Consumer complaint received 2017-07-05
Company: WAKEFIELD & ASSOCIATES, INC.
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
For several years now I have been working diligently to restore and build my credit. After defaulting on my student loan payments for a period of three months ( due to not understanding my options for deferment or refinance at the time ) my FICO score dropped to a staggering XXXX. In the time since, I have made leaps and bounds in restoration, climbing back to a XXXX.
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In the time since I began working to restore my credit, I have been aware of a collection account with a serve date of XX/XX/XXXX and a total of {$420.00}. This amount has never changed. This was intentionally the last collection I sought inquiry of, due to it being the highest dollar value and therefore potentially the largest burden to resolve. According to my credit report, the collection was attributed to XXXX XXXX XXXX/XXXX XXXX XXXX ; a healthcare provider covering the greater XXXX, TN area. I have only once in my adult life checked myself in to an ER for care of my own XXXX. In fact, I very explicitly recall having visited the ER in the winter of XX/XX/XXXX in order to receive a physicians notice for work due to an illness that lead me to miss several days, bringing me near a point of termination which I could not afford. I, as many underinsured and uninsured Americans unfortunately must do from time to time, went to the ER knowing it was my only means of being seen by a physician knowing that I had absolutely no disposable income, and no employer provided insurance, and no means to pay. This is the only legitimate debt I know of, certainly the only legitimate debt related to hospital services, and is evidenced by a XX/XX/XXXX bill totaling {$130.00} that I did not recall having had the funds to satisfy at that time.
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Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX of this year. The {$420.00} debt is the final collection account on my credit, is now beyond the statute of limitations for suit in the state of Tennessee, and is barely more than 1 year from being removed on my credit report. As explained above, restoring my credit is of great value to me, so I reached out to Wakefield and Associates ( formerly XXXX XXXX XXXX, formerly XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) to inquire about the debt, and if possible and warranted, to resolve it ahead of that schedule.
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I contacted Wakefield and Associates ; seeking to gather information, inquire where the disparity between {$130.00} and {$420.00} could have arisen, get account numbers and information for callback ( since the only collection bill I had was six years old and the collection agency, for whatever completely scrupulous reasons, had rebranded twice since ), and to see if making a payment arrangement for the alleged debt was appropriate. In this first call I spoke with an XXXX, who in retrospect offered me absolutely no extensive information pertaining to the account, which I was requesting. As I attempted to explain the above information regarding my very clear personal knowledge of my medical history, XXXX spent the course of twenty minutes essentially telling me I had no idea what I was talking about regarding my own history. Additionally, I suppose my intelligence needed insult as well, as she needlessly attempted to explain the difference between a hospital bill and a physician bill, stating that this was a physician bill, not a hospital bill ( I was not able to discern that myself from the all caps, bold font XXXX XXXX listed under the services rendered section of the bill ). As I was clearly aware of my medical history of XX/XX/XXXX and still not rendered XXXX XXXX or otherwise incapable of reading the bill I held in my hand ; I reiterated the bill, the only charges I was aware of in any way, explained I was well aware that I could continue radio silence for a year and pay nothing, and still - I stated I would like to do the right thing and satisfy the alleged debt, but only if I were to pay the amount I understood to be legitimate, of {$130.00}. I felt that to be very reasonable given my alternatives. I felt that to be still a fair business proposition for Wakefield, knowing they likely never paid more than 10 % to purchase my debt and this would still amount to several hundred percent in revenue for the collection agency. XXXX insistently counter offered 50 % off of the {$420.00} claimed debt, for a total still greater than {$200.00}. When I asked whom else I may speak with regarding the matter, such as a supervisor, I was repeatedly berated that there was no escalation and this conversation continued to escalate to the point of this, let 's just say less than respectful and educated individual, levying personal insults regarding my level of accountability and responsibility. Did I mention I made this call knowing full well that doing absolutely nothing for just one more year would resolve my problem at no cost to me?
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I 'm appalled in the deepest sense by this employee, but still, having worked customer service positions for much of my life, I understand the stress of the job and this particular venue is very likely something beyond my own scope of understanding. Maybe it was a bad day for her. Maybe my own frustrations during the call created the perfect storm. In any case, I had not received ANY of the useful information I had sought, and I had not resolved my collection. I opted to make another call at a later time to immediately request a supervisor, explain the previous encounter, and again investigate what I might be able to do in order to remove this collection and better my credit. This time I spoke with a very kind gentleman named XXXX, whom managed to deescalate me enough before transferring me to a supervisor to get me to explain briefly my last call and encounter. As I explained, he expressed empathy clearly and effectively, he apologized profusely on behalf of the previous agent, and asked if I might first like him to see what details I was originally requesting that he could provide.
<P/> XXXX conducted himself with candor and respect, he empathized and acknowledged all of the information I was disclosing regarding the bill in my possession, he provided me the account number for the collection, and generally accomplished for me the first part of what I aimed to do in my first call. It is also worth noting that it was only after this second call, that I noticed the status under the collection account on my credit report had changed to reflect that I was directly disputing the amount owed. Of a much greater significance than those compliments of his service, XXXX also researched and provided ACTUAL information about the debt. It was at this time that a name was provided to me that was related to this alleged debt. This XXXX XXXX 's name immediately rang a bell, as it is a somewhat unique name, but I could n't recall the exact details until the next name dropped was that of XXXX XXXX. This XXXX XXXX, represented by XXXX XXXX in the later settlement, struck a vehicle at a stop light in ~XX/XX/XXXX. I was in the passenger seat of that vehicle, and we were struck approximately 30 yards from a police officer who was at the time writing a citation to a stopped vehicle just ahead of us. As we were struck at a dead stop by a vehicle moving upwards of 45 mph, injuries were sustained and we were directed to the hospital just up the street for examination ; we complied. That was the only other time in history in which I visited an emergency room, only this one was not willingly but at the instruction of professionals, and in relation to a collision that was decidedly at fault of the XXXX XXXX and was reported in full as a part of the claims process. A settlement was later issued, and no sign off regarding any balance owed was ever made.
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It is at this time that I am now made fully aware, not only is this debt not related to the {$130.00} ER visit I think it is ; the debt is linked to a very much resolved, at fault automobile accident, and perhaps more importantly the debt is egregiously beyond any statute of limitations that I am remotely aware of, as this accident is at this point over 10 years old. The clarity XXXX provided has lead me to an entirely different line of inquiry that is proving exceedingly difficult to find any information from XXXX XXXX about ( After a decade I do not necessarily blame them for that ). Again, I can do nothing but praise and thank XXXX for his help.
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Wakefield and Associates however, seems unable to allow this situation to be resolved in any kind of amicable way, as following the first call with XXXX, I took note of the fact that the six year stagnant debt of {$420.00} dollars, is now mysteriously creeping upward, currently claiming an alleged {$430.00} owed and rising.
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I am appalled in every way I know how to be. Irrespective of which incident the alleged debt arose from, it was in any case a medical debt. For the one time I willingly checked into an ER with no funds, there were a dozen more where I should have and did not, for the express reason of avoiding these kinds of insurmountable debts. There are literally hundreds of routine physician, dentist and specialist appointments which I have never been able to seek as an uninsured American citizen. Only this year have I reached a point of being insured and financially able to see a doctor, although I have not done so yet, as resolving the past has been my first priority. I am nearly XXXX years old and have never in my adult life had a physical, had a routine checkup, or had a primary care physician.
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That one could work so hard pulling themselves up from poverty, taking a few hits along the way, and then work so hard to remedy those past mistakes, only to be met with the appalling insult of the first call, and the predatory practices of unexplained additional fees into this debt that very well may exist in complete error/illegality based on the information provided in the second call - it is appalling.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation