this be a bad move for some unknown (to me) reason, with respect to having these totally deleted after they're paid in full? Of course, I would send the CRA follow-up letters, as well...and follow the rest of your instructions. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me!

Hi All First time poster, long time lurker. I sent pre hipaa letters to Transunion and Equifax (the accounts aren't on EX) for 5 of my 12 medical collections. I received a letter from TU THE NEXT WEEK saying that they are all removed. Still waiting on EQ. I didn't want to send too many at once, so I'm going to wait 60 days and send TU another pre hipaa for the rest. Anyone see potential issues with that? I've read a lot, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything. I also have some paid charge offs that I sent goodwill emails for yesterday: Chase, Credit One, and Capital One. I've seen success stories on these, but not any in the past few months. Has this worked for anyone recently? I'll update if I hear anything from them...crickets so far, but I forgot to include my # (good job, dork) in the email. Hopefully they'll email me or look at my account because I know they have it. Other than that, I have a paid Verizon charge off that I've disputed twice to no avail and an unpaid utility that's only on Experian. I'm going to try to goodwill Verizon and dispute the utility. Side note: I've had pretty good success having new collection accounts that pop on removed if I dispute them right away (I have credit monitoring).

Just making sure I'm on the right path with this one (following Whychat's method and don't want to get any steps wrong). The collection below is reporting on all 3 CRAs. This is from a date of service of January 2012. Collection on debt to: Highlands Medical CenterThe collection agency "Medical Data Systems I" was hired to collect a debt of $582 originally owed to"Highlands Medical Center" on account number "XXXXXXX". Collection agency [?] Medical Data Systems I Original balance [?] $582 Current balance [?] $582 Date assigned [?] Mar 22, 2013 Original lender [?] Highlands Medical Center Account number [?] XXXXXXX Account holder [?] Individual I sent the first dispute letter to the 3 CRAs, and am awaiting EX's response before moving forward, but TU and EQ have responded with 'verified that this item belongs to you' and the following info: Medical Data Systems; Collection Reported 08/2013; Assigned 03/2013; Creditor Class - Medical/Health Care; Client - Highlands Medical Center; Amount - $582 ; Status as of 08/2013 - Unpaid; Date of 1st Delinquency 01/2012; Balance as of 08/2013 - $582 ; Individual Account; Account # - LTFxxxx As soon as I receive the same type of correlating response from EX, I plan to send payment in full to the OC along with the Letter to Health Care Provider (insert a) from Whychat. After that certified check is deposited, I will then send the follow-up letter to the HIPAA compliance dept. of the OC, EX, EQ & TU. Is this correct and is there anything I'm missing? Thanks in advance.

Why Chat, When going through the HIPAA process and looking at credit reports, I remember where I had paid a collection directly to the OC and they accepted the payment. I have since changed accounts (and possibly even banks) and I'm pretty sure I didn't keep a record of paying it off. How would I go about the paid collection dispute with no records to provide as proof? Thanks!

I wanted to check TU backdoor to get an update of my HIPAA process and I get an error message when I try. Is this normal from TU when disputing vial snail mail?

Hi Whychat. Followed all the steps. After receiving verification and matching to my EOMB's I paid the OC with the insert A letter. I hand printed that the bank check was payable only to the OC. Received a letter from the CA stating that they were in receipt of payment and that the CA was payed in full and the CRA's would be notified accordingly. I have not had confirmation yet that the bank check was cashed so have not sent any addl letters to CRA or OC. Funny thing is that the date of the letter from the CA is the same day as the OC received the certified mail with the check.... Does the OC forwarding the $$$ to the CA change my next steps? Thank you for all of this knowledge and assistance. It is appreciated greatly.

I was sick and unemployed and eventually homeless a few years back and racked up quite a bit of medical debt. I started paying them off, now that I have a job, and found out that the reporting was a violation of HIPAA. I read a lot online, but I'm still not understanding what I need to do. I want to pay the hospitals directly, but I don't know if I can. I saved up enough money to just pay the debt I have off. I've gotten engaged and we want to buy a house. However I know with my credit report I will NEVER qualify for a decent mortgage till 2018 (when those collection accounts are deleted). The rest of my credit report is great. All my car payments have been on time (I borrowed money from friends to pay while I was unemployed and homeless and living on my friend's couch) and my one credit card is excellent. I have good income and everything. I just have about oh....EIGHT MEDICAL COLLECTION ACCOUNTS. Some are paid in full and 3 aren't yet. I want to pay them off before September. Is there anything I can do? Or am I stuck renting till 2018.

I have recently begun once again trying to fix some things on my credit report so that I can buy a house within the next 6 months. Unfortunately, last year when I began disputing things, I wasn't wise enough to the processes not to pay some things. So, I now have three paid medical collections all reporting that are my only negative items on my CR. Since they are paid, will the HIPAA process still work? Also, it is not the OC that is reporting, it's a CA. One CA (Professional Credit Management) had two accounts, both which I paid in full. The other (Syndicated Office Systems) had an account which I settled, much to my disapproval considering it was for a doctor who was assigned to me while I was unconscious and wasn't covered by my insurance at the time. Here is how they are showing on my EQ report pulled last week: SYNDICATED OFFICE SYSTEMS Agency Address: XXXXXXXXXXXX (800) 345-4261 Date Reported: 10/2012 Date Assigned: 10/2009 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL Accounts Number: 95494XXXX Account Owner: Individual Account. Original Amount Owned: $280 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 04/2009 Balance Date: 10/2012 Balance Owned: $0 Last Payment Date : 27/04/2012 Status Date: 10/2012 Status: P - Paid Comments: Collection account, Account paid for less than full balance PROFESSIONAL CREDIT MANAGE Agency Address: XXXXXXXXXXXXX (870) 932-7030 Date Reported: 06/2012 Date Assigned: 02/2012 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MID SOUTH IMAGING THERAPEUTI Accounts Number: 329XXXX Account Owner: Individual Account. Original Amount Owned: $265 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 11/2010 Balance Date: 06/2012 Balance Owned: $0 Last Payment Date : 30/04/2012 Status Date: 06/2012 Status: P - Paid Comments: Medical PROFESSIONAL CREDIT MANAGE Agency Address: XXXXXXXXXXXXX Date Reported: 06/2012 Date Assigned: 06/2011 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MID SOUTH IMAGING THERAPEUTI Accounts Number: 303XXXX Account Owner: Individual Account. Original Amount Owned: $194 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 12/2010 Balance Date: 06/2012 Balance Owned: $0 Last Payment Date : 23/08/2011 Status Date: 06/2012 Status: P - Paid Comments: Medical If HIPAA will work to remove these, would I start with the OC or the CA's? They are all showing the Medical Classification, which makes me think that I SHOULD be able to use HIPAA on them. Just not sure how to go about it.

Hi, I have been on the boards for the last couple of months working through the Hipaa process under a different thread (see below). http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=511282&hl=%2Bcfc+%2Btexas_boy&do=findComment&comment=4856962 I'm looking at this from all angles while waiting for the initial dispute process to unfold. Question.... does the 7 year clock start at the time of service for medical? When you pay and old medical bill does it renew the 7 year clock or does the clock still remain at the start point of the "time of service"? Does anyone have a link to the FTC explaining this? I Tell ya.... I have been able to clean up both EQ and TU with the big help of this forum yet EX is a stubborn old goat that I intend to log complaints on and take legal action as they don't play by the FCTRA and FTC rules. They appear to march to their own drum.... Texan

Hi, I am new to this site and have been researching for weeks. I have written my hipaa letters, but recently found on your forum the opt out and address deletion information. I believe I opted out from a link given on this site, but saw another post where someone had to opt out to all 3 bureaus. My main question is in regards to deleting my old addresses. Most all of my medical bills are from the address I am currently at (my parents). Should I try to get a new address or P.O. box before I send out my letter of dispute? I also have tons of addresses on experian as I have moved around a lot should i put an old address from a different state and just have my mail forwarded? Also, a lot of my good standing loans are from same address as medical bills so I am wondering if I delete if this will effect my good standing accounts? I am not sure what to do next? Is the address part of the dispute greatly affected by this whole process? Thx so much for your time and help!

I have a medical collection that was paid to the original creditor. I have been using Lexington law to remove paid collection they have been unable to do so. Previous to Lexington law, I hired an attorney to remove this collection and another medical collection. The attorney removed the other collection and removed the current collection from one of the three bureaus. One bureau never reported the collection so the paid collection is only being reported by Experian showing a zero balance. I have a paid receipt with a zero balance from the OC original creditor. How do I remove the collection with the HIPAA rules? I have been looking at the letters on why chat and I am confused on what to do. Do I send a letter to the collection agency using the validation/ dispute letter? Do I send the HIPAA letter to the original health care provider? Could some please help and tell me what to do? once that is done do I then send a letter the credit? What Letter? Thanks