Consumer complaint received 2018-10-05
Company: California Business Bureau, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Collected or attempted to collect exempt funds

Complaint:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, My name is XXXX XXXX, and I am writing in regards to a bill that I received from the California Business Bureau , Inc., a collections agency, on behalf of XXXX XXXX XXXX. My account number has been designated as XXXX. The letter has notified me that I am being charged a total of {$120.00}, and that I will be receiving a negative credit report by the CBB. I would like very much to contest this charge, on the grounds that the services that I had received from XXXX XXXX XXXX were unsatisfactory.

I called the CBB twice on XX/XX/XXXX, the day that I received the letter. On the first call, I spoke with someone who told me that by stating to her over the phone that I had met and spoke with a doctor at XXXX XXXX XXXX during my appointment, that I had just admitted to her on a recorded line that I indeed received services from XXXX XXXX XXXX, and that regardless of whether those services were satisfactory or not, I am still going to be charged for them and receive a negative credit report if I dont pay the bill. She was very aggressive over the phone, and insisted that the bill was fair, despite my objection that the services were completely useless and insufficient. She told me that I could not dispute them with the CBB, and that I had to go elsewhere to dispute the bill. I called again an hour or so later, and spoke with someone else, who told me that I could dispute the bill with the CBB.

This bill is for an appointment that I had at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX. In XXXX of that year, I started to notice that my XXXX XXXX was XXXX XXXX again, as it first began to do in XXXX. The first XXXX XXXX and XXXX physician that I had seen last year, regarding this issue, was Dr. XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX, CA on XX/XX/XXXX. Dr. XXXX examined me, and attempted to XXXX my XXXX XXXX XXXX, in order to allow more XXXX to pass through, so that whatever obstruction was present would come out. He XXXX  the area underneath my XXXX, known as the XXXX, with a XXXX XXXX, and poked into the area with a sharp metal tool. The pain was severe, and his procedure did not solve the problem whatsoever. My XXXX XXXX was still XXXX up to the same extent as before.

Also, on that day, Dr. XXXX sent me over to the nearby XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for a XXXX XXXX that he said would be useful in determining whether I had an unusually high amount of XXXX in my XXXX, which may have been restricting the flow of XXXX in my XXXX XXXX. I took the XXXX XXXX, and four days later, I brought the results to my general XXXX Dr. XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX, CA, on XX/XX/XXXX. Dr. XXXX told me that XXXX XXXX in general are not good indicators for the causes of XXXX XXXX   obstructions, and that my tests showed normal XXXX  levels anyway, so basically, the XXXX XXXX   was unnecessary. Dr. XXXX did however recommend that I go to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, because he said that they had a specific machine that could remove XXXX XXXX XXXX, and that they were the only people he knew of who had this machine.

An important context to consider is that in XXXX, I had a similar issue of a XXXX XXXX XXXX that was impacted by a XXXX XXXX. I visited a XXXX XXXX named Dr. XXXX XXXX in XXXX, CA during XX/XX/XXXX. She referred me to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to have them perform an XXXX  test on my XXXX. I went there on XX/XX/XXXX, and the results of the XXXX test showed that No definite XXXX or XXXX  could be seen. I went again to Dr. XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, so that she could XXXX my XXXX ; but, unfortunately, she left a large amount of XXXX ( XXXX ), which irritated me, and resulted in an XXXX XXXX. After which, I decided to make an appointment with Dr. XXXX, because he was an XXXX XXXX and XXXX   specialist.

I had my first ever visit with Dr. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, where I showed him my XXXX  test results. He XXXX my XXXX a little more, diagnosed me with an XXXX XXXX, prescribed XXXX XXXX, examined my XXXX, and told me that there was no evidence of a XXXX in my XXXX XXXX. However, I could feel and even see the XXXX myself. Whenever my mouth would XXXX, the XXXX would rise up my XXXX XXXX, into the visible part of the XXXX, and this would happen throughout the day. I was scheduled for a follow up visit for a full extraction of the remaining XXXX.

A few days before the follow up appointment, I actually managed to remove the XXXX  myself. During the nighttime, the XXXX  had risen up my XXXX XXXX, after I had eaten something sour, and I was able grab onto it with my thumb and index finger ; however, it was very slippery and excruciatingly painful to hold onto. The XXXX would fall back down due to a lack of grip, so instead, I pulled on the area with my fingers again, as far as I could this time, and bit down hard on it with my front teeth. This hurt a lot, but not as much as the next step that I took to free myself of this ailment, which involved removing the XXXX, by XXXX at the area of the XXXX  that it had been obstructing. I grabbed one of my parents XXXX test strip needles, and with the XXXX  still between my front teeth, I began XXXX  against it with the needle. After a few tries, the flesh began to bleed and open up, and the XXXX came out of my XXXX, slid out of my mouth, and onto the mirror that I was using.

I went and showed my mother the XXXX, and she was so relieved that she started kissing me all over my cheeks, and with her eyes full of tears, she told me how happy she was that it wasnt anything serious. I placed the XXXX  inside of a plastic bag to show it to Dr. XXXX   during my follow up visit on XX/XX/XXXX. He was amazed to see that I had removed it myself, and told me that from now on, I would need to remain hydrated throughout the day, massage my XXXX   with a warm compress from time to time, and consume regular amounts of lime or lemon juice, so that my mouth would produce a healthy amount of XXXX. Otherwise, he said that another XXXX   might appear again in the future, and I may even need to have my XXXX XXXX removed altogether.

Six years later, when the XXXX returned, and I went to Dr. XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX, he sent my records to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, because they were supposedly the only people he knew of who had a special machine that could remove XXXX XXXX XXXX, with minimal to no damage done to the patient. Several weeks after my appointment with Dr. XXXX, I received a call from XXXX, and I was told that the earliest appointment they had was nearly two months from the day they called me. I scheduled the appointment for XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX. They did not, and could not send me an email, text message, nor voicemail to confirm the date and time.

When the appointment came, my mother and I arrived around XXXX XXXX., and we were told after waiting an hour that my appointment was actually for XXXX XXXX., and not XXXX XXXX. My mom was very upset by this, as we now had to wait several hours before I could be seen. After I had complained to the receptionist, one of the staff members came up to me, and told me that I was mistaken, and that I in fact did agree to the appointment being on XXXX XXXX. When I was finally seen, the doctor they had available gave me no new information whatsoever. He told me that I had no XXXX  in my XXXX XXXX, that I should continue consuming lemon juices, and remain hydrated. He said that the machine which Dr. XXXX was referring to did not exist anywhere in their office, and that he doesnt even know anyone whos ever used it. He also told me that even if they did have the machine, I wouldnt need them to operate on me with it anyway, because there was no XXXX  in my XXXX XXXX. As far as Im concerned, this appointment was a major waste of time, and it was a terrible day, as my mother was very upset with me for us having to wait so long just to hear the same thing that the other doctor told me already.

After a month or so, XXXX XXXX XXXX began sending me bills in the mail. I called the billing department after I received my first bill, and spoke with a representative about how I did not want to pay the bill, because the appointment that I had was a complete waste of my time. The representative told me to explain to her everything that happened, and that she would be able to file a grievance on my behalf. I did this, and called her back shortly afterwards. She then told me that it turned out that she was actually unable to file a grievance for me, and that I would have to sign a consent release to give access of my personal health records to XXXX   XXXX XXXX. She directed me to a page on their website, which turned out to be the wrong page. She had me fill out the wrong form, and when I called again to ask her if she could send me a direct link for the correct form to my email, she told me that she was not allowed to email patients. I called again a few days later, and at that point, she had left for a several month long vacation. I tried talking to other people at the Medical Center, but they all told me that there was nothing I could do, because she was the only person who was handling the billing department. At that point, I gave up, because if their Medical Center was not going to help facilitate a way for me to dispute this bill, then I had no reason to take it seriously.

They continued to send me bills throughout the past year and a half, and as far as Im concerned, they are extremely persistent, in getting their money back. I still have no idea what form she made me sign. What was it? Ive never once had to sign a consent release to file a grievance for a medical bill anyway. XXXX XXXX XXXX did not handle this situation in a professional manner, they gave me the runaround, and they still feel entitled to get money for doing nothing. Im not even sure which doctor I saw, because his name isnt written on any of the bills theyve sent me.

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