Consumer complaint received 2026-04-07 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: Merchants Credit Corporation
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint against Merchants Credit Association XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) regarding the improper collection of a disputed {$1000.00} medical debt originally owed to Virginia XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX SUMMARY OF VIOLATIONS : XXXX. DISPUTED DEBT TRANSFERRED WITHOUT VALIDATION ( FDCPA 1692g ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I formally disputed this debt through XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX confirmed in writing that same day that : ( a ) collection had been stopped ; ( b ) my dispute had been notated ; and ( c ) a request for itemization had been sent to Virginia XXXX XXXX XXXX. I was told I would receive correspondence by mail. I never did. More than XXXX months later, with the dispute entirely unresolved and no itemized bill ever provided, XXXX transferred this account to a second collection agency Merchants Credit Association without notifying me and without validating the debt. Transferring an open, acknowledged, unvalidated disputed debt to another collector without resolution is a violation of the FDCPA. XXXX. NO SURPRISES ACT / FDCPA MISREPRESENTATION I carry XXXX XXXX insurance through the XXXX XXXX XXXX as a public employee. My emergency room visit at Virginia XXXX is subject to the federal No Surprises Act ( effective XX/XX/XXXX ), which prohibits balance billing for emergency services and requires that patient cost-sharing be based on in-network rates. No itemized bill has ever been provided showing how this {$1000.00} charge was calculated or how my insurance was applied. Under the FDCPA, a debt collector can not collect on a debt that misrepresents the character or amount owed and without itemization, I can not verify this charge is permissible under the No Surprises Act. 3. PHONE REPRESENTATIVE DISMISSED DOCUMENTED DISPUTE When I contacted Merchants Credit Association by phone and referenced my documented XX/XX/XXXX dispute with XXXX including XXXX 's written confirmation the representative dismissed my concerns and declined to engage with the substance of my dispute. This conduct is inconsistent with the FDCPA 's prohibition on unfair and deceptive collection practices. XXXX XXXX XXXX BLOCKED MY EMAIL When I attempted to send a formal written dispute directly to XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX 's billing department, my email was returned with a XXXX XXXX Local Policy Violation error. The original creditor has made itself effectively unreachable for written billing disputes, compounding the harm. XXXX. ORIGINAL CREDITOR REFUSED RESPONSIBILITY When I called XXXX XXXX directly, their billing representative stated that they were under no obligation to send me an update and that I should have contacted them myself. This response after their own collections agent had committed in writing to obtaining and sending itemization on their behalf is both misleading and inconsistent with patient billing rights under federal law. WHAT I AM REQUESTING : I am requesting that the CFPB forward this complaint to Merchants Credit Association and XXXX XXXX XXXX and require them to : ( XXXX ) cease all collection activity on this account ; ( XXXX ) provide the itemized bill that has been owed to me since XX/XX/XXXX ; ( XXXX ) confirm whether this account has been reported to any credit bureau ; and ( XXXX ) return this account to Virginia XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX XXXX and insurance resubmission. DOCUMENTATION AVAILABLE : I have XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX written confirmation of my dispute, which I am prepared to provide as an attachment.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation