What is the name of your state? Indiana
I recently requested a copy of my credit report and noticed a past collection for $13 for an outstanding hospital bill. It wasn't paid earlier because I never recieved notice of it. I sent a letter to the collection agency that reported it and tried to dispute it on that basis and the basis that it was suppose to be covered under Medicaid. They agreed to mark it as disputed but refused to remove it because they said there was no proof that I never got the notices.
I dug a little deeper and found that the date of service was 3/2/99. My coverage period for Medicaid was 1/99 to 9/99. They had this account information on file because everything else (including the birth) was billed to Medicaid.
In addition to that, my daughter was born in 9/99. During those six months no one contacted me regarding this bill. Before we moved I recieved the a copy of the (final) bill for the birth that was sent to Medicaid. A change of address was filed with the Post Office.
Additional information that I found out. The hospital didn't bill my insurance company (Medicaid was a secondary) until April of 2000. Again, I recieve not even a phone call regarding this matter and if they mailed letters that were never forwarded - they either weren't returned or weren't reported as returned.
I seperated from my husband in November 2000.
This claim was sent to Collections in September of 2000. Somehow they got my mom's address and mailed things to her. I didn't move in with her until November 2000. Again, that wasn't proof enough for them. They mentioned a phone number they had gotten from my brother - I don't even have a brother!!
A few questions:
1. Can they wait a year to bill someone for a service??? I guess in away that's a moot point, because they did. But still curious about it.
2. Does the hospital (person owed) have to contact you regarding this debt before it's sent to collections?
3. How long does a Collection agency have to contact you regarding an attempt to collect a debt? I thought it was 30 days is that correct?
4. I found a copy of my Petition for Dissolution that notes that I seperated from my husband in November 2000 and makes note of the fact that I had only lived with my mom for three months. Is this enough proof that I wasn't contacted?
5. Given this information, what are my chances of getting this removed?
I recently requested a copy of my credit report and noticed a past collection for $13 for an outstanding hospital bill. It wasn't paid earlier because I never recieved notice of it. I sent a letter to the collection agency that reported it and tried to dispute it on that basis and the basis that it was suppose to be covered under Medicaid. They agreed to mark it as disputed but refused to remove it because they said there was no proof that I never got the notices.
I dug a little deeper and found that the date of service was 3/2/99. My coverage period for Medicaid was 1/99 to 9/99. They had this account information on file because everything else (including the birth) was billed to Medicaid.
In addition to that, my daughter was born in 9/99. During those six months no one contacted me regarding this bill. Before we moved I recieved the a copy of the (final) bill for the birth that was sent to Medicaid. A change of address was filed with the Post Office.
Additional information that I found out. The hospital didn't bill my insurance company (Medicaid was a secondary) until April of 2000. Again, I recieve not even a phone call regarding this matter and if they mailed letters that were never forwarded - they either weren't returned or weren't reported as returned.
I seperated from my husband in November 2000.
This claim was sent to Collections in September of 2000. Somehow they got my mom's address and mailed things to her. I didn't move in with her until November 2000. Again, that wasn't proof enough for them. They mentioned a phone number they had gotten from my brother - I don't even have a brother!!
A few questions:
1. Can they wait a year to bill someone for a service??? I guess in away that's a moot point, because they did. But still curious about it.
2. Does the hospital (person owed) have to contact you regarding this debt before it's sent to collections?
3. How long does a Collection agency have to contact you regarding an attempt to collect a debt? I thought it was 30 days is that correct?
4. I found a copy of my Petition for Dissolution that notes that I seperated from my husband in November 2000 and makes note of the fact that I had only lived with my mom for three months. Is this enough proof that I wasn't contacted?
5. Given this information, what are my chances of getting this removed?