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Hi, I'm about to apply for a mortgage so I will have 2 mortage companies do a hard pull for my credit, from what I read hard pulls within one week are not that bad, so I was thinking I can also apply for higher credit limits with the credit cards that require a hard pull, apply for better home insurance rates (which I think do a hard pull also), etc during this period, is this a good idea? How many points should I expect to lose on my score? Thanks!

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!

I see this come up a lot with medical collections, and other states may have a similar statue in place. This is probably already posted somewhere on CB, but I just ran across a Texas law that indicates a patient cannot be billed if the provider fails to file a claim with their insurance provider in accordance with said law. (See last subsection, § 146.003. Certain Claims Barred) Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 146.001 (2000) § 146.001. Definitions In this chapter: (1) "Health benefit plan" means a plan or arrangement under which medical or surgical expenses are paid for or reimbursed or health care services are arranged for or provided. The term includes: (A) an individual, group, blanket, or franchise insurance policy, insurance agreement, or group hospital service contract; (b ) an evidence of coverage or group subscriber contract issued by a health maintenance organization or an approved nonprofit health corporation; (C ) a benefit plan provided by a multiple employer welfare arrangement or another analogous benefit arrangement; (D) a workers' compensation insurance policy; or (E) a motor vehicle insurance policy, to the extent the policy provides personal injury protection or medical payments coverage. (2) "Health care service provider" means a person who, under a license or other grant of authority issued by this state, provides health care services the costs of which may be paid for or reimbursed under a health benefit plan. § 146.002. Timely Billing Required (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b ) or ©, a health care service provider shall bill a patient or other responsible person for services provided to the patient not later than the first day of the 11th month after the date the services are provided. (b ) If the health care service provider is required or authorized to directly bill the issuer of a health benefit plan for services provided to a patient, the health care service provider shall bill the issuer of the plan not later than: (1) the date required under any contract between the health care service provider and the issuer of the health benefit plan; or (2) if there is no contract between the health care service provider and the issuer of the health benefit plan, the first day of the 11th month after the date the services are provided. (c ) If the health care service provider is required or authorized to directly bill a third party payor operating under federal or state law, including Medicare and the state Medicaid program, the health care service provider shall bill the third party payor not later than: (1) the date required under any contract between the health care service provider and the third party payor or the date required by federal regulation or state rule, as applicable; or (2) if there is no contract between the health care service provider and the third party payor and there is no applicable federal regulation or state rule, the first day of the 11th month after the date the services are provided. (d) For purposes of this section, the date of billing is the date on which the health care service provider's bill is: (1) mailed to the patient or responsible person, postage prepaid, at the address of the patient or responsible person as shown on the health care service provider's records; or (2) mailed or otherwise submitted to the issuer of the health benefit plan or third party payor as required by the health benefit plan or third party payor. § 146.003. Certain Claims Barred (a) A health care service provider who violates Section 146.002 may not recover from the patient any amount that the patient would have been entitled to receive as payment or reimbursement under a health benefit plan or that the patient would not otherwise have been obligated to pay had the provider complied with Section 146.002. (b ) If recovery from a patient is barred under this section, the health care service provider may not recover from any other individual who, because of a family or other personal relationship with the patient, would otherwise be responsible for the debt.

It never ends. Just two days ago I learned that I had gotten some really bad derogs off my report and then today I get a call from an attorney about a medical bill from 2011. Honestly, it was such a bad couple of years for me medically that that I got a ton of complicated and confusing bills but it seemed my insurance took care of it all. I have very good insurance, fortunately, and figured anything that the insurance didn’t pay the hospital would notify me of at some point. Instead of hearing from them, I’m getting calls from an aggressive attorney. Can you guys advise me on how to proceed? The amount is $2,000 and I’d be happy to enter a payment agreement but the attorney’s rep is pushing me to pay a big part of it soon – which I can’t afford. What should I do? I’d much rather deal with the hospital, but is it too late at this point, since they have an attorney calling me? I asked the attorney for a copy of the bill and he said they typically wouldn’t give it to him unless we go into litigation. I’m really not sure what to make of that but I’ll call the hospital first thing in the morning. Can you please help me handle this the right way? I’m just getting started with rebuilding my credit and I’d hate to have all that good work go to waste because I handle this wrong. Thanks so much for all your help.

I just received a call from Financial Asset Management systems saying that I was involved in a hit and run a year and a half ago and I now owe State Farm $2,600. I need help in figuring out if this is a scam or not. Here are some facts: *According to them, I opened my door and dinged an emergency vehicle, then drove away. I have no recollection of this incident whatsoever, and unless someone in my family took my car without my knowledge, I'm 99.99% sure this did not happen. *The vehicle owner filed a claim with their insurance (State Farm) and State Farm took care of the damages. Again, I was never notified until almost a year and a half later. If they had my vehicle description, wouldn't I have been notified by the police? *Now State Farm is "allegedly" using the debt collector to settle the debt from me in the tune of $2,600. *I have the option to make monthly payments OR if I make a lump sum payment, I get a % discounted and I only need to pay $1,800. (this part seems fishy) *They gave me a police report number, and I gave it to my cousin (who is a cop) but I haven't heard back on that yet. The name of the company is Financial Asset Management systems inc. I see a lot of complaints on ripoff report, but it still seems like a legitimate debt collecting firm. Can someone please offer some advice? I really don't want this to be on my credit report if I don't pay, but I shouldn't have to pay for something I didn't do. What are my rights for something like this?

So, I'm opted out of Lexis Nexis. Should I have also been automatically opted out of CLUE? What would be the best way to dispute these suckers? They do have to be in compliance with the FACT ACT. Is there a type of dispute letter that anyone would recommend that may work fairly good with CLUE? https://personalreports.lexisnexis.com/fact_act_claims_bundle/landing.jsp