Medical debt collector


(Vicksburg, MS 39180)

I have been contacted by a collection agency that said they were not a collection agency & refused to send anything in writing. I was told amounts & dates from January 2007 until June 2011. (I have an insuranc co-pay). I contacted the medical provider & they told me that these had been turned over to a collection agency and they will send me the itemized information. I was also asked by the woman where my income came from as I am unemployed. My medical care provider told me that they were not supposed to ask me that question. The collection agency also had an old address, but still would not send me anything. Is this agency acting in accordance with laws in Mississippi? Thank you.

Comments for Medical debt collector

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Aug 09, 2015
 Similar situation in Indiana
by: Julie

I am experiencing something very similar in Indiana. I ran my credit report and found a medical bill in collections. I have no idea what this is for. I called the collection agency and they could not tell me dates or medical procedures, but they did tell me the hospital who I owed.

I called the hospital and they could only tell me it was in collections. They gave me dates, but could not tell me the procedure it was for. I have no idea if I really owe this or not. I pay my medical bills in full and on time. I have no memory of any medical needs/procedures for the date they gave me. I have no memory of anyone calling or sending bills to me for collection.

I don't know why the hospital can't tell me what the bill is for. I'm not sure if I should just pay it and move on or fight this.

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

You should not have to pay a medical bill you don't think is correct. The collection agency must, by law, verify the debt if you request it. By providing you with the information to contact the hospital they may think they have done their job, but you still can't verify that the debt is legitimate.

Federal law doesn't spell out specific rights for a situation like this, and we can't give legal advice as we are not attorneys. But if we were in your shoes, we would send a certified letter to the collection agency explaining what you told us. We would state that we have been unable to get any information about what this bill is for and why it ended up in collections. We'd tell them that we are disputing it and need proof that this debt is owed before making a payment.

Then we would dispute it on our credit reports as well. Here's more information on href="https://www.debtcollectionanswers.com/How-To-Dispute-Credit-Report.html">how to dispute credit report mistakes.

Oh, and we would file a complaint with the CFPB as well.

PS: If you haven't done so, we recommend you read our free ebook to understand your rights. Download our ebook here.

Please do let us know how this turns out.
May 30, 2012
 Medical debt collector
by: debtcollecionanswers.com

I do not know about the debt collection law in Mississippi, but it appears that the collector that has been contacting you may have violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). That law spells out your rights when you're contacted by a collector. Among other things, it says that if a collector contacts you by phone to notify you about a debt it says you owe, it must follow up by sending you written information about the debt, including the amount of the debt it wants you to pay, to whom you owe the debt and so on. I recommend that you schedule FREE consultation with a consumer law attorney. You may have grounds for a lawsuit.

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