Consumer complaint received 2024-03-18 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: Renton Collections Inc.
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
To whom it may concern : I am contacting your agency because I have experienced an absurd scenario that violates several regulations governing medical bills, debt collectors and credit reporting. It was in XX/XX/XXXX, when I started to received numerous calls from an unknown number. One day after listening to a seemingly urgent voicemail regarding an account, I returned the call to the unknown number. On the receiving end was an aggressive individual who informed me that I had an outstanding balance reported for collections. This individual then instructed me that I needed to pay the outstanding balance {$1400.00} immediately. Given the surprise nature of the call and the level of pressure and intimidation the agent was practicing, I demanded more information. Something about the call did not feel legitimate. Therefore, I wanted to know how and why a debt collector was contacting me. The amount that they demanded was similar to a new bill, from XXXX XXXX XXXX that I had received only a month prior. I had received my first bill from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX nearly 11 months after my patient visit to their hospital. I ended speaking with an agent from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX The agent assured me that there was no need to worry. They agreed that being billed 11 months after initially receiving XXXX XXXX was odd, so they offered to look into why this was happening to my account and would follow up with me if they had any questions. After that conversation, I never heard from XXXX XXXX XXXX again. I did not receive another bill from them either. Fast forward two years, in XX/XX/XXXX my credit report begins to show a delinquent flag and my creditworthiness score is then lowered by roughly XXXXXXXX XXXX. In the same month, all outstanding balances pertaining to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX were reprocessed and covered by my health insurance leaving a XXXX XXXX 

I am filing this claim to report an inaccuracy on my credit report. It relates to an non-existent delinquency flagged by the debt collector : RCI BILLING XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX This collections account first showed up on my credit report XX/XX/XXXX. I am reporting this inaccuracy to your agency because it violates several federal regulations : [ ] No Surprises Act ( NSA ) - Insurance plans and medical provider have an outlined process to settle disputes over a medical provider 's charges in order to ensure fair resolution. As a member of a group health plan, this is a surprise bill and delinquency related to emergency services received XX/XX/XXXX. At the time, there was no indication of additional out-of-network costs. Kindly review the attached documentation demonstrating that each claim originally reported in XXXX was covered by my health insurance plan. In XXXX, all outstanding balances were reprocessed and covered by my insurance plan as well. 

[ ] Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) - Debt collectors are prohibited from falsely representing the character, legal status or amount of any debt. Moreover, debt collectors are not permitted to report medical bills to credit reporting agencies without first attempting to collect the debt being flagged as delinquent. RCI BILLING has not attempted to collect the past due amount currently being reported to CRAs. 

[ ] Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C. 1681i - Credit reporting agencies shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates. Failure to verify the delinquent account information within the 30-day time period constitutes non-verification and the account in question must be immediately removed from my credit file and credit report according to 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ). 

Thank you for your cooperation.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint provided an opportunity to answer consumer's questions
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation