Consumer complaint received 2015-11-30
Company: HOVG, LLC
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Threatened to take legal action

Complaint:
In XXXX 2015 I received a collections notice from " Bay Area Credit Service '' - I had no idea what it was for so I sent a FAX requesting more information, such as to whom the money was owed and for what ... .. I then set it aside to await a response and if none received intended to turn it over to the police as mail " phishing scam ''. 
On XXXX/XXXX/15, I had still received no response so I decided to attempt calling them before reporting it to the police. It turns out that the debt was a valid medical debt however, the provider failed to send me a bill and in speaking with the original service provider ( XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX, CA ), it turns out they had the secondary insurance information all along and simply failed to bill them either. Additionally, they advised that they had a different address but this has been the address for years and was also the address where the service was provided. The first person I spoke with said they attempted phone contact but they did not and when I mentioned that to the supervisor, she did not indicate that any attempt to contact by telephone was made. The hospital and physicians who provided treatment related to this injury all have the correct information and were all paid in full within weeks of service. 
My concern is that this type of business practice damages a person 's credit - especially when the 'debtor ' would have been and still is more than willing and able to pay any uncovered expenses. 
After two hours of phone calls and speaking with a supervisor, I was told they would forward the information to the collection agency and request that it not be reported to credit agencies. I explained that I was comfortable sharing any more information with any collection agency and again requested that they pull it out of collections, bill the secondary insurance and then, if any monies were owed, bill me for the remainder. 
The supervisor at XXXX XXXX XXXX was unfamiliar with the procedure to pull back any accounts sold to collections but will look into it and phone me back in two days. Even if I am successful in pressuring them to do the right thing, it is clear that correcting mistakes is not a standard policy or practice for this provider. 
Is there a law in place protecting people from such damaging business practices? if not, there should be. I did read that the collections agency is required to give you the original provider 's information such as the name and contact information and that was not done upon receipt of my FAXED inquiry in XXXX 2015 and when I spoke with them today, they gave me the name but refused to give me the contact information for the provider ( I found it myself online ). 
Additionally, the practice of 'selling ' accounts due at a reduced rate when they are in fact able to collect through standard billing methods, only serves to further increase the already inflated cost of medical care - making it increasingly difficult for average citizens to obtain and pay for needed medical care.

Company public response: Company can't verify or dispute the facts in the complaint
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation