Question:
Can anyone please help a student who needs some advice? Here's my
situation:
I was recently contacted by someone claiming to be a collection agency,
who said that I owed $600 to a doctor for treatment performed almost a
year and a half ago. The supposed agency said that they had sent me
several notices, but it seems the notices were sent to an old address.
No notice was ever forwarded to me, and I have no written notification
that I owe any money, nor did the doctor ever call me (my phone number
hasn't changed).
I've tried to contact the doctor's office to confirm the debt, but he
is on vacation and won't be back for a week. The address the
collection agency wants me to send the money to is different from the
doctor's address (it's just a PO Box). Is this significant? Should I
send the check now or should I wait until I can contact the doctor? I
don't have any real proof of the debt, but I'm a bit worried about
waiting a week; I want to act quickly to avoid a bad mark on my credit
record.
And, should I mail the check to the doctor or to the agency? I don't
want to send the money to one and have the other claim I still owe
them. Any advice on how to go about this?
Answer:
Q: Can anyone please help a student who needs some advice? Here's my
situation:
I was recently contacted by someone claiming to be a collection agency,
who said that I owed $600 to a doctor for treatment performed almost a
year and a half ago. The supposed agency said that they had sent me
several notices, but it seems the notices were sent to an old address.
No notice was ever forwarded to me, and I have no written notification
that I owe any money, nor did the doctor ever call me (my phone number
hasn't changed).
A: Do a google search on the Fair Debt Collections Act, and learn
a little about what it says. The big question is if you owe
the money or not. You can find out by responding to the collection
agency in writing (do nothing over the phone, don't even talk to
them) telling them that you will be happy to consider their request
after they prove to you in writing that you owe the bill, or a
court of proper jurisdiction has so ordered you to pay.
Q: I've tried to contact the doctor's office to confirm the debt, but he
is on vacation and won't be back for a week. The address the
collection agency wants me to send the money to is different from the
doctor's address (it's just a PO Box). Is this significant? Should I
send the check now or should I wait until I can contact the doctor? I
don't have any real proof of the debt, but I'm a bit worried about
waiting a week; I want to act quickly to avoid a bad mark on my credit
record.
A: The collection agency is going to be just a PO box. They don't
want anyone to come down with hand gun and blow the SOB's away
that work there.
Again, under the fair debt collection act, they cannot negatively
impact your credit for asking for proof. They always tell you
that you have 3 days or whatever, and you only get one chance
to settle or the "fees" get tacked on. That is all hogwash. If
it waited 18 months, it can wait another few days. If you were
going to get a negative credit mark, it would have been put on
there over a year ago by the doctor when you were 90 days late
(if you actually owe the money).
Q: And, should I mail the check to the doctor or to the agency? I don't
want to send the money to one and have the other claim I still owe
them. Any advice on how to go about this?
A: You need to find out who owns the debt. If the doctor sold
the debt to this boiler room operation, then you pay the collection
agency. If the doctor still owns the debt, then send it where
the doctor wants it sent (that could be to either place).
