Consumer complaint received 2018-06-28
Company: Midwest Credit & Collection, Inc.
State: IL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
Four years ago, I had dental work done by XXXX XXXX, XXXX in XXXX Illinois and fully paid the bill. The following year, I received an unsubstantiated bill for over {$630.00} from him that did not include specifics regarding dental services for this billing. I immediately explained the facts surrounding this erroneous invoice to his office manager who concurred and assured me that the bill was invalid and I would be receiving a corrected invoice that listed a zero balance. A month later, instead of receiving the revised invoice with zero balance, I was shocked to get a bill for the same amount as the earlier one. 

In response, I called XXXX XXXX office again and was told by the same office manager that the corrected invoice would be arriving soon. Two weeks later, I received another copy of the same erroneous bill. I immediately went to XXXX office to address the situation in person and was concerned to find that his office was shut down. I tried unsuccessfully to locate a new phone number and address for him. Coincidentally, my search revealed that his professional reputation in Illinois was dismally poor as documented by many dissatisfied former patients who experienced similar unethical behaviors and financial harassment, as Ive been the victim of. ( Reviews available ). 

A month later, I received the same bill from XXXX at an Oregon address. There was no phone number on the invoice. I wrote to again explain the facts regarding the invalidity of the invoice. When no response was received after three weeks, I wrote that unless I received the invoice with the zero balance in two weeks, I would have no choice but to combat his unwillingness to resolve the issue ( despite the fact that his own office manager concurred that the bill was illegitimate not once, but two times ). After no response, I sent documentation to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX   XXXX XXXX recommended by our local XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

On XX/XX/2018, I received a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, Illinois who claimed to be in possession of XXXX billing. They offered to investigate this debt if I filed a dispute in writing within 30 days of their initial contact. I filed this dispute via certified mail based on false balance status and fraudulent billing and received a return receipt on XX/XX/2018. No further information has been received from them to date. 

In summary, after receiving an invalid bill from XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX provided me with specific facts about the inaccuracy of this bill including documentation of exact dates, names, pricing, and services ( Available upon request. ). I relayed this inaccuracy to his office manager who said I would receive a corrected bill with zero balance. XXXX then unexpectedly moved to Oregon with and continued to send me the erroneous invalid bill. I then filed grievances for malpractice and fraudulent billing with the following professional agencies : 1. The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX ; 2. XXXX XXXX Grievance Department ; and 3. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

On XX/XX/2018, I received a letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX demanding payment and disputed it in writing based on false balance status and fraudulent billing within 30 days. I received a written receipt on XX/XX/2018 and have received no further contact by them. 

I look forward to receiving help as to how to deal with XXXX fraudulent charges as soon as possible. I need assurance that I do not owe him any money because he has been sending me unsubstantiated bills and that the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX will not be reporting this bill to the credit agencies. The billing is invalid and his behavior has been unethical and harmful. Thank you very much.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief