Bill collector problem

Wassermelone

So last week a bill collector called my parents house to tell them about me apparently being arrears on a medical bill. This suddenly sent a lot of red flags up in my mind and has made me rather angry. They didn't tell my mom anything other than that it was from Raleigh from about a year ago, and it was medical so until I received the bill in the mail today, I didn't know how much it was for, or who it was from.

I still don't know what it was for. Theres a lot of problems with this for me.

A. I've never received a previous bill for this amount... or really any amount that this could possibly be connected to. I had medical tests around that time, so conceivably it could be from an actual procedure.

B. I have payed all my medical bills that I have been notified of.

C. I obviously cannot prove that I never before was mailed this bill despite... well, I never did get it.

D. They called my parents? Whut? I'm married and live a thousand miles away from them. They don't pay for anything for me, they don't loan me money, they are not my emergency contacts, they are not really listed anywhere as far as I can tell. If they had my address to send ME the bill, why did they call them? Why didn't they send one earlier?

E. Does any of this actually mean anything? Is there anyway I can even contest this considering I cannot prove I didn't get something? I don't mind bills... but I really hate that out of nowhere I probably have a major hit on my credit score.

Any advice? I will be calling the 1-800 number tomorrow, but I'm not really sure what to say that I won't just receive jack shit from. Bill collection agencies are notoriously hard... impossible to negotiate with.

Lail

I had a collection agency contact me a few years ago about a medical bill that I had never received. Not only did they want the original cost but all these extra penalties and interest fees since I was overdue.

I pay my bills. But I don't easily part with my money, especially if I feel cheated. I talked to the original company to settle my debt.

I wouldn't contact the collection agency though, because once you do, they will hassle you. And they won't stop. They phoned and phoned and sent letters. They wouldn't stop. I started telling them that I was deceased until they finally stopped.

Elin

I have had this issue with a medical bill going to collections. In my case it was an insurance screw up. All the bills went to the Insurance company, insurance declined to pay but also didn't notify me, bam collections. Also, it's shady as hell, but collections agencies will routinely call family members as a shaming method. They'll also call your work place.

VisionOfClarity

They're not allowed to call other people about your debt. They can call to see if you live there and if they have a new address or phone number for you but they can not tell them about your debt, it violates the FDCPA.

1: Get a copy of your credit report, see if there is anything else on there.
2: Ask for proof you owe the debt.
3: Tell them to only contact you via mail and mention that calling your parents and informing them of your debt violates the FDCPA.
4: Call the original company about the debt.
5: File a complaint against the collections agency for violating the FDCPA.

Cauld

There are laws regarding what bill collectors can and can't do. I read a good article about it in a local paper once. I would check and see what they're allowed to do, since they frequently break those rules. That should significantly cut down on the harrassment. For example, they aren't allowed to call your workplace (I can't remember if they're allowed to call once or not at all, but its far less than they do).

Edit: Yeah, what visionofclarity said.

VisionOfClarity

They can call you at workplace unless you tell them not to. Once you tell them not to they are in violation of the act if they call again. Again though, they can not tell anyone but you about why they are calling.

Al_wat

Disclosing that kind of information to third parties is the kind of thing people lose their collection licenses over.

Its a big deal and if they did it they made a pretty big mistake.

The law is different in every state and province though so you're gonna have to find out the specifics for your area.