Consumer complaint received 2022-03-08
Company: HCFS Healthcare Financial Services of TeamHealth
State: IL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Impersonated attorney, law enforcement, or government official

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I paid Account Resolution Services the amount of {$400.00} and I should not have because I learned they are operating without a valid business license and are NOT allowed to collect debts in the state of Illinois and have NOT been licensed since XXXX. I am requesting a FULL refund of my funds IMMEDIATELY and DELETE from all my credit reports or I will be 1. Filing a dispute with my bank, 2. Filing a report with the states attorneys office and 3. Filing a lawsuit for fraud and a non licensed debt collection agency in violation of both the FCRA and FDCPA. I have payment confirmation number XXXX and I placed this payment on XX/XX/XXXX. What this company is doing is ILLEGAL and FRAUD and will be reported. Attached is proof of an invalid license and also proof of my payment. This business is currently a scam. 

In addition to this I was not made aware of my right to request validation and at this moment I intend to make that request. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, IL XXXX Account Resolution Services XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Date Dear Account Resolution Services, After viewing a copy of my credit report, I noticed a collection account placed on my credit report from you in XXXX. I am requesting that you allow me to validate the alleged debt. I am unaware of any outstanding medical bills that I possess, and I am seeking the name and hospital/medical provider to which I owe the debt and a detailed breakdown of the fees that I owe. 

Additionally, I am allowed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA ) to protect my privacy and medical records from third parties. I did not give permission to any of my current or prior medical providers to release any of my medical information to a third party. I am aware that the HIPAA does allows the release of limited information about me but anything more is to only be revealed with the patients authorization. Therefore, my request is twofoldvalidation of debt and HIPAA authorization. 

Please provide breakdown of fees including any collection costs and medical charges. 

Provide a copy of my signature with the provider of service to release my medical information to you. 
Cease any credit bureau reporting until the debt has been validated by me. 

Please send this information to my address listed above and accept this letter, sent certified mail, as my formal debt validation request, which I am allowed under the FDCPA. Please note that withholding the information you received from any medical provider in an attempt to be HIPAA compliant can be a violation of the FDCPA because you will be deceiving me after my written request. I request full documentation of what you received from the provider of service in connection with this alleged debt. 

Additionally, any reporting of this debt to the credit bureaus prior to allowing me to validate it is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which can allow me to seek damages from a collection agency. I will await your reply with above requested proof. Upon receiving it, I will correspond back by certified mail. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation