Consumer complaint received 2019-02-12
Company: Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc.
State: MA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive enough information to verify debt

Complaint:
In the fall of XXXX, I went to XXXX XXXX in XXXX, FL. I provided my license and personal information and my insurance information even though I did not have my insurance card on me. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I ordered my credit reports from XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. XXXX  found a collection on my account with a balance of {$1100.00}. The collector was located in Florida and the original creditor said " collection 201 '' with an open date of XX/XX/XXXX. 

I immediately disputed the collection and first called the collector to figure out what it was. It was a balance from XXXX XXXXXXXX. I then called XXXX XXXX, to find out to my surprise that they had absolutely none of my information in my patient record ... not my phone number, not my address ... nothing. So the first problem is that they placed a collection on me without having any way to notify me of the debt at all, let alone making any attempt to. 

The very first thing I did was make sure that they now had all this information of mine on file ( this will be important later ). Even with the collection in dispute, I provided both XXXX  XXXX 's billing department and the debt collection agency with my insurance information and my contact information. I did this with the understanding that insurance would hopefully still cover it three years later, and I would pay the remaining balance. 

I heard nothing from either company, XXXX  XXXX that issued the debt or the collection agency, after this. 

I later received a letter from XXXX that the collection was taken off my account and that I was found not responsible for it. I was also told, in speaking with one of the agents over the phone, that they Florida 's collection laws and that this was part of why I was found NOT RESPONSIBLE for the debt ... because they legally should never have been allowed to collect in the first place, in addition to placing a collection on someone without any information on them ( quite negligent of a hospital ) and without making any attempt to make the person aware of the debt. 

Then I received notification of a {$200.00} collection from XXXX XXXX from XX/XX/XXXX as a remaining balance that originated from XXXX  XXXX. This means that, even after beign in contact with both the hospital and the collection agencies, and providing my insurance information and awaiting to hear back on any balance, it was not until I was found not responsible for the debt at all that they placed another collection on me, WITHOUT contacting me at all. I am assuming the {$200.00} is the remaining balance of the original debt after my insurance came through. The remaining {$200.00} that I was found not responsible for, and that they never once contacted me to make me aware of this new collection. 

I disputed this when I found it in XXXX, and a month later it was removed from my report. In XX/XX/XXXX my credit score went up by 88 points because the wrongful collections were finally off my account. Then immediately I received notification by my credit report company of yet another collection by a debt collector in Pennsylvania of {$200.00}, even though I have already been determined not responsible for this debt. And again nobody has ever contacted me. I'm assuming they sold it to a new collector also because they knew legally they couldn't place the same original one back on me. I highly doubt any of this is legal.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation