Puget Sound Collections

I have reviewed the complaint
Our agency spoke with Ms *** in July and requested to resolve the billing for attorney *** in payments for representing her on a parenting plan.
Later, we had a request from the credit bureaus that verification was
requested and verification of this debt was mailed On June 15, to an address of ** *** *** Dr ***
***, ** ***-***. This address was updated at the time the request came through from credit reporting agencies with copy of her YES Energy Management
bill showing that as a current address. The itemized statement was not returned undeliverable. Days later we received her offer to settle once verification received, but requested
no phone calls. It was assumed that she had just not received the verification which was mailed days earlier. I will remain another copy of her charges due to attorney
*** the address on *** *** today

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: I still have not received a balance owingI called and the lady yelled at me and told me she couldn't speak to meI told her I understood due to the attorney and I was just trying to get my balance and pay it off per their response on hereHowever, MrsV*** was by far the rudest non helpful rep I've ever encounteredI appreciate the progress however, the full balance is still on my credit and I still haven't been given the new amount owing.Sincerely,*** ***

Our agency does not invoke billing practices of the original creditor
It is the guarantors responsibility to follow up with their insurance company in the event a claim is billed and the insurance requires additional information
Assurant Health insurance was listed on the transaction history as a payer as well as Premera when the account was assigned for collection
The complainants dispute(s) are communicated directly the original creditor for review

Our agency has the identical address/phone number as contact information for the complainant. The complainant was provided with a proper validation notice in January when the account was initially assigned for collection. The complainant did speak with an agent
in April 2016, but indicated was driving and would call back. She did not return subsequent phone calls or respond to letters sent in April, May or June, prior to commencing a lawsuit
Pursuant to the process servers declaration of service, documents were served November, to the address of the complainant. Further, a copy of the Judgment was mailed to the defendants address on Queens Way On January 5, 2017, weeks prior to the garnishment being initiated
Records on this case are filed in Pierce County Superior Court under Case ***

Our firm responded on November 26, 2017. 11-26-03:12PM PSC RESPONSE: WB/AV 11-26-03:12PM While we regret that Ms *** was WB/AV 11-26-03:12PM unhappy with her experience, WB/AV 11-26-03:12PM please accept the explanation. WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM Mr***'s account was assigned WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM for collection on May 30, 2017. WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM Our firm provides a generous grace WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM period of six months from the date WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM of delinquency (*** 25, 2017) WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM before reporting an item to credit WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM reporting. At the time that WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM the consumer contacted our office WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM and discussed the status with an WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM agent (November 2, 2017) we had WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM not yet reported the item and WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM indicated the same. WB/AV 11-26-03:13PM However, the card authorized was WB/AV11-26-03:13PM declined on our website on WB/AV11-26-03:13PM Thursday November 2, 2017. WB/AV11-26-03:13PM The account was reported on Friday WB/AV11-26-03:13PM November 3, 2017.Subsequently, our WB/AV11-26-03:13PM firm received a check on November WB/AV11-26-03:13PM 6, and the account was WB/AV11-26-03:13PM reported as a deletion the week WB/AV11-26-03:13PM following (November 13, 2017) WB/AV11-26-03:17PM FILED IN Revdex.com FILE WB/AV

The approval to delete is approved for both subjects and electronically generated with the credit bureau(s) control number ***

Re: *** *** File #:*** The complainant has accounts assigned to our office for collection for services in and When the complainant contacted our office she indicated she had insurance as well as an attorneyAll further communications once we were advised she was represented by
legal counsel have been made directly with her attorney's office as required under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)Our office received correspondence from her attorney disputing the clients billing indicating she had group health effective 10-1-and further noted was that she had *** coverageWith respect to charges- our firm investigated the billing dispute with the medical providersThe medical providers did not receive *** billing information timely to bill insuranceWe were advised that had the insurance been provided by the complainant timely, they would have billed accordinglyOur firm reported the items as disputed and confirmed this directly with her legal counselFurther, her legal counsel was advised that in the event *** would waive the untimely filing period {months from date of service) that the providers would bill insurance for the charges incurredThe original creditor indicated they billed the charges to insurance the complainant provided and they were processed, leaving a small patient responsibility that has not been satisfiedShould you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I did not receive proper validation of these chargesI do not have a contract with this company.
Sincerely,
*** *** ***

Our firm provided the complainant with a proper validation notice in January which indicated Eastside Emergency Room Physicians assigned a debt to our agency for collection. In March she indicated to our customer service agent that she was unable to make
payments as she was on maternity leave. In February our firm received a notice that the complainant disputed the charges and refused to pay. The account was reported as disputed to the credit reporting agencies as required

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
Incorrect, my wife contacted this company to have a charge removed from our credit reportA charge for which:
A.) We never visited this clinic
B.) We didn't live in, nor were my wife or I in, WA ston June 10,
C.) We never recieved a bill from the clinic, so we never found out about this erroneous charge until PSC started trying to collect on it
D.) A simple google search reveals over *** ***'s in WA state
When this information was presented to PSC, they demanded a written letter and PROOF that we were not in WA st at the time of the clinic visitWell, I'm writing it again, for the? 7th time: MY FAMILY WAS NOT IN WASHINGTON STATE ON JUNE 10, Ignoring the fact that the burden of proof is to prove the defendant was in a specific place or time, I testify to the keystone court of PSC, that my wife was in Wisconsin at the time of the alleged crime, so it could not have been her at the health clinic
If you have any further doubts, please review the previously attached photos my wife took of my daughter in the days directly preceeding and following the alleged doctors visit on the aforementioned dateI'm afraid if you need a notorized document from the laundry machine or our housecat these will not be possible to attain the realm of reality that most of us live inPlease join us, we'd love to have you referring to everyone as "Gaurantour" and "Gaurantees"
I have provided as much evidence as can reasonbly be expected as an alibi to a non-criminal act as anyone has ever had to provide; and PSC refuses to accept the information provided as suffiecient to admit a mistake was made and an erroneous charge was made upon my family.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Charges incurred by the complainants former wife were incurred in 2014, nearly years prior the their 2016 divorce filing. Our office has attempted to collect the unpaid accounts as joint-debts. As requested in a written communication, an itemized statement of
charges incurred in September, 2014 was provided. When no response was received to resolve, our office initiated a lawsuit against the complainant for payment of the charges. The complainant was requested to provide documentation to support his statement that he was legally separated prior to the dates the debt(s) were incurred. We have not yet received the information requested

The accounts in collections were for Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians, not the Hospital.The accounts are removed from collections at the request of the physicians billing office

While we regret that Ms *** was unhappy with her experience, please accept the explanation.Mr***'s account was assigned for collection on May 30, 2017. Our firm provides a generous grace period of six months from the date of delinquency (*** 25, 2017) before reporting an item to credit
reporting. At the time that the consumer contacted our office and discussed the status with an agent (November 2, 2017) we had not yet reported the item and indicated the same. However, the card authorized was declined on our website on Thursday November 2, 2017. The account was reported on Friday November 3, 2017.Subsequently, our firm received a check on November 6, and the account was reported as a deletion the week following (November 13, 2017)

The call recording with the complainant was reviewedMr*** contacted our office and indicated that an account appeared on his credit report with a balance due. He did not have an account number to reference. He was advised that the only account(s) we located were paid
in February and a written confirmation was mailed on February 9, 2015. Our agency notified the credit reporting bureaus of the paid status in March,
Further, during the call the floor supervisor advised Mr*** since he did not have an account number specifically, that he could dispute the account with the credit bureaus and they would confirm any status with our office. Mr*** did not request anything further from our office nor was he refused any information

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:Puget Sound Collection has not provided VALIDATION of the debt, proof that it was never sold, and a true and certified copy of the Original Note binding myself & PSCIf these requests cannot be fulfilled, I ask that all reporting information be deleted from all three major credit bureausNone of my requests in the direct dispute letters were acknowledged or fulfilledPSC refuses to VALIDATE the claimEach time I dispute Puget Sound Collection with the credit bureaus, PSC changes the name of the account to Law Office of *** ***When I dispute Law Office of *** ***, the name is changed back to Puget Sound CollectionThis is unacceptable and fraudulent practice from a company that will not fulfill or acknowledge any of my requests. Sincerely,*** ***

The complainant made a similar complaint with the CFPB to which the following response was made:
This provider, a taxing entity, is entitled to charge a collection fee when using a collection agency under authority of Washington State statute.
Interest charges may be added also in accordance with Washington State statute. The providers records indicate they sent the complainant information concerning the debt in March, April, and again in July before referring the account to collections in August, 2016. The address they have on record matches the complainants.
The complainant notified us of his dispute in December 2016. Our agency reported the account as disputed to the credit bureaus as required. Pursuant the initial investigation on his dispute, we found that the provider billed his medical insurance, however, no payment was made.
The insurance responded in March that the claim was pending due to waiting on additional information from the patient. Another insurance, Assurant Health was also billed.
On January 11, 2017, the original creditor indicated that they will rebill insurance with a copy of a letter from Farmers confirming thePIP coverage on the plan was exhausted. They will notify our office if/when the insurance resolves the claim on behalf of the consumer

Our agency will need additional information to locate an account to review.  The complainant will need to provide the account number appearing on his credit report
associated with this account.

Our office policy was modified January 25, 2016 concerning interest discounts offered to consumers. Mr. [redacted] contacted his representative on January 29, 2016 and the new courtesy discount amount was offered based on new policy parameters.  Mr. [redacted] complained the discount...

had changed from a previous conversation he had with a collection agent.   The call recording was reviewed for verification and discount was honored based on our previous courtesy discount schedule.

I do not recall receiving a copy of this complaint earlier.When the complainants contacted our office we forwarded the dispute to the original creditor(s)   Their response was as follows:"The account shows we billed Medicare and the claim denied as info not found or name invalid. ...

Therefore we billed Tricare and they denied stating the patient had other insurance prime.       Meaning Medicare. We then billed the patient asking  for insurance card to verify Medicare information. But got no response. The claim is too late now to bill either of the insurance".The accounts were cancelled from our office and returned back to the provider.  Should the complainant have further questions, they may contact the providers office directly.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. The complaint was made before PSC honored their agreement.Sincerely, [redacted]