Consumer complaint received 2018-04-20
Company: J&L Collection Services
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notification from XXXX that J & L Teamworks ( collection company ) put a collection item in my XXXX account. As a result, my credit score plunged by 64 points, and ruined my credit just as I was going to have a background check for employment. J & L Teamworks contacted me about a year ago, but I remember being scared because the first thing the person said was, without even initially identifying herself or initially stating the purpose of the call : 'I know your social security number! No use trying to ... ' I hanged up right away, thinking it was some sort of identity theft prank call because the person claimed to know my social security number. 

The collection item that J & L Teamworks is trying to collect, {$530.00}, was a medical bill for an emergency service I received from XXXX Hospital in XX/XX/XXXX. At that time, I had 2 medical insurances - XXXX and XXXX XXXX. XXXX was my own insurance from my employment, and XXXX XXXX was my husband 's insurance in which I was also included. I found out 4 days ago, on XX/XX/XXXX, that the hospital incorrectly billed my secondary medical insurance, instead of my primary insurance. However, my secondary insurance paid the bill for {$530.00}. Months later, my secondary insurance ( XXXX XXXX ) retracted the payment and told the hospital that they should bill my primary insurance. But the hospital never told me this and they never sent the bill to my primary insurance : instead, they sent the bill to J & L Teamworks for collection as a past due item. The hospital never informed me about the retraction from my secondary insurance. Four days ago, I tried to resolve this and I contacted my primary insurance and they confirmed that they will pay the bill, as I have been paying my insurance premiums on time, and it is their responsibility to cover pay the medical bills presented to them per my insurance policy.This was an error on the part of the hospital. They should have billed my primary insurance, instead of my secondary, and they should not have sent the bill to J & L Teamworks for collection. They should have collected from XXXX instead. 

Now, J & L Teamworks is collecting the entire bill from my primary insurance, XXXX. I spoke with XXXX and they confirmed that they will pay the entire bill for {$530.00}. I asked J & L Teamworks to retract the collection item from my credit report, because the responsible party is XXXX - XXXX is responsible for paying the medical bill because I was insured and I have paid all my medical premiums on time through my employer and through my own monthly premiums deducted from my paycheck. As of today, XX/XX/XXXX, J & L Teamworks has NOT removed the collection item from my credit report, and they have damaged my credit which was excellent before they incorrectly reported a collection item on my account. 

In summary, J & L Teamworks has employed harassing telephone tactics, and they incorrectly reported an collection item on my credit report that is rightfully the obligation of my insurance carrier - XXXX. Lastly, they have damaged my excellent credit score and they should remove the report immediately.

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