Consumer complaint received 2016-10-31
Company: Collection Bureau of America Ltd.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I received a bill from Collection Bureau of America ( CBA ), XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, CA XXXX trying to collect a {$140.00} debt plus interest on behalf of University XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which I do not owe. The guilty party in this account is XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX, Tel : XXXX. What follows is an explanation of the facts. 

On XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I requested a XXXX XXXX from my doctor. They informed me that insurance would not pay for this XXXX and I would have to pay the full cost of {$180.00} personally in advance. I paid the {$180.00} on the spot, they gave me a receipt, and then they gave me the XXXX. 

Four months later on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX my insurance company received a claim for my XXXX expenses from my doctor 's billing service, University XXXX XXXX, even though the bill had already been paid in full by me. The insurance company sent me an XXXX showing that the patient responsibility for the XXXX services provided on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX ( XXXX codes XXXX, XXXX, XXXX ) was only {$69.00}. According to this XXXX I was overcharged for my XXXX by an amount equal to {$180.00} - {$69.00} = {$110.00}. 

To make matters worse, on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, six months after my XXXX, I received a bill from XXXX for {$360.00} for the XXXX services provided on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. Having already paid for the XXXX in full at the time of XXXX, I declined to pay the additional charge. Instead I sent copies of my doctor 's payment receipt and the insurance XXXX to XXXX and requested a refund of my overpayment. 

XXXX did not send a refund, did not acknowledge receipt of my documentation, and did not provide any explanation as to why they thought they were entitled to change the price of my XXXX after the fact. Instead, on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX I received an amended bill from XXXX for {$140.00}, which is on top of the {$180.00} I had already paid. 

Again I declined to pay XXXX bill as I had already paid the full cost of the XXXX in advance at the time of service. The fact that XXXX changed their bill from {$360.00} to {$140.00} is an admission by XXXX that their first bill was incorrect and that they are somewhat confused and incompetent. Unfortunately their second bill is also incorrect and they have refused to correct it. They also refused to acknowledge my request for a refund as detailed above. 

Bizarrely, in a recent telephone call, XXXX claimed the price I was quoted and I paid for the XXXX did not include the cost of the XXXX! This bizarre excuse is not credible, and not surprisingly, XXXX did not put this claim in writing. Their fatuous argument is equivalent to a supermarket telling you the posted cost of a loaf of sliced bread, does not include the bread! Of course, the XXXX makes clear that the contracted cost of my XXXX, including the XXXX (! ) is {$69.00}, so XXXX have no basis for their ludicrous and disingenuous assertion. 

At best, XXXX is guilty of bait and switch : changing the price of my XXXX 6 months after it had been agreed, provided, and paid in full. At worst, XXXX is guilty of fraud : ignoring the contracted rates for service with my insurance company, and ignoring the agreement made with me at the time of service. Fraud is illegal. XXXX should be investigated to determine the extent of their fraudulent billing practices and, if appropriate, a class-action lawsuit should be instituted to recover all excessive charges levied on patients since XXXX came into existence.

Company response to consumer: Closed