Consumer complaint received 2019-04-20
Company: Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
I have disputed it with all 3 credit bureaus but XXXX notified me it was replaced on my credit then gave me the phone number to call. I should not have any medical bills for anything after XXXX should be paid. It turns out this is a fraudulent bill, and their claim is that they can report to the credit without sending the consumer any notification. They even recognized where mail was returned, and that the address for the account is older than the one entered in for an older debt in which I received the notice for just fine, just no notice for the one in XXXX. The company won't recognize red flags here that bills older than that came to me, it wasn't billed to insurance and more. Their initial response was to claim identity theft. I advised that I don't think that's what has happened, there was no hospital bill for this date of service, only emergency physicians bill with an old address on it. The service date was that of my son 's date of birth, proving all the more that I was not the patient nor was I in the hospital they deal with. I can prove many things to do with my son 's birth, but the lady from this collection agency asked me to try to get something from the hospital in which the emergency physician bill could have stemmed from saying that I was not there - I just don't see they'll write me such note dated 4 years ago, just because I don't have a bill for that day/year doesn't mean they can prove I wasn't there, just like I can't prove that my insurance was not billed. You can't prove a negative. 

... ... ... .. Anyway, even though I think the original creditor mixed up information of mine, maybe with someone who lives in the house I once lived, therefore the fact they were mailing bills to that address but no bills to me. Intentional or not, my information was being used and is affecting my credit. Plus in XXXX of XXXX my mom once called the ambulance but I did not go to the hospital, she was just worried about me, but I did have the XXXX  people in my house and when they asked my SSN, they gave me a XXXX name. It's never affected my credit, and I've never seen record of this name before, but since a police report for identity theft was asked for by the collection agency, and the original creditor or the previous collection agency to have the debt mixed up info, it is identity theft, intentional or not and therefore filed a report. 

I am submitting here because I still don't believe it's right to have placed the account against my credit and I was advised that they are allowed to do that without having to notify a consumer of a debt. They didn't care that was they only account that had an old address on it and care to make sense that older accounts had the newer address. 

Plus both times I called, they couldn't locate the account, they told me I didn't have an open account there, and needed a supervisor to re-open it, so if it's not open, why did they report it as delinquent on my credit? They've made no effort to collect the debt, fact is, they are guilty of " parking '' and placed it on my credit just a few months before the statute of limitations would be up to force the consumer to call in regardless if the debt is legitimate or not. I am placing here on the CFPB in hopes this pattern is recognized and it doesn't happen to others.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation