The client brought her dog into our clinic on Oct. 25, 2016, and it was diagnosed with [redacted] most likely caused by new dog treats she had given to her dog. Our policy is to collect payment at the time services are rendered; however, we made an exception for her since she was in contact...
with [redacted] (the maker of the treats) and their claims department. The dog was treated from Oct. 25, 2016 to Oct. 28, 2016. It responded well to treatment and recovered. We provided the client with a copy of the invoice at that time. We had not received payment by Nov. 16, 2016, so another copy of the invoice was mailed. The client called saying she had been in contact with [redacted] and they were sending the matter to their claims division and would need copies of the medical records. The client asked that we send them, and we did provide a copy to [redacted]. We had not received payment by Dec. 15, 2016 so another copy of the invoice was mailed to the client. We received and email on Dec. 20, 2016 stating that she felt we were harassing her about the bill and that [redacted] should have paid. We responded explaining that our policy is to send monthly statements for all accounts with outstanding balances, that we had sent all requested information to [redacted], and that we had made an exception for her to delay payment but that we could not do so indefinitely. She was informed that we would need payment by Jan. 31, 2017. We had not received payment by Jan. 14, 2017 so an invoice was mailed to the client (this was the third time). On Jan. 19, 2017 we received an email stating we were harassing her since she was not responsible for the bill, and we could be facing penalties of up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $750.00. She also asked that we stop sending her bills according to her FDCPA rights. She requested we contact [redacted]’s corporate office regarding the invoice. We contacted [redacted] and were told that the client had filed a claim with them and that if any settlement was reached, it would be with the client and not us; therefore, we would need to collect payment from the client and not them. We asked for a written statement regarding this and that [redacted] contact the client informing her of this. We emailed the client stating the name of the person we spoke to at [redacted], their direct phone number, and what they had told us. A copy of [redacted]’s written statement was attached to the email. We informed her that if we did not receive payment by Feb. 15, 2017 we would send the account to collections. We did not mail any further invoices to the client. We had not received payment by Feb. 27, 2017 so the account was turned over to our collections agency. On March 10, 2017 the client left a voice message stating she was getting a check from [redacted] and wanted to know if she should pay the collections agency or us. The Practice Manager returned her call stating that she would need to pay the collections agency since the account had been turned over to them. She asked for a copy of the dog’s medical records and was told that as soon as payment was received, a copy would be sent to her. She became verbally abusive and threatened legal action. The phone conversation ended by the client stating what we were doing was illegal and hanging up.
The client brought her dog into our clinic on Oct. 25, 2016, and it was diagnosed with [redacted] most likely caused by new dog treats she had given to her dog. Our policy is to collect payment at the time services are rendered; however, we made an exception for her since she was in contact...
with [redacted] (the maker of the treats) and their claims department. The dog was treated from Oct. 25, 2016 to Oct. 28, 2016. It responded well to treatment and recovered. We provided the client with a copy of the invoice at that time. We had not received payment by Nov. 16, 2016, so another copy of the invoice was mailed. The client called saying she had been in contact with [redacted] and they were sending the matter to their claims division and would need copies of the medical records. The client asked that we send them, and we did provide a copy to [redacted]. We had not received payment by Dec. 15, 2016 so another copy of the invoice was mailed to the client. We received and email on Dec. 20, 2016 stating that she felt we were harassing her about the bill and that [redacted] should have paid. We responded explaining that our policy is to send monthly statements for all accounts with outstanding balances, that we had sent all requested information to [redacted], and that we had made an exception for her to delay payment but that we could not do so indefinitely. She was informed that we would need payment by Jan. 31, 2017. We had not received payment by Jan. 14, 2017 so an invoice was mailed to the client (this was the third time). On Jan. 19, 2017 we received an email stating we were harassing her since she was not responsible for the bill, and we could be facing penalties of up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $750.00. She also asked that we stop sending her bills according to her FDCPA rights. She requested we contact [redacted]’s corporate office regarding the invoice. We contacted [redacted] and were told that the client had filed a claim with them and that if any settlement was reached, it would be with the client and not us; therefore, we would need to collect payment from the client and not them. We asked for a written statement regarding this and that [redacted] contact the client informing her of this. We emailed the client stating the name of the person we spoke to at [redacted], their direct phone number, and what they had told us. A copy of [redacted]’s written statement was attached to the email. We informed her that if we did not receive payment by Feb. 15, 2017 we would send the account to collections. We did not mail any further invoices to the client. We had not received payment by Feb. 27, 2017 so the account was turned over to our collections agency. On March 10, 2017 the client left a voice message stating she was getting a check from [redacted] and wanted to know if she should pay the collections agency or us. The Practice Manager returned her call stating that she would need to pay the collections agency since the account had been turned over to them. She asked for a copy of the dog’s medical records and was told that as soon as payment was received, a copy would be sent to her. She became verbally abusive and threatened legal action. The phone conversation ended by the client stating what we were doing was illegal and hanging up.