Debt Collectors - Beware

For the most part I try to stay on top of my debts regardless of what kind it is - be it medical or credit cards debts. Sure they were times when I fell behind in my medical payments but that’s usually when I am waiting for a settlement from a car accident. Once I get the settlement I pay the bills in full. So imagine my surprise when I got a notice from a debt collector saying they “bought” my debt from DeKalb Medical. I admit it was only for $50, but from what I could remember I did not have any unresolved bills with DeKalb Medical let alone for $50. So I decided to do some research. Mostly because this was not the first or even the second time that I was contacted by a debt collector trying to collect on a debt they assumed from DeKalb Medical that had already been settled.

The first time this happened it was back in 2012 when a debt collector contacted me to say I owed a significant amount on a bill with DeKalb Medical for services I knew my health insurance provider would have already paid based on the service date.  When I reviewed my records I noticed that the amount the debt collector was requesting was the exact amount my insurance provider had discounted off the bill.  Apparently DeKalb Medical was trying to recoup their loss years after the bill was settled. I wrote the collection agency and included copies of my documentations which showed the amount they were requesting was actually the discounted amount that my insurance provider at the time had negotiated. I also quoted the disclaimer statement my insurance provider posted on the statement when they notified the vendor that they were paying the discounted amount. I reminded them that their attempts to try to recover that discounted amount was a clear violation of the agreement they had with my insurance provider. I never heard back from them.

As with the other times before this most recent incident, I did not have to look very far or hard for supporting documentation that this bill was already settled. Lucky for me I am notorious for keeping good records. In fact my daughter sometimes accuses me of being a “hoarder” – lol. But in my defense, I never know when something will come up which will force me to prove I took care of it already. Trust me, I learned my lesson a long time ago the hard way. I know they say you should only keep records for 7 years but I keep them for as long as necessary or until the ink fades, whichever comes first because I never know when someone will come out the wood works claiming I did not pay a debt. Like when I paid off for my car loan back in 1996 but several years later the Chase Bank on the island was reporting the account as “charged off”. Again, luckily I had kept the receipt to show I paid the debt in full. It would take years to clear that up because while the credit bureau would make the change manually, every time Chase sent in their records it would overwrite the information. They eventually found a way to fix it permanently. In case you are wondering, yes I still have that receipt – just in case.

This most recent demand for payment was for a service date in 2009 when I was fully covered by health insurance but there was a $250 deductible requirement. My record shows I made four payments over a 2-month period which settled that debt. My bank statement for that time period also confirms that the payments were processed and paid.

So why is DeKalb Medical selling debts that were already paid and/or settled? Your guess is as good as mines, but whatever their reason for selling a debt that has already been paid or settle is reprehensible to me.  However, as I mentioned before, the good thing is that I kept excellent records which supports that the debt was paid/settle. I wrote both the debt collector and DeKalb Medical and submitted my documentation to show that the entire $250 was paid in full. I also asked DeKalb Medical to take steps to reconcile their records across all their billing system to ensure this does not happen again as it has become worrisome and downright irritating to have to constantly prove that the debt in question was satisfied. Will they adhere to my request? I guess time will tell as I have yet to hear back.

I shared this with you to make you aware that it is possible to have debt collectors contact you on a medical bill which has already been settled or discounted in an attempt to recover their loss. I must admit that at first I was prepared to pay the $50 as it was a small amount but it did not sit right with me that I would have an outstanding balance from 2009 and they were only just now contacting me about it. That was my second red flag – the first was my previous similar experiences. I’m glad I decided to look into it and not pay it blindly. Maybe that was their hope/intention, but they obviously did not count on me having documentation to show it was paid already.

My advice to you is when or if you get contacted by a debt collector, do your due diligence to research the debt before you make a payment, including checking the date of service. If you know you owe the debt by all means pay it, but on the off chance that it is not a legitimate debt you owe it to yourself to check it out. Don’t be bullied or threatened into paying a bill that may very well not be legitimate. Like I tell all my friends, don’t be so quick to throw away receipts and you definitely need to make sure you get one for every dollar you spend, regardless of the vendor. It’s the only way you can protect yourself from any further claims. I’m Just Saying. I got issues – what about you?

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