Expert: Chris Ebert - 12/23/2011

Question
I receive alerts for changes to my credit report through e-mail. About two weeks ago I received an alert involving negative information. When I pulled up my report it showed a collection account from Grant and Weber for $500. I didn't know what this could be for so I did some research. I found the collection is from my nearby hospital. I was pretty shocked to see this as I was never notified by the hospital or debt collector. I have only used this hospital twice. Once years ago for ER services and second about eight months ago for an ultrasound for my daughter. At the time of the recent visit I was told my insurance covered the service. A few days after finding this collection I received a letter from my insurance company stating they are in negotiations with this hospital to decide if they are going to keep them in-network. The negotiations are to end on December 31, 2011. I'm unsure if this is a result of the negotiations or if it's even my debt as I am unsure what the bill is for. Should I contact the creditor? Is there much I can do since they have already posted on my report?

Answer
Heather,

I would contact the debt collector and ask for copies of the bills they are collecting on. If it is a legitimate bill then try to satisfy it for a deletion from your credit report. You may want contact your insurance provider once you have a copy of the bill to see if they did pay it. Sometimes it was paid and not credited.

Chris