American Legal Guide Service

We have taken your complaint under consideration, and we are willing to adjust your account, to reflect no collection agency fee and consider the account paid in full

The customer in question was seen in our medical practice in September and December of 2014. As a courtesy, medical claims for services rendered were filed to the patient’s insurance company. After processing by the patient’s insurance company, the patient was billed any outstanding
remaining balance The initial statement was mailed to the patient on 12/8/14, and followed by statements on 1/11/15, 2/18/15, 3/11/15, 4/22/15, and 5/26/15. A past due letter was mailed on 3/4/15, which reminds the patient that any balances sent to an outside collection agency are subject to a 35% administration fee. We also called the patient on 3/4/and 4/20/and left messages regarding the past due balance. The initial balance due, after insurance processing, from the patient was $236.99. On 4/17/15, we received a payment of $36.69. When no additional payments were received and no contact with our office made by the patient, the account was sent to our outside collection agency On 6/30/15, I received a phone call from the patient stating that he had been trying to reach us for several days and no one had called him back. I had received one voicemail late in the day on 6/29/and one earlier in the day on 6/30/and had not yet had the opportunity to call him back. When I spoke with the patient, he immediately asked for a settlement on the account, and I told him I was unable to handle his account as it had been sent to collections, and directed him to contact the collection agency. He immediately disputed the fact that the account went to the collection agency, and I reviewed with him the same information detailed above, including dates statements were sent, phone calls were made, and the past due letter mail date. I provided the collection agency contact information, and the patient hung up on me Approximately minutes later, I received another phone call from the patient, and he states that he paid $to the collection agency, and would like the remaining balance adjusted. He then stated that he was out of the country from January until May so he did not receive his statements. When I asked who was handling his affairs while he was gone, he told me his spouse. I explained to him that, unfortunately, his account was forwarded to the collection agency due to its age and no contact from the patient despite our multiple attempts to contact him. He again requested that the collections fees be waived, and I told him that, while it was office policy to not waive such fees, I would contact the owner and discuss this situation On 7/2/15, I met with DrG***, who agreed to discount the collections fee by 50%. Due to the holiday, I was unable to contact the patient until 7/7/15. At that time, I left a message to call me regarding the account. As of today, I have still not received a return call from the patient I do understand the patient’s frustration regarding the account being forwarded to the collection agency. It is very unfortunate that his affairs were not handled properly when he was out of the country. At this time, I am still offering the patient the 50% discount on the collections fees, making his total balance due $35.00. In addition, I have requested that our collection agency does not report this account to any credit bureaus if the balance is paid by 7/31/

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The doctor's office stated in their letter that they tried to contact me before this balance went to collections. I never received any letters, phone calls or emails regarding this matter. I also never received a voicemail from their office regarding a settlement of 50%.I have never heard of a doctors office charging a fee on top of a balance for their billing department to do their job.  I have paid the balance due of $200.00 and refuse to pay the $35.00.Thank you for your time!
Regards,
[redacted]