Consumer complaint received 2019-05-31
Company: Eagle Recovery Associates, Inc.
State: DE
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue you for very old debt

Complaint:
XXXX and XXXX of XXXX I went to the ER at XXXX XXXX Hospital. I had two ER Doctor bills through XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX  ). I had emergency XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. At the time I had no medical insurance and was not working outside of my home. I received my first bill from XXXX in early XXXX and agreed to make a {$20.00} payment each month. I did so online. While I missed a few payments, I tried to catch up when that happened with the next payment. I've never received a statement from them with a balance after each payment. In XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call in the evening hours from Eagle Recovery Associates Inc. The representatives name is unknown at this time. I stated I had just made a payment online to XXXX and had been doing so since XXXX. I gave the female representative the payment ID information. She stated " per the law, I am unable to take this account if you have been making steady payments, so I will be sending this account back to XXXX. '' that was the last I heard from them. In both XXXX and XXXX I called XXXX for my balance after payments and was offered verbally a payoff that at the time I was unable to accept. I changed my address with XXXX after I moved in XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX to ask what my balance was, the female rep told me that she could no longer see my balance as my account had been referred to Eagle Recovery Associates but by her calculations I owed {$1000.00} still. I have been making consistent payments online to XXXX since XXXX as well as the call in XXXX. My mail was also forwarded by the USPS until XX/XX/XXXX. She gave me the 1-800 number to call Eagle Recovery to speak with them. She did inform me that they have just been forwarding my payments to Eagle Recovery the last 2.5 years. 
When I called Eagle Recovery minutes after ending my call to XXXX, I spoke to a XXXX XXXX, who said she was my account manager. She took all of my financial information which I had to ballpark guess because I didn't have exact figures in front of me on my lunch break at work. She offered me a payment plan of {$170.00} per month and I said that I was unable to do it. She then started yelling at me telling me that based off my income and all of my debt, that I could more than afford it and I was just trying to hide my money from them and not pay them. I told her that I contacted them because I wanted to pay the right people for MY account. I stated that in the last 2.5 yrs no one has had an issue there with accepting my {$20.00} a month payment, she stating I somehow fell through the cracks and should consider myself lucky. She told me that they had sent a letter out to me every month since XXXX, and I explained I have never received one as well as their " intake '' letter. She yelled stating that I have my options and if I refuse to pay up then I was going to have legal action taken against me because they're not going to accept my {$20.00} a month payment I told her that I do not get to pay my bills based off my gross pay and she shouldn't either as there was at least a {$1200.00} difference for just mine. She told me she didn't care what I felt. I said well I guess I will see you in court because I can not afford that and refuse to promise to pay something I know I can't pay at that rate. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from XXXX XXXX stating that I had until the end of XX/XX/XXXX to respond with payment otherwise legal proceedings would start. I called on XX/XX/XXXX to update that I had made another {$20.00} payment to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX via online and was told That XXXX was unavailable so I spoke with XXXX XXXX who said she'd pass the information along. I told that on XX/XX/XXXX I planned to send a check for {$20.00} to show that I am trying to do what is right. I explained that I was having a hard time understanding why they won't work with me since they had been accepting my payments like this for 2.5 yrs  without an issue and see restated what XXXX told me previously, however in a much nice tone but still that it was on me to rectify this on their terms. 
I want to continue to pay this bill as I don't want any legal action, but I can not do it on the terms that they are proposing. And I don't appreciate the yelling and calling me a liar and a thief so to speak for " hiding '' money from them. I have two other bills from that XXXX that to this day I pay {$25.00} a month to and {$20.00} a month to. And have been consistent as well. I do not like to let my debts go unpaid if I can help it. But {$20.00} a month is all I can afford.

Company response to consumer: Untimely response