Consumer complaint received 2023-09-07
Company: USCB, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX XXXX, I had an XXXX XXXX performed on my XXXX XXXX at the XXXX XXXX XXXX at direction of my physician. I was not in the market to take on his medical debt, it came out of necessity and concern of my overall health and therefore I did not question the recommendation from my primary care physiciaXXXX and or shop around. What I did do, was a quick XXXX  search to identify what the average cost for an XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX County would cost and XXXX returned XXXX XXXX XXXX average. 
The test was rather simple and short, it was just on my XXXX XXXX  to check for a potential blockage, I got the results that there was no blockage on my way driving home from the hospital, thats how fast and simple the procedure was. 
In XXXX XXXX, I received 2 bills for the service, the first bill was dated XXXX XXXX XXXX in the amount of XXXX  the bill has the following bill code 0921 - OTHER DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES, XXXX XXXX XXXX, this will be Exhibit 1. The second bill came in on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  The second bill included a XXXX dollar charge with the following bill code XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX This will be Exhibit 2.
Candidly, I was confused because I did not believe that a simple XXXX  was going to cost me over XXXX dollars. XXXX XXXX XXXX is confusing and difficult to navigate, I am not sure why I received 2 separate bills 7 days apart. I also have insurance with them so didnt think the total cost would be so high. 	
In early XXXX XXXX XXXX  our family caught XXXX. Exhibit 3 is my XXXX XXXX XXXX from XXXX dated XXXX, my wife XXXX, unfortunately was not able to work for 3 weeks as she at the time was self-employed, and we werent able to get any relief for her weekly rent. She is an XXXX and ran her own XXXX at a local XXXX XXXX at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  CA. There is no paid time off for the self-employed and rent for her XXXX still came due, unfortunately there wasnt really any programs for her to seek help for since end of XXXX COVID apparently wasnt a big priority like the first or second waves, even though she was unable to have her XXXX open (XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX). Given the financial hardship this encumbered on our family, we made the difficult decision to close her XXXX at the end of year on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX On XXXX XXXX XXXX I received a text message from XXXX Phone numbeXXXX XXXX see Exhibit 4 screen shot of the text message I received from XXXX regarding my bill and to please call phone number XXXX, to see if a qualify for a settlement. I Called that number the same day, see Exhibit 5 call log for my phone for calling phone number XXXX, I spoke with a young lady and asked why the bills were so high and to see if she could provide me with an itemized bill of the service. The conclusion of the call was that I needed to file something called a grievance with XXXX in order to get an itemized bill. She gave me instructions on how to move forward with that process, I told her right now is really not a good time for that. I spoke with the representative for 36 mins 45 seconds.
In the meantime, I was in the process of managing my wifes business books and paying all outstanding bills we had for my wifes business, terminating the lease she had on her studio at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, as well as managing our household expenses with now only one income. 
I tried Calling XXXXr again a couple days later, on XXXX XXXX XXXX I was able to make contact see Exhibit 5 call log for my phone for calling phone number XXXX, I spoke to a different young lady and she assisted me, I explained the situation one more time and told her I was extremely shocked that I received a bill with a balance over XXXX  USD for an XXXX XXXX she was comforting and very understanding, I asked her If I could possibly get an itemized bill and she said unfortunately I would have to move forward with the grievance process and then they could look into it and possibly then provide an itemized bill or I would need to move towards there next process and file a formal complaint. 
After speaking to the young lady for several minutes and explaining the financial hardship my family had experienced earlier in XXXX she went over several options with me and offered me a settlement offer of 20% off my entire bill but I had to pay the money up front which I did not have at the moment. She also offered me a 6-month payment plan of XXXX a month starting in the month of XXXX while my family got situated. Although, I still did not agree with the balance, due to the average cost of an XXXX according to XXXXXXXX  being XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX County I agreed to the payment plan with XXXX given I didnt have the time nor energy to file a grievance or complaint. The call took about 17 mins 8 secs.
I made 3 payments on the payment plan see exhibit 6 XXXX  payment history. I called them again at the same number on XXXX 3rd see exhibit 4 to make my payment over the phone, and reconfirm the amount of the terms of the payment plan and again voice concern of the amount of the XXXX  I was still concerned about the amount I was billed but ultimately didnt want to open a grievance due to time constraints, as I alluded to previously I was assisting my wife with her resume, I was also doing side jobs on top of my regular 9-5 job to make ends meet. The rep informed me my first payment would be due on XXXX  and every XXXX of the month following until the balance was paid. That call lasted 11 Mins 48 secs, 
I made the first payment online for XXXX XXXX XXXX the second payment was made online as well on XXXX in the amount of XXXX, the third and final payment I made was made on XXXX online in the amount of XXXX  all these are available on exhibit 6 XXXX payment history.
The same day I made my final payment XXXX XXXX XXXX, I called XXXX but at a different number then I had been calling before, this number was on the most recent billing statement I had received and on the other billing statements I had received prior and maybe thats the reason I was treated differently when I called, see exhibit 7. 
The person I spoke to on that day was a tad rude and inconsiderate. The person told me that they would not revive the prior offer that had been offered to me in XXXX because I was behind on my payment plan. The terms of the payment plan were for me to pay monthly on the XXXXof the month. I was a day late and had made the payment of XXXX that same day as my payment history will show. Furthermore, the person I spoke to said that the balance was too small and rather insignificant for a discounted settlement offer. I was appalled and told her the past couple of months have been rough for my family and we have been struggling to make ends meet due to the financial hardship we experienced due to my wifes job loss. I again asked if they would honor the 20% settlement offer off my remaining balance, I had left which was XXXX which I calculated being only a XXXX dollar discount of the balance that I owed. The representative I was speaking to said that they would not and that I need to make timely payments (again I was one day late), therefore I terminated the call a little bit upset. That call lasted 24 mins 7 secs.
Meanwhile my wife was looking for a W2 job since being used to being a dual income household our expenses were taking a toll on us. I work long hours daily and average about 10-11 hours a day. We have XXXX XXXX XXXX and helping my wife work on her resume, prepare for job interviews was rather time consuming. Not to mention picking up small side jobs here and there from our neighbors like XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for them for a couple bucks just to ensure we made ends meet. Time passed and she was able to secure employment in the end of XXXX unfortunately the hospitality/beauty industry took a tool with COVID. To be completely candid I forgot about the XXXX balance in XXXX and XXXX but I was also upset that the last representative from XXXX I spoke to made it seem that XXXX discount was insignificant.
On Monday XXXX XXXX XXXX, I received a letter from XXXX, see attached Exhibit 8 XXXX Informed Delivery XXXX. The letter Exhibit 9, is titled final notice before your bill is assigned to a collection agency indicates to call XXXX at XXXX, which is the same number I had called in XXXX  see exhibit 7. The letter also included a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX application. The Letter also states that as of XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX CA law requires XXXX to notify me with information before assigning my account to a collection agency. 
I called the number listed on the letter and made contact on XXXX see exhibit 7, I spoke to a young lady explained the situation and told her I was calling to make a payment and or arrangements on the balance due and also to apply for Financial Hardship to see if they would extend the 20% settlement that had offered me back in XXXX XXXX when I did not have the ability to pay it in a lump sum. Again the amount I was asking for in financial hardship was XXXX.
The young lady I spoke to advised me that the balance had been transferred to USCB for collection purposes, I asked her how if the letter clearly states this is the final notice and to call XXXXr to make payment arrangements and or apply for hardship, which is exactly what I was doing. She said the letter although is addressed from XXXX is not actually coming from XXXX and from a 3rd party. I asked her if my account had been sold to a collection agency and asked her to provide me the date and contact information. She advised me that the account was sold to a 3rd party on XXXX which was 3 days before exhibit 9 is dated. I wrote the date on the letter along with the phone number on the last page. I spoke to the representative and spent 38 minutes plus explaining to her the situation and the financial hardship my family had gone thru in XXXX XXXX due to XXXX  and being forced to close my wifes business, she was understanding but said unfortunately the debt is no longer in their system although the letter clearly states and provides instructions for applying for XXXX Financial Assistance which is what I wanted to do. She said that due to circumstances she would file a Grievance on my behalf, but she couldnt offer a settlement on the debt all she could do was take a payment and they would mail it to the 3rd party as they no longer own and or service the balance due. I asked again for the date that the balance was sold which she replied was XXXX and confirmed the number to this third party which she gave me the information to XXXX. I also made a payment with her on the remaining balance I had with XXXXr for XXXX a shown in Exhibit 5
As soon as I got off the phone with XXXX I called the 3rd party at XXXX  see exhibit 10 this is a screenshot showing the call made from my phone to the number and showing the call lasted 8 mins 12 seconds, when I called they identified as USCB America. I provided them my XXXX  account number and asked them for information on the balance due. The representative I spoke to located my account and gave me a balance due plus interest on the medical bill from XXXX. This did not sit well with me, and I asked her to provide the agreement where I agreed to pay interest on a medical procedure with XXXX and also told them that I wanted a validation notice in order to be able to dispute the debt and asked her to provide proof that the amount is due and owed to them, along with the amount that they paid for the balance to XXXX. 
On XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  I received a letter from XXXX Grievance and Appeals section see exhibit 11 XXXX Informed Delivery XXXX  and exhibit 12 XXXX Grievance Acknowledgement Letter dated XXXX Exhibit 12 basically acknowledges that the grievance was received by them and will be responded within 30 Calendar days.
On XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I received a letter from XXXX Grievance and Appeals section see exhibit 13 XXXX Informed Delivery XXXX and exhibit 15 XXXX Grievance Acknowledgement Response Letter dated XXXX Exhibit 15 basically states that the appropriate department will review and address my concerns on the confusing statements but to date I have not received a final response from whichever department this will be from XXXX The letter does state at the end that the grievance is now closed and the next step would be for me to file a complaint or IMR see exhibit 15, however the letter states that the appropriate department will respond to me as well therefore I have not taken action and await the departments response. 
On XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I received a debt validation letter from USCB America see exhibit 14 XXXX Informed Delivery XXXX and exhibit 16 USCB America Debt Validation letter dated XXXX  The letter has attached the XXXX Permanente final notice dated XXXX  which was originally exhibit 9 as they are using this letter to try and meet the states requirement for free or reduced healthcare as disclosed in the XXXX website for Free or Reduced Care:  If you cannot afford to pay certain hospital or medical bills, depending on your income, you may be entitled to free or reduced care. Uninsured patients or patients with high medical costs who are at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible to apply for a hospitals charity care or discount payment policy. Charity care is available even when your bill is past due. Hospitals cannot sell your patient debt to a debt buyer unless you are ineligible for financial assistance, or you have not responded to a hospitals attempt to offer assistance for 180 days.
I went ahead and responded to exhibit 16 formally via certified letter on XXXX see exhibit 17 XXXX Tracking Number XXXX and disputed the debt. 
In conclusion, I believe that the 3rd party USCB America is in violation of several laws, and feel that given the added emotional distress, stress, deception, time I have spent preparing this complaint about 6 hours and the inappropriate transfer I should not owe this debt anymore. 
The first violation would be them sending a notice with XXXX information to me in attempt to satisfy the Department of Financial Protection and Innovations requirement of Free or Reduced Healthcare. Not only did I respond to the initial letter 2 days after I received the letter Exhibit 9, when I spoke to XXXX, they told me they could no longer assist me with the balance, and I was no longer eligible for a 20% settlement and or Free or Reduced healthcare.  
The second violation being USCB America attempting to add interest to my balance, to date I have not received any contract, agreement or documentation that states I agreed to pay interest on the balance due, I dont even know if that would be allowed in our great state of California. 
The third violation, was made when I made initial contact with USCB America on XXXX my understanding per the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, USCB America had 5 days after the initial contact which to reiterate was made on XXXX to send me a debt validation letter which wasnt sent until XXXX and received by me on XXXX see exhibit 14 and 16 with a flawed final notice from XXXX and Medical Financial Assistance Program application that was not available to me as the debt was sold and transferred to USCB prior to the date the letter is dated. Not to mention that XXXX confirmed that they did not mail that letter.
I am a hardworking American who have always paid my debts assuming that they are valid. I do still question the cost of the procedure and never received an itemized bill for the expensive XXXX  given it was so quick and non-invasive that I had performed at the hospital. I also dont understand why XXXX would opt to sell my debt to a 3rd party at most likely a significantly discounted rate as opposed to honoring the initial 20% settlement offer that was made to me back in XXXX XXXX Why did XXXX not reach out to me prior to selling the balance at the same rate they sold to the 3rd party.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation