Consumer complaint received 2025-03-05 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: CREDICO. INC
State: SD

Complaint narrative:
They made their first contact via telephone 5 years and 1 month after the date of my daughter 's XXXX. They never sent us anything in the mail saying we owed money or a debt collector was after us. We lived for years thinking everything to do with that XXXX was paid. 

I got a call from Credit Collections Bureau in XX/XX/XXXX. No message was left. I called them back after checking whether or not it was a real company and I stated I don't owe anyone any money but wanted to know what the call was about. I left a voice mail after speaking to a man who initially answered the phone. We got a call a few days later from " XXXX. '' That name came up with no last name on caller ID whereas it was " Credit Collections Bureau '' the week before. " XXXX '' informed XXXX that there was a bill from XXXX and that the interest was almost the same as the initial bill. It sounded like a scam. So we asked for them to send us the itemized bill and XXXX if it had been run through insurance, etc. We did comment on the fact we had never received anything from them in 5 years and asked why, to which they have an attitude that it doesn't matter, you just need to pay them because they say so now because they're still within the statute of limitations to collect the debt. 

Upset by finding out so many years after the fact we are being pressured to pay over {$1000.00} including hundreds in interest, we called this XXXX  to ask if we had ever been there and what was going on. It turns out it was from the XXXX. I asked THEM to send me the bill and any info and XXXX, etc. so we could pay them if we really did owe them. They said they had no information stored on it about XXXX XXXX years after the fact. They said they signed the debt over to XXXX over 4 years ago. The insurance policy through XXXX 's work was XXXX different companies ago and they couldn't give us any information on it. We figured we would wait for the information coming from XXXX and figure out what steps to take after that. We just have not had the luxury of being able to see this bill or know what's been paid on it by insurance, IF it's been run through insurance at all. We literally know nothing about this bill except they say it's not been paid and we owe it. 

They never sent us a single thing. Not when they assured us over the phone the validation of the debt, billing, and insurance information would be sent promptly. The only piece of mail we ever received from them in 5 years is a letter offering to settle with us before the small claims court case they filed goes to trial. This is outrageously violating the FDCPA. I also think it's very dishonest to sit on an alleged debt for several years so you can charge hundreds in interest when you never followed the law and approached the person in any way to resolve the situation. Even in the documents they submitted to the court when they filed, the paper where the hospital signed the date over to the XXXX is in XX/XX/XXXX, a month AFTER XXXX approached us, which was over 5 years after the procedure. And there was nothing else from the XXXX, just a piece of paper saying the bill amount & the interest amount. So the proof they have given to us for this alleged debt is " Trust me bro, '' and without this we can't even offer a settlement. The implied threat of us having a judgement on our record against us if we don't settle or just pay is not fair or right. 

We have attached everything we have regarding this. You can see besides the letters from the court ( including the only documents they submitted when they filed ) the only thing we ever received from them is the letter offering to settle AFTER we denied the case.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation