Where to Start: Why Chat's Pre Hippa, address delete OR Pay OC

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I have been lurking on the boards and finally got the nerve to start getting things in order. I have looked at why chat's HIPPA process (Thanks for all the nice info Why Chat, by the way) but I am still little confused on how to proceed in my case. This is my situation.

1. I have 2 paid collections showing from 4 years ago (yes I know, I shouldn't have paid, i didn't know).

QUESTION: Should I send a pre-HIPPA or dispute letter to get these off my CR?

 

2. I have lived at my current address for 10+ years but one of bill and subsequent collection is from time when I went visiting my folks and had to go ER (in a different state). The bills for the visit went to my parents address first before they started coming to my current address. I used to live at that (parents) address while I was going to school so it does showup on my CR

QUESTION: Should I do address delete first and then the dispute letter?

 

3. I recently called the another OC regarding another bill and while talking to CSR, asked her if I had any other bills and she confirmed that I do have some older bills but they have been sent to CA (they are being reported on my CR) and validated the right amount as being reported on my CR. So I asked her if I could pay her directly and then they could tell the CA to take it off my report. She said NO and said I have to contact the CA about paying it off or a settlement.

QUESTION: Should I still do the dispute letter first or should I just do the payment to the Health Care Provider, since I kinda already validated the debt?

So I am confused at the very first step I should take. Any guidance will help.

[Why Chat]

Follow the guides::

http://whychat.5u.com/GUIDEBOOK.html

http://whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html

 

 

Anything else that you try to do will wind up hurting your credit.

 

NEVER pay a CA as in most cases with older accounts the reporting CA is NOT in a current relationship with the OC and it is $$ down a rathole.

 

How old are these accounts?? If they are over 2 years old it is more than likely that the CA reporting or contacting you is a JDB ( junk debt buyer).

 

If the only addresses on your reports are your correct current addresses and the "old" address of your parent's is NOT on your report then you can omit deleting old addresses.

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Thanks Why Chat.

 

The accounts vary from about 4 years to 3 months (as per my CR from early Feb 2014), in total 6 in unpaid and 2 paid. The ones that the CSR from the hospital told me about: 2 are from about 19 months ago and 1 is from 3 months ago. Then there is another one from a different provider from about a year ago. The last two are both from over 3 years ago.

 

So, just to make clear I understand what I am doing, I should dispute all of these, and not even try to pay off the original creditor directly.

[Why Chat]

Correct,

 

Are they all reporting on all 3 CRA reports??

 

Unless you dispute all of them them FIRST, ( after opting out and deleting old addresses IF you have moved in the past 2-4 years) you will not have the documentation needed to pay the OC correctly and get the account DELETED from your reports.

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Yes they are reporting on all three CRAs.

I am going to send out the letters today and keep everyone updated on how things are going.

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Hi Why Chat,

I have hit a few little snags. Got my report from Transunion from annualcreditreport and the accounts that I want to dispute are not complete. They show as 12345XXX. Basically all the last 3-4 digits of all my accounts are x'd out (even my bank and crdit cards). i have two of the collections from same CA and because of the X-ing now both account look same.

 

 

So the question is how should dispute/write them on my dispute letter?

 

 

Secondly since I am disputing 8 accounts, should I split them into two separate letters for each CRA or can I put them all in one dispute letter? From some of the other things I have read on the forums here, having so many on one letter can potentially be a problem. Any guidance?

[Emtmedic44]

Whychat has told me to list the account numbers as they are showing on you CRA report with the X's and all. You should include a copy of the page from the credit report that has the account listed and circle it in red. This will hopefully cut down on confusion when they are trying to differentiate between TL's. As for the 8 accounts, I have heard him state to split them up on 2 pages but I know every situation is different so I would wait on his response or try finding it in another thread. I saw where WhyChat is on vacation, so it may be a few days before he responds. Good Luck! Hope this helps some.

[HoustonLynne]

I've followed every thread in this forum for the past year, and I agree with the above feedback, although I'd add one thing:

I think 8 accounts may be at the upper end of "okay" to dispute all at once. I know Why Chat told someone with 20+ to break it into more manageable chunks, but think I've seen 8 done all together. Just be sure to keep good records and be organized.

Disclaimer: I'm certainly not Why Chat, so if you're really uncertain and are willing to wait until the weekend, I believe he'll be back on/after Friday.

[HoustonLynne]

I may have misspoke -- I think he told someone with 20+ to do them all together but to use an "additional page" of disputed accounts. Either way, I really feel like 8 will be fine.

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Thanks guys. I think, I am going to go ahead and just do it. The longer I wait more questions will pop in my head and more anxious I am going to be.

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UPDATE:

I finally got response from all the CRAs. Here are the results

TU: Deleted all.

EX: Deleted the paid and 2 of the old ones and verified the rest

EQ: Deleted paid and 1 of the new one and 2 of the old ones and verified rest

 

I am a little worried about TU as they deleted all the old and new. ALL of them. It worries me that TU just deleted them temporarily and some of them might come back later.

 

So the question is what now??

[Why Chat]

Send the medical DV to the CAs--- follow the instructions.

http://www.whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html

 

http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html

 

then send the follow up dispute to the CRAs

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

 

Keep hard copies of your clean reports. Once you have received a letter of deletion, it is GONE - in the VERY FEW cases where there is a re-insertion there is a special letter for that:

http://www.whychat.5u.com/ltrcraredisp.html

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Send the medical DV to the CAs--- follow the instructions.

http://www.whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html

 

http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html

 

then send the follow up dispute to the CRAs

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

 

Keep hard copies of your clean reports. Once you have received a letter of deletion, it is GONE - in the VERY FEW cases where there is a re-insertion there is a special letter for that:

http://www.whychat.5u.com/ltrcraredisp.html

 

Hi whyChat and the rest. Since my last action, I got sidetracked with bunch of other things and picking up the HIPPA program from where I left off.

 

So, as per whyChats' guidance I sent medical DV to the 3 CAs for my remaining accounts on 10/22/14. Mixed Reults

1.) 1st CA responded back saying that they contacted the OC and OC cannot validate, so they will cease and desist and will remove from CR. Woo Hooo

 

2.) USPS tracking shows that the medical dv letter to 2nd CA was "Refused" on 10/23/2014 and is supposedly coming back to me. It still shows in transit on USPS tracking. I'll wait and proceed as per whychat's instruction in http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=534484

 

3.) Now the 3rd CA response is the most interesting one.

 

Dear xxxxxx,

Our offices are in receipt of your letter of dispute and request for verification pursuant to 15 U.S.C § 1692g of the Fair Collection Practices Act. Regarding your demand for verification including original signed contracts, copies of state licenses, our agreement with the original creditor listed on this account etc., there is no basis in law to substantiate your right to such information. In fact, court cases and the Federal trade Commission have found there is no duty to comply with such excessive verification demand.¹

However, in an effort to provide verification, we have listed below a summary of the charges on the account and any applicable fees and interest. Also enclosed are billing statemets provided by our client that confirm the charges. Should you have questions regarding this account or if you wish to discuss payment arrangements, please feel free to contact us at the number listed below. We look forward to helping you resolve this matter.

very truly yours,

xxxxxx

Collection manager

Creditor Amount Interest Fees Total

Hospital xxxx $$$$ $$$ 0 $$$$$

CA Account No: aaa,bbb.......

Total amount due: $$$$$

This communication is from a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

¹ Some relevant case and FTC law information (I can post that if needed)

 

With this cover letter they attached billing statements that show all the itemized billing from the OC, OC name, OC's internal account/re # for this bill, service date, amount paid by the insurance, insurance discount and balance owed/remaining.

 

So question is: Does this show a valid ongoing relationship between the CA and OC, since they basically denied my request for such information and are sending me bills that were provided to them when OC assigned them my case?

If yes, then can I go ahead with Hippa letter to OC with insert a? This account is now 4+ years old so I think it is SOL.

if No, then do I go ahead with 2nd dispute letter to CRA http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html#DISPUTE ?

 

I would like to point out here that in my procrastination, I did NOT send the 2nd dispute letter to CA as soon as the DV letter was delivered according to USPS, as per whyChat's Hippa guide http://whychat.5u.com/GUIDE%20HIPAA%20PROGRAM.html.

 

Will wait for guidance before I do something stupid.

 

EDIT: The OC is different in all three cases.

Edited November 7, 2014 by spacePic

[Why Chat]

Send the follow up disputes to the CRAs ( NOT the CAs)

 

I did NOT send the 2nd dispute letter to CA

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

 

What was the date of the billing statement transmission from the OC to the CA?

 

With this cover letter they attached billing statements that show all the itemized billing from the OC, OC name, OC's internal account/re # for this bill, service date, amount paid by the insurance, insurance discount and balance owed/remaining.

If it was more than 6 months ago, then NO that is NOT proof of a CURRENT relationship.

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What was the date of the billing statement transmission from the OC to the CA?

 

If it was more than 6 months ago, then NO that is NOT proof of a CURRENT relationship. Is that six months from date of service OR from date of assignment to CA?

 

These are the date types that are on the billing statement: Admit Date, Discharge, Charge (the day a lab or procedure was done), Adjustment (payment by the insurance), Balance/Final Billing date. There is no date on the attached bill that shows what day the billing statement was transmitted from the OC to CA.

 

However on my CR it does shows when it was assigned to the CA but it is only mm/yyyy format.

 

Another thing, the attached bills from CA also show my DOB....I am not sure if that has any legal bearing?!?

[Why Chat]

You have an account that is likely from a JDB as there is NO WAY a CA would have a current relationship with the OC on an account that is over 4 years old.

 

They are simply sending you copies of whatever was in the account data they obtained ( likely from a data miner or the primary CA)

 

Send the follow up disputes.

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Thanks whyChat. i'll send out dispute letters ASAP.

 

But just to clarify: I send out the dispute letters to CRA and then do the HIPPA payment to the OC? Correct?

 

Also, the above response from the CA is from the original CA that got assigned by the OC. No other company has contacted me again for these old accounts.

[Why Chat]

Thanks whyChat. i'll send out dispute letters ASAP.

 

But just to clarify: I send out the dispute letters to CRA and then do the HIPPA payment to the OC? Correct? Perhaps, perhaps they will get deleted!!, If they are NOT deleted and you receive NO NEW communication from the CA, then you need to send the CA the medical DV

 

Also, the above response from the CA is from the original CA that got assigned by the OC. No other company has contacted me again for these old accounts.

Just because you BELIEVE that this is the original CA does NOT necessarily mean they have a CURRENT business relationship with the OC.

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_{Hi Why Chat,}

 

_{So in post #13 I wrote that one of the CA Refused the medical DV I sent them and the letter was supposedly getting back to me. That was almost two months ago. The USPS tracking still shows that the letter is "In Transit" and is sitting at a distribution center. I have gone back to the post office to check and they can't even find the letter anywhere.}

 

_{What should I do now?}

 

_{Can I just print the tracking the way it shows online and attach that as evidence of invalid address?}

 

_{Also, do I hand sign these CRA re-dispute letters or just print my name.?}

Edited December 24, 2014 by spacePic

[Why Chat]

You opted out?

You deleted old addresses?

 

You sent the CRAs the initial dispute letter?

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

You had NO deletions?

You sent the medical DV to the reporting CA?-certified ONLY without the return receipt?

http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html

You sent the follow up dispute to the CRAs?

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

 

You sign all letters to CRAs and OCs . You do NOT sign letters to any CA

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You opted out? Yes

You deleted old addresses? Yes

 

You sent the CRAs the initial dispute letter? Yes

http://whychat.5u.com/hipaadisp.html

You had NO deletions? I did have some deletions

You sent the medical DV to the reporting CA?-certified ONLY without the return receipt? After the initial response from all 3 CRAs I send DV to the CAs. One responded back (post #11 above) and other was undeliverable.

http://whychat.5u.com/ltrcavalhipaa.html

You sent the follow up dispute to the CRAs? Not yet. Getting ready for it. post #13 and #19

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

 

You sign all letters to CRAs and OCs . You do NOT sign letters to any CA - Got it now. Thanks.

Hi why chat,

 

I have followed all the steps as per your instructions in the HIPPA process and have had success so far with some minor issues. Your advice has been instrumental and that's why I am double checking with you and the community before going to next step. i really appreciate it.

[Why Chat]

When you send the follow up dispute on the one that was "undeliverable" include the print out from the PO as proof of delivery. If you sent it to a PO address and it says that it was received at THAT PO, then that is all you need.

 

On the one where the CA responded with account data, do you have your own EOMBs to document the validity of their claim??