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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.

I have a bill from an ambulance service that I need to take care of. I have a letter from the collection department of the OC. My husband was insured at the time but the ambulance company has never filed a claim for this with our insurance company, and to be honest, I'm not sure if they take care of that or if we were supposed to do that ourselves. Do I respond to this letter and ask for verification of this debt first, and does that include a cease and desist so they don't report this to the CRAs before I can get it resolved? How do I ask them to file this against our insurance for payment without jeopardizing any future position I may need to take if this should hit the CRA before then? I am not trying to get out of paying the bill, but I would like to prevent it from reporting on his credit before we can get our insurance to pay it. Should I call them to resolve, since this is the OC and not a CA? Thanks!

Hi there. I plan on buying a car within the next 6-9 months and need to get my credit cleaned up. I have plans to send a few goodwill letters, as well as 1-2 pay for delete letters. I'm having trouble debating on how to handle the 3 medical bills I have on my report (from one ER visit). They aren't due to fall off until 2016 & 2017. The amounts owed are $133, $233, and $489. I was applying for their uninsured discount plans (or covered 100% due to being unemployed) and trying to get the visit covered. I faxed all of my tax info, etc, didn't hear any "denial" back & figured it was okay. Then I had like a 20 point drop in my credit report several months later. GREAT. The CA is "ARS". I have heard people getting them to agree with the PFD method. However, I wonder if I should try the HIPAA method first? I *kind of* understand the process, but it's a little difficult for me to follow (I've been reading about credit all day, my brain is fried lol) The hospital where I had the treatment done is the "sister" hospital of the hospital I currently work at. Would it be worth trying to go over there and talk to them? Should I ask for a verification with the CA first? Also, has anyone had success with PFD and having a settlement amount? I would be able to pay the $133 and $233 in full...but I'd try to offer 50% of the $489. I'm pretty certain for the HIPAA I'd have to pay the full amounts, so I'm not sure if I'd be able to follow through with that ;\. Thank you for any help! EDIT: Whoa. Now I am SUPER confused. I was skimming over my Transunion report and noticed some wrong info regarding these accounts. Well, the 3 medical bills (from same ER visit) say: $133 Placed for collection 2/04/2010 - item will be removed 04/16 $213 Placed for collection 02/03/2010 - item will be removed 04/16 $489 Placed for collection 02/23/2011 - item will be removed 05/17 That's more than the 4-5 years... Any idea what's going on? Also...to make this even worse..... how on earth would those dates be the reported dates when I went to the ER in Feb 2011? Actually, part of me thinks I didn't go to March 2011. I had no medical bills prior to that. So saying it went INTO COLLECTIONS in 2010 makes no sense to me... What do I do now? I don't want to try PFD when nothing makes sense anymore!

Hi, I am new to this group and trying to rebuild my credit. Most of my baddies are medical collections. I received a letter from Medical Revenue Services dated 11/4/14 with 4 medical charges. The letter stated I had 30 days from the date of the letter to dispute the charges. I sent Medical Revenue Service a DV letter certified and it was delivered 12/1/14 (within the 30 days). Medical revenue services did not respond to the DV letter but I received a alert from my credit monitoring services all 4 bills were added to my credit report and it made my score drop 11 points on 12/24/14!!! The CA listed on my credit report is Medical Data Services, Not Medical Revenue Services! Isn't that illegal? What can I do, what should I do? So frustrated.

Hi All! Got a few questions: I started WhyChat's method for HIPPA dispute for 3 medical collection my DH has. He has disputed the old addresses, and opted out. One of the three was removed on the first go around. The other two came back verified. We received nothing from the collection companies after the initial disputes. We sent the medical DV to the two remaining collection companies that verified. And Sent the follow up dispute to the CRAs (once we confirmed the DVs were delivered) with the copies of the following: delivery confirmation, green cards, and letters sent to the CA. Here is the responses: Experian - Responded stating one of the records is no longer in the file and they would not investigate the other - reason being they have previously investigated already. How should we proceed? We have received NOTHING from the CA - Account Relosution Service (ARS). We have not gotten a response from Transuion yet Equifax - Delete one and ARS remains as verified on the report as well. How should we proceed with this???

Hi Everyone, Thanks to everyone's help here at CB, I'm down to the last few neg items on my CR. I have the following medical collections on my EQ report, and would love the get them taken care of. They are only on EQ, not TU or EFX. I'd love to hear some advice from Whychat on getting these removed. MERCHANTS CREDIT Agency Address: 2245 152nd Ave NE Redmond, WA 980525519 (425) 643-2613 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 11/2008 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE MEDICAL GROUP Account Number: 167XXXX Account Owner: Individual Account. Original Amount Owned: $86 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 04/2008 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $143 Last Payment Date: N/A Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Medical PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN Agency Address: 1019 Regents Blvd Fircrest, WA 984666037 (253) 566-1800 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 05/2009 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM Account Number: 257XXXX Account Owner: Joint Account Original Amount Owned: $1,731 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 04/2008 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $390 Last Payment Date: 08/04/2010 Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Collection account PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN Agency Address: 1019 Regents Blvd Fircrest, WA 984666037 (253) 566-1800 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 11/2008 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM Account Number: 247XXXX Account Owner: Joint Account Original Amount Owned: $140 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 06/2008 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $233 Last Payment Date: N/A Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Collection account PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN Agency Address: 1019 Regents Blvd Fircrest, WA 984666037 (253) 566-1800 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 09/2008 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM Account Number: 245XXXX Account Owner: Joint Account Original Amount Owned: $196 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 07/2007 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $349 Last Payment Date: N/A Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Collection account I think the balances are from when I tore my ACL in 2007, & went to the ER, MRI, & Orthopedic consult. My insurance never paid the bills because they assumed it was part of an auto accident (which it wasn't). I'm pretty sure the dates of delinquency are wrong, since the injury didn't happen over a year's span (not sure if that's a sticking point, or not). I moved out of state a few months after the injury, and didn't know these weren't paid until months later. When I found out, my wife called the insurance company and hospital & went through the process of getting the bills paid. I'm pretty sure the reporting balances are fees & interest charged by the CAs. As a kicker, as soon as my wife helped the hospitals get paid, they gave the CAs her info and reported the collections to her credit report, as well (stinkers). I have started Whychat's Hippa Process, (opted out, deleted old addresses, & sent initial dispute letters to CRA). EQ verified the accounts, but I received no response from the CAs. So, I sent the Medical Dispute Validation Letters to each of the CAs via certified mail. The CAs received the DV letters on 3/18/14. Now my questions: -Do I go ahead and send the follow up dispute letter to the CRAs now, or wait for a response from the CAs? -How long should I wait? -What if I don't receive a response from the CAs? -Does my wife follow the same dispute process to have them deleted from her file, as well? Thanks in advance for all your advice.

Hi Everyone first post please help... I need clarification. I'm a lurker usually but I cant figure this one out. I have a medical CA on TU and Equifax but not Experian reports for $72. First- I sent out CRA letters following whychat's hippa program.I have moved from address service is tied but less than 2yrs ago. I've opted out and asked for old addresses to be deleted via mail. I then sent out dv letters to two CA for two separate bills. One of the two CA, is local and responded via cm within a week -but my daughter signed for the letter, I was at work. Back story: I'm a 41 yo female had a baseline screening radiological test done at 38 which my insurance paid -but you're only allowed one, if all is well, until 40 before insurance covers another screening but I told the provider I had high risk situation. Then at 39 he sent me again but, he didn't code this for my family risk so insurance didn't pay. I called my doctor to ask him to change the code after I spoke to insurance co and they said all he needed to do is retro change the code for the screening but he would not change it. Back to now...I had local area ca amount listed for $72 that differed from eomb amount of $408 for non covered exam which was strange because I went to local hospital for this service but bill is coming from a local radiology service company. It differs from my ins co eomb amount for dos 11/3/11 where bcbs refused pmt . Also, since dv another $26 was tacked on by the CA for another code possibly charge for computer read of test. I see nothing via my ins co site that clarifies the $72 and $26 charge amounts the CA has on their own invoice sent to me for charges they supposedly verified through my insurance co.- I only see amount $408 denied because the code didn't support my need to have that test done. It's $98 now vs original $72 reported to CRA's. The CA has verified relationship with Rad Co but for different amount I'm seeing on eomb. I can pay it using hippa "a" to OC but is this Radiology Co the true OC? I'm not happy having to pay something that's a simple fix via the MD and I have since changed providers. I'm unsure of true amount. I just recently this week also got a bill for $408 from CA lawyer in TX this same bill. I understand I don't owe the CA period. What do I really owe? to who? why? I have a DV prepared already to send to this TX CA lawyer for $408 amount. Sorry it's so long. Please help

Hello Everyone, I was recently approved for Disability after a 7 year wait, and my MediCare benefits are retroactive about 5 years. I have several medical collections accounts. Thankfully some had fallen off, and others I was able to dispute, but there are still some left. I was thinking if I call them up and have them bill MediCare, it would remove them from my credit report, but have been unsure, so I came on here to do some research. I'm not sure, but from what I can gather, if I do this I could end up with paid collections on my Credit Report? So instead I should do the HIPAA Letter Program? I took a look, but my head is about ready to explode from information overload! But...okay it seems to be sputtering along again, there's the question I wanted to ask... I got tripped up because it says to send a CASH payment. Do I really need to do that? Am I looking at the wrong section? If I did that for them all, that would amount to a lot of money. Most are over two years old, so they even have interest added, not to mention that seems a little nutty since MediCare should cover most of it... Can someone please let me know if I'm on the right path? I already opted out, and requested my Lexis Nexis reports and MIB reports, and will double check/delete my old address from my CRs (I had done this before but have moved recently.) Thanks!

Hi Whychat: I live in Washington, have resided at the same location for 10 years, and have the following paid and unpaid medical collection issues: REPORTED (December 2013): 1) $300 for lab fee in 2011 that the insurance company requested additional information. Received a letter in May 2011, with EOB processed date day after letter, with message required further information, which I still have, that I believed to be a copy of the request for the physician, as the request was wanting verification of a medical code 628.1 or something like that, and I would have no way of knowing what that was, seemed to be aimed for a medical professional and not a patient. I received the EOB for the physician completely processed, with the same service date as the lab work with excessive charge adjustments, and patient balance due $323, which has not been paid, and is on EQ as unpaid collections to a CA. I did not respond to the request for additional information, as I did not believe it was mine to answer, and left it and forgot about it. Did not hear anything or receive anything regarding it in the past 2+ years. December 2013 after running free annual reports and setting up Experian monitoring last year, I received an alert that this was a collection reported to my account. I waited for the “dunning” notice or any written communication from the CA for the $300, which I believed was required within 5 days of their reporting. (I do have a notice from the CA for the $323 physicians portion, same date of service, and have not contacted the CA or OC yet.) I called the insurance company LifeWise and after 3 weeks of phone calls, waiting for return calls after a review process that never happened, I finally spoke with someone there, Lifewise, and was told that it had never been brought up and processed as a claim, left behind in some “portal” and was never added to my archives. She said she added it to my archives as I was on the phone with her, but as this was over 365 days they would not process it. She said I could file an appeal, but the back of the EOB also has a time limit that expired. I than called the OC and asked if I could pay for a delete, and after explaining everything, the person I spoke with said she could not authorize that and would talk to her credit manager, she came back and said he was not going to do anything for me and that they had done their part, I should have contacted them earlier, and I should contact the CA. I have not contacted the CA, I have never contacted the CRA or disputed this either. I do owe the bill, at least what would have been the patient's adjusted portion, as it was “covered by insurance”. I never received the adjustment for excessive charges or a final due by patient EOB. I am willing to pay this in full, understand it is within SOL, but would really like it to be deleted from CRA if possible. REPORTED December 2013: 2) $801 Reported by Commonwealth Financial Dec 2013, states placed 9/6/2013, for a Cowiche Emergency Medical bill, never received. Contacted Experian (credit monitoring service) early January 2014 and requested more information, they stated that it was for services Jan 2009. My son had emergency surgery at a hospital in January 2009, I have kept all the medical records/bills together and put them on a spreadsheet, over $12,000. There are 2 remaining, unpaid and in collections, hospital $6654 has had 3 different CA reporting, currently CB Accts, and a $748 for anesthesiologist, with the same CA as the $323 physician bill in item 1. Experian filed a dispute, it was back in 24 hours as “remains”. I called Experian and they stated that it was done electronically and only required a few items of information on me verified, what that was they could/would not tell me. I still have never received a bill or “dunning” notice from this CA. I am not sure if they are actually licensed as a collection business in Washington, could not find through DOR Bus Lic Search. I Googled Cowiche, it shows a Yakima, WA location and phone number. When I called the number in Yakima, the phone was answered by the hospital. I asked if I could speak to Cowiche and she stated that they are no longer associated with that group and there is another group now contracted with them and would I like to speak to them. Cowiche is no longer in Yakima (or Washington) since sometime in 2009/2010, she wasn‘t specific. Have no way of knowing if Commonwealth could provide any proof if DV’d. 3) $748 - Found in my files 2 collection notices, received at our address in 2010, with my son’s name on the mailings. Now shows up on my credit report, the CA has other collections in my name sent to me, but none on this. I am not sure how it ended up on my CR if it was in my son‘s name, which is a different last name than mine, We have not received a bill for these services. I am wondering if there wasn’t a mix up by the provider originally, which could be identified with a DV and requesting original documents for services. Summary: EQ pulled from annual reports end of January 2014: Paid: 6 Paid from 2010/2011 medical collections reporting with 0.00 balance and closed 1 Paid from 2011 that CA did not include with others shown as paid, have called CA rep that I dealt with and she has not returned my calls from early last week. Still shows $39 as unpaid Unpaid: $801 (Placed 09/06/13 - last updated 01/18/2014 - from Experian dispute on 01/17/2014), $6656, $748 (Jan 2009); $323, $300 (Mar 2011 - last updated 12/11/2013) TU Pulled CR last week directly from CRA: Paid: None Unpaid: $801 (Placed 09/06/13, first reported 12/13/2013- last updated 01/18/2014 - from Experian dispute on 01/17/2014), $6656 (Jan 2009 - Placed 9/30/2013 (3rd CA that I found notices in file for - Could not find CB Accts as licensed in WA through DOR search) - no further activity - shows Open), $300 (Mar 2011 - last updated 12/11/2013) (68 point score decrease when $801 and $300 reported in December 2013) EX: Paid: None Unpaid: $801 (Placed 09/06/13, first reported 12/13/2013- last updated 01/18/2014 - from Experian dispute on 01/17/2014) I am hoping you can tell me if I should send the first notice to the CRAs for the medical paid and unpaid as your process outlines, after sending address removal requests first. Do I need to have the old addresses removed first though if I have lived in the same location for 10 years and that would/should have been the address for any items on the CRAs? Thank you...does not seem like enough...but TRULY Thank you!

I received a letter dated 1/28/14 from CMRE Financial stating confirmation that the request for deletion has been submitted to the credit bureaus. I checked Experian online and it is still there. I'm planning on sending out a letter tomorrow with a copy of the CMRE letter via certified mail to see if I can speed up the deletion. This was my only collection account, so I am pretty excited! I followed WhyChat's HIPAA Letter Program and it took just under 60 days to get this deleted. The trade line was from 2009, with an open date of 2008. It was opened in California while i was in NY. I also filed a complaint with the NY Dept of Consumer Affairs and the California Better Business Bureau. SOL for both states had tolled so I felt pretty comfortable making a nuisance of myself. I had contacted an attorney to help me resolve this and she wanted to charge me $2,000. The collection amount was less than that, so I figured a PFD would be better. But luckily it didn't come to that. Thanks, WhyChat!

Hello guys, great site you have going on here. Brief intro - I'm turning 20 in 3 weeks, I have one $700 credit card which is maxed because I've had two consecutive injuries that kept me from work, and I have some other things I'm paying. My credit score is in the high 600s and I've been learning a bit about improving it but haven't made much progress. All was well until a couple days ago when I got a call from a CA saying I owe 1100 dollars for a visit I made back in September of 2013. I never got a bill, notice, or anything for those 1100 as I thought the hospital had cleared my charges through some sort of charity discount due to my income and I also had no insurance at the time. Basically I never got the bill, I thought it was taken care of, and now I got a call from the CA saying I owe them 1100. I asked them to send me a paper bill and I just got it today. I have read the newbie posts and all that but it is honestly a crap ton of info, and although I'm sure I can know what to do once I read it, I don't want to waste precious time because I do know that CA have 30 days to act after first contact. My SOL are here removed outbound link. I am located in NV and have talked once to a CA, I told them I don't remember seeing that bill since I never got it and I got the paper form. I hope that's enough info to allow you guys to help me and thanks in advance.

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!

I have a judgment for the amount of $2037. This was for 17 different account numbers and dates of service. I was being seen twice a week for prenatal testing and each time I was seen, a new account number was created. The billing dept would not combine the accounts so I could make one monthly pymt for all accounts. After getting the summons in the mail, I did make a few payments to the lawyer but after a shocking heart attack and bypass surgery I was out of work for several months. This created even more bills that are in collections. However, most of the accounts reported as collections are the ones reported in the judgment. Can they be reported as both collections and a judgement? Do I handle the judgment differently than the collections? Can the judgment be removed or should I arrange a settlement with the CA, have the status updated as "Paid" and write the OC asking if they will consider writing a letter to the CRA to have the judgment removed? I have worked for the reporting medical facility for a long time. Although I do not personally know the person who would be responsible for sending the letter but maybe they will be compassionate?? Do I start with the initial dispute letter to the CRA?

I have over $25K in unpaid hospital debt that has gone to collections. I never thought that these bills would have a significantly negative impact on my ability to gain employment, or my ability to earn an income. Back in 2009, I was collecting unemployment, and was involved in an accident during a framing job for some side money. Uninsured, I relied on the services of a county hospital in California. I was shocked to see that the total amount for the surgery I needed totaled over $25K. I applied for the county financial assistance program, but was denied assistance since my unemployment insurance benefits paid a couple hundred dollars more than the maximum amount allowed to qualify. I vowed that one day my income potential would improve and once that happened, I would pay back the debt and move on with my life. Fast forward to the summer of 2013. Degree completed, student loans being paid, fathered a child, moved into a larger place with child and significant other. She stays at home and is finishing her MBA while planning her (...oops, our) fairy tale wedding on a shoestring budget. So while my earning power has improved, new expenses and one income do not provide enough slack in the income to pay off all current liabilities and satisfy all bad debts. Frustrated by the glass ceiling of my current job, I applied to, interviewed and was offered a position with a prestigious financial institution. As part of the employment process, a credit check was conducted, and two days later (a day before I submitted my 2 week notice) I was told that I would need to bring the bad debt down to a balance not to exceed $15K in order to come on board with the firm and the offer was rescinded. This is the 2nd time in three years that this has stagnated financial growth. One credit report (from Credco in 2012) lists the county/ governing agency as the CA and the OC as the hospital where aid was rendered. Reports directly from the CRAs' (as of 7/2013) list the collections department of the governing agency as the CA and "government misc debt" as the OC or account type. Now what? My questions are several, please bear with me: Since this is a county hospital, am I SOL? (not statue of limitations) In this situation, is there any recourse by taking the steps you listed in previous posts? Am I in jeopardy of being sued? Should I file bankruptcy to avoid being sued? Is bankruptcy an option? What are the consequences, short/ long term? How does a bankruptcy affect my ability to obtain a position in the financial industry? How will this decision affect my significant other after the wedding? Does she incur my bad debts as my spouse? Do credit management companies do anything more than what you are advising CB members to do? A company I consulted stated that it would take monthly payments of $383 for three to three and half years to "satisfy" this debt. The first thing that crossed my mind was, "if I can afford that, why do I need the debt mgmt company?" I know I have overwhelmed you with all my questions, but this recent news is overwhelming.

I cannot find out who Med Coll is on my reports there is no addresses or phone listed for them. I searched other places and cannot find who they are. Thanks

Hello there, I have a medical collection only being reported only on equifax as UNPAID. History: 5/27/2007 Pleasure trip to Tennesse, Great smoky mountains. Trekking accident. Visited Emergency at FORT SANDERS-SEVIER MEDICAL CENTER- Knoxville Tennesse. Paid $65 at that time. They billed me $231 in a bill. I moved from one address to another address at that time and never received the bill. Eventually, I paid the bill to the hospital itself in September 2011 after I came to know about this during a credit check that I did for myself. When I was running my Credit report again in January of this year, I see that this bill is shown as unpaid to a Collection agency called Reports Inc, PO Box 627, Knoxville, TN 37901-0627. Phone number 423 523 7183. I called the number and the number does not work anymore. I disuputed online with Equifax about this and they came back with a letter saying that this collection does belong to me. I called Equifax and told them, that the phone number is not in service and they asked me to google the new number. What is baffalling is that this one shows up only on equifax. I have moved to Michigan in December 2010 and lived here since. How do I get this taken off my credit report. Please help.

My wife works for a hospital, she passed on the floor while she was working. She got admitted to ER and they discharged her later that day. We never got a bill for this service. We assumed they are taking care of this, because of the incident occurred in the hospital. Now couple of days back, I review her credit and they is a collection on her account from her work place. Now the collection company said they gave us a discount of 62 percent and they sent several letters to us and we never got a single letter. The address they have sent those letters is to to their hospital. They are sending letters to themselves. Now Equifax has her hospital address as a new address on her profile. I have disputed that and removed that from her profile. I also disputed the medical collections with Equifax and they are investigating it. She talked to the main person in the billing and she has to pay that debt to remove the collections. We want them to process through insurance. We reached our medical max deductible last year. What is the best course of action in the case ? Hospital has still time to send this to insurance.