Consumer complaint received 2021-05-29
Company: Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Sued you in a state where you do not live or did not sign for the debt

Complaint:
I received a notice on my consumer reports alert. A company named XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and another debt collection company by the name of COMMON WEALTH FINANCE reported to my consumer report on XX/XX/2020. I have never once opened an account with any of these companies, my information has been in XXXX  and XXXX  breach and my information has been compromised. I did my research to see that this was a medical debt. I also contacted both companies including the credit bureau to notify that this account is in litigation and I am awaiting to send out a notice on intent to sue letter in the coming days. I am not serving but this is in fact a letter of intent to sue. The reason being is that my rights have been violated. Yes indeed my consumer rights have been violated several times, and I can state each violation by law. According to the law, 15 usc 1692 There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy. The company continuously sent me letters and post cards of bills I didn't owe. 15 usc 1692b statue states by law, Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall ( 1 ) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer ; ( 2 ) not state that such consumer owes any debt ; ( 3 ) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information ; ( 4 ) not communicate by post card ; ( 5 ) not use any language or symbol on any envelope or in the contents of any communication effected by the mails or telegram that indicates that the debt collector is in the debt collection business or that the communication relates to the collection of a debt ; 15 usc 1692c congress states, ( a ) Communication with the consumer generally Without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt ( 1 ) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8 oclock antemeridian and before 9 oclock postmeridian, local time at the consumers location ; 15 usc 1692d Harassment or abuse LII U.S. Code Title 15 CHAPTER 41 SUBCHAPTER V 1692d 15 U.S. Code 1692d - Harassment or abuse U.S. Code Notes prev | next A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section : ( 1 ) The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.

( 2 ) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader. 
( 3 ) The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency or to persons meeting the requirements of section 1681a ( f ) or 1681b ( 3 ) [ 1 ] of this title.

( 4 ) The advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt.

( 5 ) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

( 6 ) Except as provided in section 1692b of this title, the placement of telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the callers identity. 

Releasing Patient Information to an Unauthorized Individual An authorization form must be obtained from a patient before any of their PHI can be disclosed to a third party for a purpose other than one expressly permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Disclosing PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment for healthcare, or healthcare operations ( and limited other cases ) is a HIPAA violation if authorization has not been received from the patient in advance.

Healthcare employees must ensure that prior to disclosing PHI to a third party that authorization has been obtained from the patient and information is not disclosed to any individual or company that is not included on the authorization form. Authorization forms are only valid if they have been signed by the patient or their nominated representative. 
Releasing Patient Information Without Authorization In a similar vein to the previous point, healthcare employees must also exercise caution about the types of information that are released to third parties, even if an authorization form has been received allowing a specific individual, company, or organization to receive PHI. 
The authorization form should include what types of information have been authorized to be released. Any information that is not detailed on the authorization form must remain private and confidential and should not be shared. The disclosure of additional information would violate the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Impermissible Disclosures of Patient Health Records The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits patients to obtain a copy of their health records on request or have their records provided to a nominated third party such as a personal representative or other individual. If not collected in person by the patient, the third party must have been given authorization by the patient on a HIPAA authorization form to receive the records before they can be released. 
Prior to providing copies of patient health records, healthcare employees must verify the identity of the patient or the person collecting the records and must ensure records are only released to an individual authorized to receive them. Care must also be taken to ensure that the correct patients records are released.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation