Question About Whychat Hippa Process

[hatertots]

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.

Edited March 25, 2014 by hatertots

[Why Chat]

The directions are to send the follow up dispute as soon as you have proof of receipt of the medical DV

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[hatertots]

Thanks. Can I follow the same process for my the reporting to my wife's report, as well? If so, can I attack them both at the same time, or is it best to handle them one at a time?

[Why Chat]

You can follow the same procedures for your wife, however you need to keep 2 separate files so that you don't get things mixed up.

You can not "combine" any letters or or disputes to anyone, everything has to be done separately

.

[hatertots]

Okay, I have an update. After 10 days, I got a letter from Equifax stating that they have completed some of the items in my disputes. Here were the results in their letter:

 

MERCHANTS CREDIT: still pending investigation

 

PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS xxxxxx245: deleted from file

 

PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS xxxxxx275: we verified this information belongs to you. If you have additional questions about this item, please contact Puget Sound Collections...

 

PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS xxxxxx181: we verified this information belongs to you. If you have additional questions about this item, please contact Puget Sound Collections...

 

I still have not heard from the CA in response to my medical DV letters. What should my next steps be?

[Why Chat]

The medical DV letter to the CAs

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

 

Then the follow up dispute to the CRAs

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

 

Just like it shows in the guide:

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

[hatertots]

Thanks Whychat. Just to clarify, I've already done the steps outlined in the program. Here's what I've done: opted out, deleted addresses, pre-hippa disputes to CRA (CRAs verified, but no response from CAs), sent medical DVs to CAs on 3/14 (certified proof of delivery 3/18), sent follow up disputes to CA on 3/25. The response on 4/9 was Equifax's reply to my follow up disputes. Equifax responded to the follow up disputes by deleting one account, & "verifying" two. I still have had no communication from the CA. What do I do now?

[Why Chat]

You need to wait until Eq investigations are completed. You are not likely to receive anything from any CA as these accounts are WAAAAY past any possible legal collection and would have been through several CAs ( mostly JDBs= junk debt buyers) by now. In addition they are all from a date of service in 2007 so they are obsolete.

[hatertots]

Whychat,

 

The letter I received from Eq is the completion of their investigation with the three Puget Sound Collections accounts. There is still one more medical dispute for a Merchant Credit account that I am waiting on. Do I need to wait for the Merchant Credit dispute to complete before proceeding with anything else?

[Why Chat]

Whychat,

 

The letter I received from Eq is the completion of their investigation with the three Puget Sound Collections accounts. There is still one more medical dispute for a Merchant Credit account that I am waiting on. Do I need to wait for the Merchant Credit dispute to complete before proceeding with anything else?

Yes

[hatertots]

Thanks Whychat,

 

I will wait until EQ completes all the disputes before proceeding with the next steps.

 

In the meantime, I had my insurance pull all EOBs for 2008. I can only find one EOB that matches the original $1731 balance owed (this was from a trip to the ER when I blew my knee out -- insurance refused to pay any of the claim because they thought it was an auto accident. It wasn't, & I eventually got them to pay the claim. I think the balance remaining on the collection account is the CAs fees & interest). For the other three accounts, there are no EOBs that even come close to the amounts listed in the reports.

 

On another note, my wife just checked her TU report, and Puget Sound Collections reported all three accounts to her TU report this month. I officially hate those guys. I'm sure it's a result of our disputes; they just thought they'd stick it to us. And these aren't even her accounts! So far, they aren't reporting to my TU report, just hers. Her score dropped from 724 to 646. I'm planning on starting the hippa process with TU now for her. Can I proceed with the same hippa method? Do I need to wait until EQ finishes their investigations before I send the pre-hippa letters to TU?

 

Thanks again for all your help.

[Why Chat]

No, you can start on her TU report. There is no "sharing" of data between the CRAs except for fraud alerts.

[hatertots]

Thanks Whychat. I have an update on my disputes. EQ finished their "investigation", & they have "verified" that 2 Puget Sound Collections accounts & the Merchant Credit Accounts belong to me. I have received no response to the Medical DV letters I sent to the CAs. So, I have no documented proof of a current relationship between the reporting CAs & the hospital. My EOBs do not match the original amounts on the collections, so I can't tell what services the bills are for. But yet they remain on my credit report. What do I do now?

 

I also sent pre-hippa disputes to TU for my wife's report last week. I'll update the thread when I get a response from TU.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

[Why Chat]

Have you sent the follow up disputes to the CRAs??

 

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

 

As soon as you have proof of receipt of the above medical DVs, you send each CRA this:

FOLLOW UP DISPUTE LETTER TO CRAs

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

[hatertots]

Yes, I've followed all the steps in your program. I sent the follow up disputes to the CRAs on 3/14 (see my above post from April 10). EQ just completed their investigation to the follow up disputes and "verified" that the accounts belong to me. I still have had no response from the CAs documenting a relationship between the CA & the hospital, and the EOBs don't match up with the dollar amounts or dates. I'm at a loss as to what to do now. Advice?

[Why Chat]

Was it deleted from the other CRAs??

 

If so, file a complaint with the CFPB against Eq.and send them a copy ( to the attention of their compliance Dept.)with a short cover letter stating that you reserve the right to take civil action against them.

 

If not, file a complaint against the CA with the CFPB and send them a copy with a short cover letter stating that you reserve the right to take civil action against them and to file a complaint against the with the OCR on their HIPAA violation.

 

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

[hatertots]

To clarify, the collections are only reporting on my EQ report. They have never reported to my TU or EX reports. They are also reporting on my wife's EQ report, and just this month (4/2014), Puget Sound Collections reported all three to her TU report (but not mine, strange). I just drafted pre-hippa letters for her TU collections a few days ago. Should I wait to see what TU does before I file the CFPB complaints against EQ & the CA?

 

Also, would you please expand on what I would include in the CFPB complaints & follow up letters to the CA (sorry to be so slow here, but I want to be certain what violations to address & what legal grounds I stand on)?

 

Thanks again!

[Why Chat]

Your complaint against Eq should state that you properly disputed ( give date)an unknown medical account that appears to be obsolete that is only on your Eq report and that Eq has refused to delete or properly investigate. That you have had no valid response from the reporting CA (give the name) in spite of having sent them a request for validation ( give date) and re-disputed with Equifax on (date) with a copy of your letter to (name of CA).

 

Your wife should file a complaint against the CA stating that they are reporting an unknown and apparently obsolete medical account on her reports-- she should state that she is in the process of disputing the account with ( name the 3 CRAs) but requests an investigation into this CA for improper and malicious poisoning of her reports with fraudulent claims.

 

Make sure that you keep the complaints seperate,.

[hatertots]

Wonderful, thank you for your explanation. I will file the complaints this afternoon. I can't thank you enough for your advice.

[hatertots]

Just an update: Equifax provided a partial response to my CFPB complaint against them. Their response was "Equifax reviewed the complaint, its records and initiated a reinvestigation. Equifax will mail the results of the reinvestigation within 30 days." Of course, I know this is ridiculous, as they've had two valid disputes from me prior to this one. But maybe the CFPB complaint will be enough to get them to move on this.

 

I also mailed the pre-hippa letters to TU last week for my wife's report. If they don't delete, do I re-follow the same dv letter procedures outlined in your hippa plan? Given the fact that I've already DV'd the CA for the equifax reporting, it seems kind of pointless to dv them again for TU. Of course, this question is a bit pre-emptive (as TU may delete), but just in case...

[Why Chat]

If they don't delete then send them the follow up dispute and just cut and paste TU into the CRA name on a copy of the one you sent for Eq..

 

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

[hatertots]

Just a quick update: TU deleted all three bogus collections on my wife's report with the pre-hippa letter. Hooray! With these deletions & paying down some cards, her TU FICO soared to 763! I can't thank you enough. Now we are just waiting on Equifax to complete their "investigation". Fingers crossed...

[hatertots]

Hi Whychat,

 

Okay, so the CFPB emailed me today regarding my complaint that Equifax completed their "investigation" and responded to my complaint.

 

The following is a quote from Equifax in response to my CFPB complaint, "Company responded...Equifax said: Explanation of closure: Please be advised the following accounts verified your name, address, birthdate, and social security number: PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN 2576275 and PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN 2476181. PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN 245 is not reporting on the file. Written confirmation was mailed to the address on file." Say What? Even I know that a collection agency verifying my name, address, birthdate, & ss is NOT validation the I owe the debt. Sheesh, practically anyone can get that information just by doing a simple search. I would think that Equifax would know this, too. I had hoped they would comply with the law and either provide proper validation or delete.

 

I also filed a CFPB complaint against the CA on 4/18. The CA has not responded to the complaint, and the case is listed as "Company response past due". So 6 months of disputes, and still no proof that I owe the debt, and no deletions.

 

Whychat, how should I counter both Equifax's response &/or the complaint against the CA? I feel like it's time to pull out the big guns and hire an attorney, but I await your advice first.

 

Many thanks.

[Why Chat]

 

 

PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN 245 is not reporting on the file.

 

Did you check to see if, in fact the account was deleted from your report??

[hatertots]

Yes, I checked through the back door. Acct #245 is off the report. The other two are all still there.