Consumer complaint received 2021-08-11
Company: California Business Bureau, 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:
It was brought to my attention that I had outstanding medical debt in collections when I applied for my auto loan in XXXX of 2021. The negative remarks affected me by not allowing me to qualify for a loan with low interest ; therefore I decided not to move forward with purchasing a vehicle. Instead I decided to get to the bottom of this medical debt that was of surprise to me, as no medical or collections entity had ever tried to reach out to me before to collect payment or give me the opportunity to dispute the debt. 

Consequently, I was able to track down the California Business Bureau as the entity that reported this debt making it onto my credit profile. I then contacted them via phone to investigate the debt they stated that I owed, instead I was responded to with aggressiveness and unwillingness to explain the details of the debt they claimed was mine. I was even threatened that they would once again report me to The Credit Bureau if I did not pay the balance by the end of the month. 

Seeing that they were of no help to explain this debt to me, I resorted to solely communicating via mail moving forward to track any information given to me as well as my attempts to get more information on the debt. 

XX/XX/2021 I sent CA Bus. Bureau a debt validation letter via certified mail on XX/XX/2021 ; in this letter I requested multiple items, including for them to validate this debt they claimed I owed as well as requesting that they prove that they had permission to obtain my medical records. 

XX/XX/2021 I received a response via mail from them in which they provided a letter as well as itemized bills from the hospital, detailing services and medications rendered, alongside diagnosis. I would like to note that the hospital bills they provided me with had the incorrect address on them, further proving that I had not been contacted neither by the hospital or the collections agency. They failed to provide any form of signed consent by me that authorized the hospital to release my medical information to them let alone any other entities. 

XX/XX/2021 Seeing that they did not provide me with all of the things I requested, I resent the debt validation letter via certified mail in which I requested that they provide the remaining missing documents. This includes the signed authorization to release my medical records, which I know that they do not have, as I never signed a form as such. Instead they sent a list of my medical records ; which I know is a direct violation of HIPAA law regulations. I never signed a HIPAA form authorizing them to have access to this information. 

XX/XX/2021 CA Business Bureau sent out the same information that they had previously sent in response to my first letter, therefore ignoring my request to allow them once more to validate the debt and remaining documents.

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