Because I was commanded to call the questionable collection agency by Farmer H, I did so on Friday afternoon
Before even one ring, the phone was answered by a recording. It was a man with a southern accent (so I suppose it really IS in Georgia). He stated the name of the collection agency, and said that any information given WOULD be used to collect a debt. All calls are recorded. Then he said to stay on the line for the next available operator.
Eight rings later, I got a recording that said "...JACQUELINE... is not available to take your call. Please leave a message--" I hung up. I am NOT leaving a message with my name and phone number. Nope. No way am I giving them a way to call me. They might have my number on a caller ID, but what good does that do, without a name or reference number?
I'd had my info written down in front of me. I was NOT giving my name, only saying that I was Farmer H's wife. And the reference number. I wanted to know the DATE, FACILITY, DOCTOR/ANESTHETIST, and SURGERY. If they asked me anything else, I was ready to say, "I am calling to GET information, not GIVE information."
I called at 1:34.
I called at 2:10.
I called at 3:02.
Always the same messages, and JACQUELINE unavailable. It seems odd that they have only one person to take these calls. You'd think a collection agency handling claims from providers in multiple states might be a larger operation.
Anyhoo... I am still suspicious of this charge. You'd think that if the collection agency had Farmer H's address, then the anesthesia office would also have it, and would have sent multiple statements in an attempt to collect their $40.91 before turning it over to collections.
I believe the next step will be sending a letter to dispute the charge, asking for a copy of the original bill from the anesthesia office.
Really. It would be so much easier just to pay the $40.91 and be done with it. But I don't want to risk sending a check with our banking info to a scammer!
6 comments:
Do NOT pay!! Do NOT call again! This reeks of scamming. I suggest instead contacting the anaesthesia office and querying if any outstanding balance is due.
Nowadays you cannot be too careful! The amount is not that much, and they figure you will just go ahead and pay it. Just think, if they got 1000 payments a week it would be a tidy little sum and who knows how many other scams they have in the works? Then you have to wonder how they got the info with the HIPPA laws in place. I think I would have fared better living in an earlier time, hauling water in a bucket from the well, growing crops and livestock. I would probably not eat my farm animals, what with my penchant for naming them ...
River,
I have no plans to pay this collection agency. I don't know which anesthesia office it would be. You'd think the St. Louis one, but they are also in about five other states. Farmer H doesn't remember any kind of surgery in that area, unless it was four or five years ago. Then there's the issue of his YourChart showing doctors that supposedly treated him in other states. It would be a never-ending quest to try and track down this charge. A letter saying we dispute the charge, containing no information other than the reference number, is the plan.
Kathy,
That's also what I thought. Many people would just pay such a small charge. And since when is anesthesia only $40.91, even after insurance? That might just be a form letter they send to everybody, whose data they might have gotten in a data breach.
In a simpler time, we could just pay with a basket of eggs, or a bushel of corn!
The small amount is the BAIT, most people who pay up might use an online payment which the scammers can use to track the account and then they empty it.
River,
I agree that the small amount is to make people pay and be done with it. I hadn't thought of the scammers accessing the account from an online payment (which of course they offer!). I was more worried about them getting our account info off the check.
Post a Comment