Consumer complaint received 2021-03-14
Company: The Law Offices of Burr & Reid, LLP
State: NY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive enough information to verify debt

Complaint:
1 ) Debt is not mine. They refuse to validate it as mine. I was not notified of debt or court in a timely fashion to be able to investigate or defend myself or appear in court. Burr & Reid received a default judgment against " me '' on this matter in XXXX and again for the same matter in XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter and outdated summons from debt collectors Burr & Reid LLP in the mail. It stated that it was a copy of the summons and complaint recently served upon me. It stated that in twenty days from the date of the letter XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ) they are entitled to enter a renewal judgement against me, unless I serve a written answer, or contact their office to establish an acceptable payment agreement. It further stated that the entry of a renewal judgement would increase the balance owed due to interest, costs and disbursements, and it may act as a property lien. The letter had a judgement balance due of {$4900.00} plus interest and additional disbursements of {$230.00} from what i later learned is hospital that is no longer in existence. 

With the letter was an attached " summons and verified complaint '' dated XX/XX/XXXX and had an attached default judgment from 10+ years ago dated XX/XX/XXXX Please note my name in the court documents and the XX/XX/XXXX letter- common name, no middle initial or suffix. Also please note that there are numerous people in that county with that name, including in my own family. 

1 ) this notice was for a judgment renewal. I never knew about an original default judgment, I was never notified, served or aware of the claimed original default judgment from XXXX and was never served notice of an impending judgement renewal. Burr & Reid LLP sought and received default renewal almost 3 months before notifying me that they were seeking a renewal, so I did not have an opportunity to go to court or fight this potentially fraudulent or wrongful action. I was never aware of a default judgement against me in XXXX, or a pending judgement in XXXX as I was never served by mail or in person in XXXX, either. 

Assuming this was some kind of error or someone elses medical bill & judgment I called the office of Burr & Reid and spoke to a representative to attempt to clear it up, as I had never, to my knowledge, had a judgment or outstanding bills from that hospital. The representative I spoke to by the name of XXXX was mean, disrespectful, unreasonable, demanding, rude & unhelpful and at one point stated that she " didn't have time for this '' that the actual amount I owed was much, much more than that due to interest and fee 's, and that I had other more recent medical bills in there possession and after I asked her to please be patient with me because i am XXXX, very hard of XXXX  and slow with my XXXX XXXX due to a XXXX, on XXXX and that my wife was on the other line attempting to frantically reach the hospital billing office, I asked her if she could please send me copies of the original bills so I could verify that they were in fact, mine. She stated that the time for that had come and gone, and at one point stated that she knew where I worked and demanded to know hourly wage and hours worked. I again reminded her that I am fully and permanently XXXX, and any work I attempt to do was only a few hours a week when I can, on a trial basis. She eventually hung up on me. I was shaken and horrified at her treatment of me. After my wife was able to ascertain that the hospital in question XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) had closed down some years ago, and billing had gone to one hospital XXXX XXXX XXXX than another took over ( XXXX ) my wife called XXXX Billing and attempted to figure it out. We were given information that made us sure that the information & bills/judgment was probably not mine, and XXXX suggested that I call Burr & Reid back and ask for the date of birth, full name and dates of service. As I recall they refused and XXXX Billing assisted my wife in a conference call with them- Bassett XXXX my wife XXXX XXXX and Burr & Reid . Unfortunately Rep. XXXX again answered the phone. She continued to be rude and nasty, even to the XXXX billing department. My wife discussed IF the bill for the judgment was actually mine, how could we rectify the matter? My wife and I are both permanently XXXX and very low income. XXXX stated that the newer medical bills they had for BOTH of us totaling around {$2400.00} would have to be paid first. Only then could I pay on the judgment that I don't even believe is mine. My wife and I were married in XXXX ( XXXX demanded that info too ) long after the claimed original default judgment against me. Ultimately XXXX pressured my wife into giving her info, entering into a payment arrangement for her bills, only then, after hers were paid off could we start paying on my XXXX XXXX, and then the judgment! I was completely blocked from paying on the judgment if I found it to actually be mine until the other {$2400.00}. in bills were paid ( That way more interest can accrue ) my wife made a payment agreement of {$100.00} a month for her bills. At one point we asked to speak to a supervisor and were refused. 

Because these alleged bills & original judgment were very old and unknown to me, we made more phone calls and were advised of our right to ask Burr & Reid LLP for verification & validation of the bills & thus the proof given to the court in both XXXX and XXXX to be granted a default judgment & renewal of the same. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent by certified mail a letter from me dated XX/XX/XXXX disputing the debt and requesting full validation of the debt by means of the common creditor/debt collector declaration. 

Please note that in the validation response to me they copied frpm my letter my FULL name including middle initial and suffix. Prior to that it was only my common first and last name. 

They, Burr & Reid LLP did not in anyway provide validation of this debt. They responded with a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX without any validation, original bills, proof of service by mail or in person for either XXXX or XXXX. In fact their letter to me only stated that I was served with a summons and verified complaint on XX/XX/XXXX through my co-tenant! I have never had a co-tenant, nor do I recall the person they claimed to be my co-tenant. In fact, I could not have had a co-tenant per my pending divorce decree & agreement. The letter further states that they also mailed me the summons in XXXX of XXXX, and that it was not returned to their office as undeliverable, suggesting that I had to have received it. Also that they mailed to " me '' a copy of the default judgment in XXXX of XXXX. And with the validation request they only included a judgment copy from XXXX. No bills or other proof of anything. They did however include a massive increase total for the judgment pay-off amount totaling {$9700.00} in their response. 

I have reached out to several entities for information and verification and have sent copies of my correspondence with Burr & Reid to several entities, asked the court clerk for information and all connected hospitals that may have gotten or taken over for the closed Tri-town hospital, including XXXX XXXX and no one can find a record of these bills, confirm or verify these bills that lead to this judgment, only suggesting that I confirm that the date of birth on the bills is actually mine, and as previously stated, Burr & Reid has refused. I also reached out to my then, health insurance company as well as Medicaid for assistance in my dates of coverage or if they had copies of any bills, they did not. 

As much as I want to rectify this financially devastating situation, I do not believe it to be mine, in full or in part. I can not afford an attorney to help me, and make just a bit to much for legal aid assistance because I have to include my wife 's income. Burr & Reid LLP has refused to show me proof that the bill that led to this life altering judgment is mine. I do not know or recall if I was ever a patient in that hospital. I did not have any knowledge of a judgment prior to XX/XX/XXXX, no entity can validate this to be mine. The court default judgment had only part of my very common name, I have in the past actually received bills accidentally belonging to other W****** M**** 's residing in XXXX XXXX NY XXXX they sought and were granted a renewal judgment prior to notifying me. I feel all aspects of this situation are unfair and unethical. Burr & Reid LLP are not providing me with any assistance in this matter and simply want me to pay almost {$10000.00} to them without proof that I possibly owe this money. And where would this money go if it were paid? No hospital or other entity acknowledges that I owe them that debt. I asked the court if they had records and they do not. I asked the court who, if I found proof that I owe it, I could pay and they said I had to pay the collection agency. 

I believe this entire situation is in error and need help with it. It is damaging to my life. And even if I wanted to pay anything on this bogus claim they refuse to be paid until all other bills are paid first. They also stated to my wife when she asked for a written payment agreement for her own bill that they don't do written payment agreements. I believe that they stated that the calls were recorded- so all of this can be proven. 

As a short side note- the only reason any other, more recent medical bills may have slipped into collections is due to the fact that we had a terrible Medicare HMO called XXXX which paid or is still paying up to two years late for bills of thousands of people, and due to that fact many peoples medical bills went unpaid and went to collections. 

Thank you for your assistance in this matter, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation