Expert: Creditwrench - 7/8/2008

Question
I received routine medical care from a physician that accepted my insurance reimbursements as full payment for about 2 years. I would  not have continued to use his services if he required more than what the insurance paid and this arrangement worked for us both. I signed all insurance checks over to him and only paid for procedures that we both agreed on and were not covered by insurance. I never received a bill from him to suggest otherwise. Recently I learned through a collection agency the MD sold all of his accounts prior to moving from his offices.  When I tracked him down I was advised by the receptionist to write him a letter complaining about how I was treated.  I did but never received a response.  The agency that bought his accounts is asking for the portions not paid by insurance from 2004 to 2006.  Is this something they can legitimately pursue when the MD who provided the services agreed to other arrangements. Can my salary be garnished over this and a lien be placed on my bank accounts?  These are threats that they have made.  Recently my insurance has sent me copies of bills that they have submitted as if these bills were never submitted by the doctor and already paid by the insurance company.  The bills are for enormous amounts of money and services I never received in 2004.  Do I have any recourse?

Answer
Yes, you do have recourse and it lies in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your first step should be to demand validation of the debt and to dispute the debt all in one letter sent to the debt collector via certified mail return receipt requested.

Then you need to get in touch with that doctor by any means possible if you don't know where he is now. You can always try to get his contact information through your state medical association. They usually know how to contact doctors. Once you can contact him you need to ask him for all of your medical records and an accounting of what was paid and what was not.

You can be certain that they will pursue the debt vigorously if they think they have a crying chance to squeeze the money out of you by any means possible including filing of lawsuits and garnishment of wages or property so you need to start learning how to defend yourself now.

Learn what debt collectors must do to obey the law and what to do when they start to harass you over the phone. Best you get a digital voice recorder or some means of recording all phone conversations with you about the debt.

In the end you will probably end up having to file a federal lawsuit against them for violations of law and if you don't get busy learning now you will most assuredly come out the little end of the horn.

Bill Bauer
405-684-9297
405-227-9423

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LISTEN TO THESE CREDITWRENCH STUDENTS CHAT ON OUR FRIDAY NIGHT CONFERENCE CALLS.

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Statute of Limitations for all states
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How to set up your hard drive for creditwrench files. Makes them easy to find.
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If you live within driving distance of Oklahoma City you can also come to our monthly meeting of the Oklahoma City Chapter of Jurisdictionary meetings. They are held on the 2nd Thursday of each month at Coit's Root Beer Stand which is located on the corner of SW 24th & Western Ave in Oklahoma City. The meetings start promptly at 7:00 P.M. and last for 2 hours. Attendees usually arrive about half an hour early so they can enjoy a good meal at Coit's Root Beer Stand. The meetings are free and open to the public and we can discuss your problems as well if you like.

We are going to start holding mock trials so that you can learn some court room procedures.