Sound impossible? It has already happened. 

A company called Accretive Health has started playing out this quite possibly illegal drama in hospitals across this country, including healthcare facilities in Minnesota, Michigan and Utah.

Debt collectors are being placed in emergency rooms, dressed as hospital employees. They reportedly demand outstanding bills be paid up before patients receive treatment. Hospitals floundering under a mountain of unpaid bills are taking things to the next level – hard core debt collections right inside the hospital itself.

If you have had a charge-off or other debt, these bogus health care workers reportedly try to discourage you from seeking emergency treatment at all. Accretive Health’s debt collectors have also been reported to use collection scripts usually only heard over the phone by hard nosed agents using harassment tactics to get peopleto pay.

And in spite of laws stating otherwise, they don’t always identify themselves as debt collectors — reportedly, part of their plan is to make you think they’re hospital staff, not back office personnel. These debt collectors are not supposed to be part of the admissions process, legally or morally. It breaks all trust with the hospital to have the credit department harassing patients while they are sick, vulnerable and helpless.

Charge-offs, Medical Bills and Missed Treatments

According to an online report by the New York Times, collection employees were told to stall patients coming into the emergency room and make them enter into a payment agreement for a previous balance.

The agents were told to ask for a credit card payment before getting treatment – or to tell patients to go and get their checkbook. These bill collectors required point of service payments before they let patients receive treatment, and were described as ‘really aggressive’ by one victim. The actual hospital workers complained that patient care suffers while collections improve – the report says that medical staff complained that patients were harassed mercilessly.

In fact, doctors at the affected hospitals are complaining about strong arm tactics actually discouraging patients from seeking life-saving treatment, but their complaints were trivialized by the debt collection company, who were reported as saying that the doctors’ concerns are just ‘country club talk’. Additionally, some even some debt collection staff members thought the situation went too far. They reported that they are being threatened with termination if collection quotas aren’t met.

How did the collection agencies get so much power to hold your medical treatment hostage against charge-offs? The hospitals were promised savings and increased collections if they turned over some of their administrative functions. And suddenly, collection agents were dressing as hospital staff and trying to strong arm patients into coughing up cash before being allowed access to health care. And collections are, indeed up – but at what cost?

Your Medical Privacy Compromised by Charge-offs and Other Debts

According to reports, the debt collection workers have direct access to health information while chasing down patients about their charge-offs and past due bills. This is being investigated as it could violate a long list of federal privacy laws. Perhaps this access is for investigating the debt, but HIPAA affords patients equal rights, whether or not they are able to pay. It’s been reported that one patient’s cancer status was discussed between debt collection employees — a circumstance that is certainly none of their business or concern.

What can you do if you are confronted by a bill collector about a charge-off in a hospital?

Know your rights. If they don’t identify themselves as debt collectors, they have violated the law and you can report them to the FTC and your state attorney general. If you suspect you are dealing with a debt collector and not actual hospital staff, you may want to seek treatment elsewhere in order to preserve your medical privacy.

Accretive Health is already under investigation in Minnesota by Attorney General Lori Swanson for its very shady tactics. Fairview Health Services, a Minnesota hospital group, has fired them, but Accretive Health recently announced its been picked up by a major health care group that serves 11 states. So be aware that the situation is spreading. If you have charge-offs or other medical debts that you need to dispute, do so now. Otherwise, you may find yourself being given the runaround at the ER over demands to pay.

Make them prove that the debt is yours

The first thing you should do if you are uncertain of the debt AFNI is referring to is to request that they validate the debt. One of the biggest complaints against AFNI Collections is that they often try to collect on invalid debts which do not belong to the consumer. Many consumers end up just paying the invalid debt in order to make it go away. However, if you don’t like to give your money to dishonest collection agencies, you should consider sending them a debt validation letter.

A debt validation letter is a consumer’s way of making their creditors prove that the account that is being collected on is accurate and belongs to the consumer. If the debt is valid, then AFNI Debt Collections must also prove that they are authorized by your creditors to collect on the debt. All efforts to collect on your debt must be stopped until debt validation is provided. If they continue to make debt collection efforts without providing validation, they are in violation of federal law.

If you don’t know how to write a debt validation letter, you can look at our samples of debt validation letters.

Know your rights guaranteed in the FDCPA

The Fair Debt Collection Procedures Act guarantees the rights of consumers and limits what collection agencies can and cannot do when collecting on a debt. Unfortunately, collection agencies such as AFNI Collections often ignore the statutes outlined in the FDCPA http://aaacreditguide.com/blog/fair-debt-collection-practices-act/.

Collection agencies are forbidden to do any of the following things in order to collect a debt:

- Collect on old debts. The statute of limitations varies by state, but it is typically between 3-7 years. Many consumers have complained of AFNI Debt Collections trying to collect on debts from 10 or more years ago.

- Collect on debts that do not exist. AFNI is one of the primary debt collection agencies used by Verizon. Many consumers have complained that AFNI has tried to collect on debts they say are from Verizon Wireless, but when the consumers have called Verizon their debt could not be validated. In addition, attempts have been made to collect on debts for phone numbers they never had.

- Use abusive or threatening language. If AFNI, Inc.’s representatives use abusive language over the phone, they are in violation of the FDCPA.

Remember that any violations of the FDCPA should be reported to the FTC. Or you can file your complaint over the phone by calling 877-FTC-HELP.

AFNI Collections Verizon Wireless scam

One other word of counsel for consumers that have dealt with or are dealing with AFNI – the collection agency has been involved with a scam involving hundreds of consumers. This scam involves AFNI contacting a former Verizon customer about an unpaid phone bill – usually in the amount of $100-$800. Most of these people have either never had an account with Verizon, or have had their accounts closed for several years. Most of these consumers have also been unable to verify their debt with Verizon or anyone else. If you have had something similar happen to you, do not pay the debt until you can get it verified first.

How can you protect yourself from these predatory practices? There are a few simple guidelines to follow when dealing with creditors who are attempting to collect a debt from a deceased individual. Use these tips to deal with creditors, and if necessary, get legal advice for your particular situation.

Don’t discuss the debts of the deceased. This is likely the simplest solution, overall. Inform creditors who call that the individual they are calling for is deceased. Do not offer additional information, and do not allow the creditor to pressure you into making a payment. If you were not a joint account holder or otherwise responsible for the debt, there is no reason to communicate with the debt collector in most instances.

Don’t provide your personal information. This tip is also important, because if you provide your personal information to the debt collector, they may try to get you to assume the debt, thereby placing it on your credit report. This can have a negative impact on your overall credit, and it also makes it more difficult for you if you later decide that you do not want to handle your loved one’s old debts.

Don’t give in to pressure. If you know that you aren’t responsible for the debt, don’t succumb to creditor pressure to assume the payments. Unless the debt involves secured property that is of value to you or your family, there is no reason to negotiate over payments on a debt that you do not owe.

Do handle any debts on which you are a co-signer or are otherwise responsible. Find out the laws about credit card liability in your state – in many instances, the spouse is not responsible for credit card debt that is not part of a joint credit account. However, if you are jointly responsible for the debts in question, making arrangements sooner, rather than later, can help preserve your good credit.

If creditors are persistent in contacting you, you may want to get legal advice from a local attorney about how best to proceed. In most instances, if creditors do not make their claim during the probate process, they are out of luck – trying to collect from relatives not associated with the original account is a shady practice at best. Losing a loved one is difficult. Don’t let opportunistic creditors make an already difficult time that much worse – know your rights, and don’t offer to pay for any debts to which you are not contractually obligated.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), debt collectors have their boundaries explained to them. You can use these guidelines to understand what they are allowed to do and what they are not. You should also download a free copy of your credit rights from the Federal Trade Commission’s website. Alternatively, you can call 617-542-9595 (National Consumer Law Center) and request a copy of “What You Should Know about Debt Collection”.

After you educate yourself about the debt collection realm, you can start ridding your life of any debt collector that has been bothering you. The first thing to do is to record your conversations. Tell the collector that you need a minute to get your recorder turned on. Flick the switch into the microphone of your telephone so that they can hear it. This alone will put you on a whole new level of conversation. Suddenly, they won’t feel so brave with their disrespect and lacking professionalism. A tape recorder will definitely put any debt collector in check.

Keep excellent records of your phone conversations with debt collectors. Ask for their names. Write down the times of the calls. Write down the dates. If you are not recording the conversation, take accurate notes of what is said.

If you enter into any payment agreement with a debt collector, tell him that you will be happy to stick to it as soon as you receive it in writing – no other way. If you fail to get your deal in writing, you really have no deal at all. Avoid talking to them on the phone.

Send a letter to the collection agency outlining your understanding of the deal that has been made with the debt collector. Send it to them certified with a reception receipt requested. Show them that you are paying attention and demand professional courtesy and respect. Make sure to keep the copies and receipts in your records.

Add the following if you pay by check: “Cashing this check constitutes payment in full.” Write this right on the check itself.

Request that the negative item be removed from your credit report. At a minimum, ensure that the item will be marked as “Paid in full” and not left as unpaid. Again, get everything in writing.

Never let yourself be bullied or rushed. Debt collectors will pressure you greatly to act immediately to remit payment. Tell them no – not until you have everything that has been agreed to in writing. Again, avoid talking to them on the phone altogether. The best way to communicate with them is in writing.

You can stop debt collectors from harassing you and make them show proper respect and professionalism!

Method 1: The prevention of delinquency.

Creditors will either turn over delinquent accounts to a collection agency or they will have an in-house collection department. Either way, they will not simply forget about the debt. The best way to avoid collection attempts is to not become delinquent in your payment responsibilities. A lot of misplaced anger results from people who would have no problems were they just to pay on time and protect their credit to begin with.

Method 2: Write a cease letter.

Federal law requires collection agencies to stop their attempts to collect a given debt if they receive a written cease letter. There are many online to use as samples. Basically, they simply state that you wish for their organization to stop any type of attempts to collect from you. You further state that you will deal only with the creditor that you owe the debt to.

Method 3: Attorney cease letters.

If your personally written cease letter fails to be effective in stopping a collection agency’s attempts to settle debts with you, a letter written from an attorney will normally do the trick. Federal law requires collection agencies to cease contact with any consumer when that consumer is known to be represented by an attorney.

Method 4: You can work out an agreement to pay with the collection agency.

You can certainly stop a collection agency from calling you by agreeing to pay. That’s what they’re really after anyway. Aggressive debt collectors are paid based on what they collect in a given time period. They become more zealous about their endeavors to collect when they believe that you are simply ignoring them. If you talk with them in a professional manner and come to terms for repayment, they will be much more polite. Remember, if you strike a deal with a debt collector; tell them you will not pay anything until you receive the deal in writing.

Method 5: Bankruptcy.

There is an automatic stay on collection attempts that goes into effect when you file for personal bankruptcy. In order for any debt collector to further attempt debt collection, he or she must obtain specific permission from a bankruptcy court. This is a rare occurrence. Also, bankruptcy courts will never grant this permission to anyone attempting to collect unsecured debts from you. As you know, bankruptcy is a most serious act. It should be reserved for use only in cases of severe financial turmoil.

You do not have to suffer the harassment of collection agencies anymore. You can stop collection agencies from contacting you and disturbing your quietude. Utilize the above methods to stop collection agencies today!

How can this be possible? The Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that determines your FICO scores, has fairly determined that the most recent accounts on your credit count towards your scores the most. The older the account is on your credit report the less it factors in to your scores and a lot of times when you pay off a debt you make the account current. The only problem is that the credit bureaus still report the account as negative, but now instead of being old, it’s brand new like it just happened. It will stay on your credit report for 7 more years. This can damage your credit scores drastically.

Before you consider paying off an old debt on your credit report, you may want to contact the creditor in writing. Tell them of your good intentions and ask them if they will agree to delete the account from your credit reports if you settle your debt (lots of times for much less than you owe). Get their agreement in writing!

You must be careful when contacting creditors though. Arranging a payment plan or even inquiring about an old debt can restart the statute of limitations in some states, allowing creditors to sue you. Simply contacting a creditor about a past-due account can renew its interest in trying to collect, leading to harassment and hardball tactics.

Some debt collectors will actually refuse to delete the account from your credit reports, even if you pay. Others will pretend they are “not allowed” to. That is obviously not true.

Even worse, some unethical collection agencies may promise to upgrade how your debt appears on your credit report in exchange for payment, then not follow through or make matters worse by making the debt seem more recent than it is.

So, what should you do if they won’t agree to delete it? Simple – don’t pay it. Wait until the end of 7 years for it to come off of your report. It’s really not hurting your scores that much anyway and the older it gets, the less it factors in.

Instead of paying them off, work to get new positive accounts reporting on your credit report. As the old negative accounts become less relevant, the new positive accounts become more relevant and increase your credit scores.

Remember to always monitor your credit reports to make sure that unethical collection agencies don’t purposely re-age your accounts. It’s illegal, but it still happens quite often. Check your state’s collection laws to see how long a collector can collect on your debt. Once the debt is past the statute of limitations, they can no longer legally collect on that debt.

For legal purposes, any entities that are not original creditors – including lawyers – are considered collectors. Lucky for you, collectors must adhere to the guidelines of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which will be the basis of your debt validation proceedings. It applies even to those collectors who legally have bought your debt (i.e. they still do not become your “creditor”.)

Generally, debt collectors must be able to prove that:

1. They own the debt legally and have been authorized to collect it from you.

2. The full amount of the debt that they are pursuing is accounted for and documented by your original creditor.

3. They can provide a copy of the original legal contract that you signed with your creditor.

The following is a step-by-step guide of actions to take to demand your right to debt validation:

• Send the collections agency (or lawyer, etc.) a certified debt validation letter asking them to validate your debt. Allow them 30 days to respond to your request. If they fail to do so, they are in violation of the law.

• Meanwhile, if you do not believe they have the right to collect from you, send the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) a certified letter disputing collections actions on your report.

• If the collection agency responds in writing with proof of the three FDCPA requirements listed above and you wish to pursue your dispute further, you may find out whether or not they are authorized to collect in your state. If they are not, write another letter stating the violation and threaten to sue if they do not both cease collections efforts and alert the credit bureaus.

• If the collection agency responds in writing and does not provide sufficient proof, write them another letter specifying their violation of FDCPA. Tell them either to cease collections efforts and alert the credit bureaus or you will file a lawsuit. Allow at least two weeks for a response, and then follow through with your threat in small claims court.

Most collectors will give in before you will have to get the law involved, and some cases may be much easier than others. If a collector has bought or has been assigned your debt, they inherently do not “own” your debt and therefore cannot prove your obligation to pay (unless there is a clause in your original contract). Similarly, unqualified and deceitful collections agencies probably will want to rid themselves of your situation as quickly as possible.

It should be noted that creditors may take legal action against you, so it almost certainly is not in your best interest to just ignore a debt that you think cannot be proven. If you fail to take action and demand proof (or lack thereof) from a collections agency, it really does not matter what you believe to be just and accurate. You still may find yourself with a judgment against you.

Attempting debt validation might sound a bit daunting, but the financial benefits that you may gain from enforcing your rights certainly make it worthwhile for many people. FDCPA and contract laws are usually on your side. And if a collection agency lacks proof of your obligation to pay, well then…you might as well not.