Consumer complaint received 2017-06-07
Company: TENET HEALTHCARE CORPORATION
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
To Whom It  May  Concern, I am writing to inform you about a situation pertaining to a medical bill  ( s  ). I gave birth to my son on  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  at  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX . The day in question my son and I received  medical services  from  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX . My husband soon after the birth of our child went to add our son to his health insurance plan to cover expenses. On the same day my husband gave the information to the staff in the maternity ward as well as the insurance consultant who works on that level to help organize payment and billing. The bill in question is  XXXX . We were unaware of this bill existence until it was transferred over to Central Financial Control which is a collection company contracted under  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX . We sent a certified letter return receipt asking for debt validation and verification and was received by them on  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX . I sent this request under the Texas  Financial Code 392.202, Fair Credit Report Act  and the Fair Collections Act. We did not receive any correspondence in regards to that matter. After giving them ample time we then disputed it with the  Credit Reporting  Agencies, however they in turn verified it to the  Credit Reporting  Agencies without first validating nor verifying to us in regards to these lines on our credit reports.   I then proceeded to further investigate this matter and found that this whole situation was a result of a billing error in which  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  failed to request payment from our son 's primary insurance, instead they requested payment from  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  and not  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX . Our son 's Primary  Care Insurance  provider at the time of service was  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  policy #    XXXX  I contacted  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  about the mistake and they stated that they have no record of  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  as our son 's insurance provider. I then contacted  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  and asked if  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  ever billed them for services rendered. They stated that they have several from  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  in regards to our son. On  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  just  XXXX  days after our son 's birth they billed for service in the amount of  XXXX  claim #  XXXX , thus disproving the notion  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  statement of not having his primary insurance on file. I further contacted    XXXX   XXXX   XXXX    again on the matter and was constantly transferred back and forth between Central Financial Control and  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  billing department. No  one  in their organization could help me until I got in contact with  XXXX  who went above and beyond into researching this and stated that they did in fact have the information but did not know why the hospital did n't use it. He stated because of the age of the account  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  will deny the claim because of time limitations.   At the time of service my husband was paying near {$1000.00} a month in insurance premiums through his employer to make sure our children had healthcare coverage. To be held liable for a mistake on behalf the hospital and not even try to contact us by phone, email or any other form of communication before sending it to collections is not consumer friendly. The collection agency Central Financial Control is in violation with both state and Federal laws in regards to collections and thus resulted in financial harm for we were denied a mortgage because of this fraudulent line on our credit report. Both  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  and Central Financial Control are aware of the situation and are unwilling to work with myself and my husband to resolve this matter. I am sending this as my last attempt into working with  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  to get this resolved. My request is that any and all accounts reported by  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  and Central Financial Control be removed from my credit report, if not I will have no other choice then to render the service of a law firm I have consulted with on this matter to protect my rights under Texas  Financial Code 392.202,  Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Collections Act and any financial harm and damages it  may  have caused as a result. Thank you for your time and consideration into this matter and I look forward to a positive resolution.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation