Collection agency calling about debt from 2007

[jayhawx86]

I'm from california and I had a collection agency call me last week about a medical bill from 2007. I have no record of this bill, nor do I remember the service. They (Rash, Curtis & Associates -- the debt collectors) claim I owe money though and they're threatening to damage my credit. I'm very inexperienced with these types of things, so I'm wondering what I should do. So far they have sent me a very vague statement which has some random account number on it and the abbreviated and broken up (unidentifiable) name of company that supposedly originally issued the bill.

Thanks for any help!

 

[justalayman]

I would suggest researching to find out if the bill is actually yours or not.

If the collection agency sent you anything, it gives you an address to send a validation demand to. Start with sending the validation letter. On that the original creditor will be identified. Then using that, research the validity of the debt and go from there.

 

[davew128]

I would suggest researching to find out if the bill is actually yours or not.

If the collection agency sent you anything, it gives you an address to send a validation demand to. Start with sending the validation letter. On that the original creditor will be identified. Then using that, research the validity of the debt and go from there.

Just as an aside, any potential credit report damage would be minimal and short lived. The SOL for filing a suit has passed (I know its an affirmative defense) and even the SOL for reporting the unpaid debt with a CRA is going to be expiring within a year at most.

 

[bdancer]

I'm from california and I had a collection agency call me last week about a medical bill from 2007. I have no record of this bill, nor do I remember the service. They (Rash, Curtis & Associates -- the debt collectors) claim I owe money though and they're threatening to damage my credit. I'm very inexperienced with these types of things, so I'm wondering what I should do. So far they have sent me a very vague statement which has some random account number on it and the abbreviated and broken up (unidentifiable) name of company that supposedly originally issued the bill.

Thanks for any help!

A medical bill from 2007 is at the 7 year point and would only be on your credit for a short period, depending on what month it's from. It is also passed the SOL to file a lawsuit. I suggest you send the collection agency a certified, return receipt letter telling them to cease all contact. If the actually try to report the debt to the credit bureaus, just dispute it as being beyond the 7 year reporting period.