Consumer complaint received 2017-06-08
Company: Williams, Alexander & Associates, Inc
State: NJ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
I received a collections letter dated XX/XX/XXXX ( copy attached ) from Williams, Alexander and Associates about the account with XXXX XXXX XXXX, the medical provider. I disputed the collections claim on XX/XX/XXXX ( copy attached ).
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Also, my husband, XXXX XXXX, had a detailed discussion with XXXX XXXX in their office around XX/XX/XXXX. He explained to her how the claim was incorrectly submitted and also that we would be disputing the account. She said that she will make a note of it and assured him that when the account will be reported to the credit bureaus on XX/XX/XXXX it will be marked as disputed and it will have no effect on credit score until a resolution is reached. They record all calls so there should be a record of the call.
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They sent me an acknowledgement letter dated XX/XX/XXXX ( copy attached ) confirming that the account will be notified as disputed when it is reported to the credit bureaus. They also included an explanation and EOB for the services provided.
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I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX again starting XX/XX/XXXX asking them if they have submitted the claim correctly and then worked with them and XXXX XXXX for the next 3 weeks to resubmit the claim. Because the claim was over a year old, XXXX did not honor it. In good faith, I went ahead and settled the claim on XX/XX/XXXX for the new amount of {$420.00} ( see updated statement and receipt attached ).
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My understanding, from conversations with XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX, is that she contacted Williams, Alexander and Associates immediately stating that the account has been settled. This should have closed the case.
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I would like to bring to your notice a few concerns I have : First, the explanation provided in the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX is incorrect and it doesnt look like proper research was done. The medical provider, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, should have submitted the claim to XXXX XXXX for XXXX, instead they submitted it to XXXX ( see EOB ). Because of the incorrect submission, the claims were denied.
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Second, Williams, Alexander and Associates mentioned over the phone and in writing that the credit bureaus will be notified that the account is in dispute. Instead, the credit bureaus were notified incorrectly that the account is severely overdue and no dispute was recorded ( see attached credit bureau report ).
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Third, the account was fully settled on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX, from XXXX XXXX XXXX  notified Williams, Alexander and Associates immediately about it. This should have eliminated the need for any reporting to the credit bureau and it was done before XX/XX/XXXX. But they ignored the notification and still reported derogatory information to the bureaus.
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As a result of these mistakes and incorrect reporting to the bureaus, my credit score has dropped from the XXXXs to the XXXXs across the three bureaus. I found out about this the hard way because the APR for loan that I was about to originate doubled from 8.98 % to 16.97 % and because of this I was unable to originate it. Ill be happy to provide evidence of this.

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