Can an unwarranted collection be a voilation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

Question

I saw a dentist in 2004. I had dental insurance and provided this information to the dental office. I never heard anything after that but changed dentists due to location.
I get a copy of my credit report last month and see there is a collection for this dentists office. I contact them direct and was told my insurance denied the claim. My coverage was active at the time of service conducted.
I called the insurance carrier and was told the dental office NEVER even submitted the claim to them. So, the dental office is going to submit the claim to the insurance now but says they still can charge me the fee that it cost them to turn it over to the collection agency.
i dont feel this is right because the $38 fee would never had to happen if the dental office had submitted the claim like they were supposed to. I was referred to this dental office by the insurance company's website so I know they accepted the insurance.
Is this a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act somehow?

Answer 1

You definately should not be held responsible for the collection agency fee.
Since you had provided the insurance info at time of service, the dental office is at fault by failing to submit a claim and they should waive the fee.

I agree that you should contact the insurance carrier and request something in writing to prove the dental office failed to file a claim.

You should also send disputes to the CRA's for the trade lines that are being reported.

You might click on my profile and click on the last link I have listed. Do some reading or ask any question you may have in the Medical Forum. You will also be able to find letter templates to use for your disputes.

Answer 2

Well, it sure sounds unethical...I would tell the flat that you are not going to pay the fee because of their mistake. If they refuse to have it pulled from collections, make the claim to the insurance yourself (it is a pain but you can do it) and pay the collections directly. I would also submit a dispute form to all three credit bureaus, so this does not mar your credit any further. Also, once the bill is resolved ask for it to be removed since it was placed in error

I would also recomend trying to get something in writing from either your insurer or the dentist office (or both) that had the dental office submitted the claim it would have been paid in full, therefor there would have been no reason for it to be placed in collections. This is to protect you incase you have a difficult time getting the collections agency to comply. I have had experiance trying to get a collections agency to remove something that was a blatent error and I had a horrible time...they required written proof plus documentation of payment to the business that sold the debt.