Consumer complaint received 2025-06-11 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:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received emergency medical care at the XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, WA. In the months that followed, I received and paid all bills related to services that were properly billed, including labs, imaging, and hospital facility charges. 
However, I later received a debt collection notice from XXXX XXXX XXXX for {$1700.00}, alleging I owed a debt to XXXX XXXX XXXX ( account # Redacted, included in complaint ) This was the first time I was made aware of any outstanding charges from this company. I had never received a bill, explanation of benefits, or notice directly from XXXX XXXX XXXX prior to the collection attempt. 
Upon receiving the notice, I contacted XXXX XXXX at ( XXXX ) XXXX and was informed by XXXX that my account showed no outstanding balance and that no further billing was expected through their facility. After receiving a second notice, I called again and was told that emergency room physicians are separately contracted and unaffiliated with XXXX, which explained the separate billing party. 
I then verified with my insurer, XXXX XXXX, that XXXX XXXX XXXX was in-network at the time of service and was required under contract to submit claims to Regence prior to billing me. XXXX confirmed that no such claim had been submitted and that due to the passage of time ( now more than one year from the date of service ), the claim would now be denied even if it was filed retrospectively to remedy the situation. I was advised by XXXX ( reference # XXXX ) to dispute the charges and request that the billing provider void the bill due to their failure to follow proper billing procedure and possible contractual obligations. 
I then attempted to contact XXXX XXXX XXXX using the only number provided by XXXX, which routed me to a third-party billing contractor called XXXX. XXXX could not locate my account due to lack of a Billing account # which as I stated previously had never been provided or sent to me before collection notices started appearing. They referred me to another vendor, XXXX, in an attempt to locate my account through date of service but was then oddly informed the original creditor was not a registered client of theirs. I was unable to find a working phone number, billing contact, or operational website for XXXX XXXX XXXX. The only relavent website 's patient billing page that I could find produced a XXXX error at XXXX XXXX XXXX and no one at XXXX or the collection agency could provide a valid contact. 
Renton Collections Inc was not cooperative. When I asked for a valid contact number for the original creditor, they instructed me to XXXX it. I eventually demanded debt validation, and after an initial pushback, they verbally agreed to send a validation letter on XX/XX/XXXX. As of today, more than 60 days later, I have not received any validation materials. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a formal debt validation request and request for account closure in writing via certified mail. It was received by Renton Collections the following business days per USPS. In addition, I sent a final notice follow up letter via certified mail on XX/XX/XXXX informing them of their failure to validate the debt and a final reminder to please close the account due to the invalid debt. As of today, I have received no response, no documentation proving the validity of the debt, and no information to contact the original creditor. Despite this and my initial request to close the invalid account, collection efforts have continued without any notice or indication otherwise. 
This appears to be a clear violation of : The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ), for failure to provide timely debt validation and for misleading statements made by collectors. 
Washingtons Consumer Protection Act ( RCW 19.86 ), due to deceptive billing practices and lack of transparency. 
Potential insurance contract violations, as the provider failed to submit an in-network claim to my insurance before attempting to collect from me. 
I am requesting that the CFPB investigate this matter. This debt is not valid, and I should not be penalized for a medical providers failure to follow standard billing protocols. I have acted in good faith and have exhausted every possible avenue to resolve this on my own. In addition to submitting a complaint here with the CFPB I have filed one with the WA State Attorney Generals office to investigate this matter as during my research I saw many similar stories with XXXX XXXX XXXX and subsequent surprise collection efforts. Some of the stories ended in innocent people paying off the collection agencies for their invalid debt just to stop the headaches of dealing with these shady and abusive practices. 
Thank you for your attention to this complaint.

Company public response: Company believes the complaint is the result of a misunderstanding
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation