Consumer complaint received 2021-03-30
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: New Hampshire Northeast Credit Services, Inc. (ME)

I was reviewing my credit reports recently and discovered that there had been a collection placed with my 3 credit bureaus by a junk debt buyer called XXXX XXXX XXXX out of XXXX New Hampshire for some sort of medical debt. I DO NOT have an outstanding medical debts. The original debt is also listed as being from a facility that I DO NOT receive care from called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, Maine. I have sent XXXX XXXX XXXX the below debt validation request, which they REFUSE to respond do/provide and REFUSE to remove this slanderous, inaccurate derogatory item from my credit reports. My next step is hiring an attorney and suing these people for all they are worth for COMPLETELY violating my rights. 

To Whom It May Concern : I was recently reviewing my credit reports in preparation to purchase a new home and came across a medical collection account placed by your agency on all XXXX of my credit bureaus. As allowed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ), I am requesting that you immediately validate the alleged debt in writing. I am aware that there is a debt from XXXX XXXX XXXX, but I am unaware of what these alleged amount due is for and your collection does not include any sort of breakdown of fees whatsoever. I am fully within my right to know this information. 

Additionally, I am allowed under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA ) of 1996 to fully protect my privacy and medical records from unauthorized third parties, such as your company. I never provided my consent to XXXX XXXX XXXX to ever release any of my private medical information to a third party. I am aware that HIPAA does allow for VERY LIMITED information about me, but anything more is to only be revealed with the patients authorization and consent. Therefore my request is twofoldvalidation of debt and HIPAA authorization.

Please provide to me a FULL breakdown of fees, including any collection costs and medical charges. Provide a copy of my signature with the provider of service to release my private medical information to you. Cease ANY AND ALL credit bureau reporting until this debt has been validated by me. 

Please send this information to my address listed above and accept this letter, sent via certified mail, as my formal debt validation request, which I am allowed under the FDCPA. Please note that withholding the information you received from any medical provider in an attempt to be HIPAA compliant can be a violation of the FDCPA because you will be deceiving me after my written request. I request full documentation of what you received from the provider of service in connection with this alleged debt. 

Additionally, any reporting of this debt to the credit bureaus prior to allowing me to validate it may be a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which can allow me to seek monetary damages from your collection agency. I will await your prompt reply with above requested proof. Upon receiving it, I will correspond back by certified mail. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX