Consumer complaint received 2025-10-22 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: W&A Intermediate Co., LLC
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
I am filing a complaint against Wakefield & Associates ( and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) for reporting a false and unvalidated {$19000.00} medical debt to the credit bureaus, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ).

Additionally, there appears to have been misrepresentation and a lack of transparency regarding the transfer of this account between two debt collection agencies XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) and Wakefield & Associates with inconsistent and potentially deceptive communications. Here is the timeline of events : XX/XX/XXXX I received a collection notice from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) for a {$19000.00} medical debt from a XX/XX/XXXX visit to XXXX XXXX XXXX. 


XX/XX/XXXX I spoke on the phone with a representative from XXXX, as well as my insurance provider, and confirmed that this debt was false and a medical billing error. I was told nothing about any account transfer at that time. The representative from XXXX stated my account would be placed in " formal dispute status '' at this time while it is investigated further. 

I heard nothing further from XXXX or anyone else until : XX/XX/XXXX I received a new notice from Wakefield & Associates, claiming I owed {$19000.00}, the same amount as previously dealt with by XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX I called the phone number specified on the Wakefield & Associates notice, and I spoke with a XXXX representative who stated my account had been transferred from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX the same day I first received the electronic notice from XXXX. This transfer was never disclosed during my XX/XX/XXXX phone call with XXXX. In fact, I was clearly speaking to an XXXX associate at that time, not Wakefield.The Wakefield representative claimed she could see the insurance information was confirmed and that the {$19000.00} amount was what was due, despite the previous conversation with both the insurance company and XXXX. Wakefield & Associates refused to explain why my account had been transferred, only repeating that it occurred on XX/XX/XXXX. The representative stated that my only other course of action would be to write and mail a formal letter of dispute for the account. XXXX XXXX XXXX I drafted and sent a formal dispute and debt validation request to Wakefield & Associates via certified mail. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX confirmed Wakefield received my dispute letter.

Despite receiving my timely dispute, Wakefield reported the {$19000.00} debt to credit bureaus shortly after, on XX/XX/XXXX, without providing validation or responding to my dispute. 

At the time of the initial contact with my insurance company and XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, the only information I had was that a ) the hospital, XXXX XXXX XXXX, was claiming that they did bill my insurance and {$19000.00} was the remaining out-of-pocket cost, and b ) the insurance showed no such claim was ever made. At the time of service, I had an Anthem BCBS plan used as a primary insurance, and a secondary XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that would pick up the remainder of my cost on the hospital stay. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX once again, and retrieved a full Explanation of Benefits for the date of service in question. It clearly shows that XXXX XXXX XXXX billed my XXXX primary insurance, received a paid claim, with the leftover amount totaling around {$1400.00}, which the secondary coverage would have picked up. However, after speaking with XXXX from the billing department at the hospital, their records indicate that they billed my secondary insurance first, got a paid claim, and then the insurer took the payment back because the primary insurance needs to be billed first. This is a coordination of benefits issue. The billing department is denying having received any payment for the date of service from the insurance, and my primary insurance has a clear record of paying the claim. My secondary insurance never received a proper claim at all. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I am waiting to receive several documents from the hospital billing department, detailing the itemized charges and where exactly the paid claim from the insurance went. I have attached my insurance cards for primary and secondary, the timely dispute letter and proof of delivery for Wakefield and Associates as well as their initial communication ( The password to open this file is XXXX ), and the explanation of benefits directly from my insurance which detail what they paid for and what remainder was left. I am prepared to share the itemized bills when I receive them from the hospital in XXXX business days.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief