Consumer complaint received 2023-06-14
Company: W&A Intermediate Co., LLC
State: FL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive enough information to verify debt

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I was notified by XXXX that a collections account had been placed on my report. The collections company was listed as Wakefield & Associates and the creditor information was not included. I disputed this with XXXX as I had never received ANY communication from Wakefield & Associates and was unaware of any outstanding medical bills. XXXX responded to my dispute by stating that the information was 'verified as accurate and updated '. I called XXXX to request a copy of the information that was submitted to them as proof to verify the debt as accurate and the operator was unable to offer any information other than letting me know I could leave a comment on my credit report. The updated information included an address for Wakefield & Associates and the original creditor as XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. As I had never received ANY communication regarding this debt from Wakefield & Associates or XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX I sent certified letters to both parties requesting information. In addition, I tried calling Wakefield & Associates at several different telephone numbers and none of them had a live person ever answer the phone. The letter requesting additional information ( copy attached ) was delivered to Wakefield at XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and signed for at the front desk. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call from someone at Wakefield and he did not offer ANY information regarding the debt, however, he did request that I give him a credit card number to pay the amount due. I told him that I had confirmation that my letter had been delivered to their offices and I am waiting for their response to my request for validation of the debt information. To date ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I have yet to receive ANY information or further contact from Wakefield & Associates, however, they continue to add to the unconfirmed collections balance on my credit reports. In response to my letter to XXXX  ( copy attached ) I received a copy of an invoice for services rendered on XX/XX/XXXX that was originally dated XX/XX/XXXX and was sent to an incorrect address ( attached ). Due to the invoice being sent to the wrong address, I never received the billing. In addition, my insurance company never received any invoicing from them either, however, the hospital where the ambulance service delivered me was able to contact me and bill my insurance without any issues and were paid in full immediately upon submission by my insurance company ( Proof of pmt attached ). It makes no sense that the ambulance company was unable to properly contact me or bill my insurance when the hospital ( just a few miles away from the ambulance company ) clearly had ALL of the proper information. Regardless, I immediately updated my information with the ambulance company and gave them authorization to bill my insurance ( see attached letter ). I received confirmation from XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX that they submitted the invoice for payment to the insurance company and on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice ( see attached ) from my insurance company that they denied the claim because it is past the time limit for filing and I ( the patient ) am under no legal obligation to pay this claim. It is the servicer 's responsibility to obtain my signature for services as well as my insurance and contact information at the time of service and they had almost two years to contact me and/or my insurance to resolve this billing issue. It is very likely that Wakefield & Associates is fully aware that they are illegally trying to collect on an expired claim and therefore never sent me a notice of debt prior to reporting to the credit bureau and have refused to follow up or send me any documentation at all regarding the validity of this collections account on my credit agency reports ( XXXX & XXXX ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation