Merchants and Professional Bureau Inc.

Revdex.com- *** *** Case #*** MPB account *** *** Ms***, We have mailed complete validation of the account to Mr*** *** as we said we would in our original response to his Revdex.com complaintWe mailed the package on October 23, by certified mail (signature receipt required)I have attached a copy of the receipt of payment for the mailing from the Post OfficeWe have not received the signature card from the Post Office indicating Mr*** has picked up the packageWe mailed it to *** *** *** *** *** ** ***The package has not been returned by the Post Office as undeliverableIf this is not the correct address have Mr*** let me know and I will mail a copy (certified) to whatever address he givesWe went on line to USPS.COM to "track" the letterAttached is a copy of that pageIt reads that they tried to deliver our letter "on October 26, at 3:pm and a notice was left because an authorized recipient was not available"It goes on to say if the item is unclaimed by November 10, then it will be returned to usAs stated in our original response, all previous correspondence mailed to Mr*** was not mailed certified because the law does not require it of us(Since we mail approximately 60,pieces of correspondence monthly it simply would not be feasible to send every piece certified.) If Mr***, after reviewing the validation information, wishes to set up a payment plan, I can assist him with doing soThis client does request we remove accounts from the credit file once they have been paid in fullIn the meantime, we have notified the credit repositories that he is disputing this account*** *** *** *** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:I have never been to Tyler beforei have never gotten services anywhereThe *** * *** *** ** *** ** *** is my mother's addressMy address is *** ** *** *** ** *** *** ***I do not know how this came about, all I do know is that in September 2015, experian did find another social in my credit reportAlso I have always resided in La Joya Texas, not in any other part of the worldPlease help me figure this situation out because I want all the harrasment and bad credit to stop
Regards,
*** ***

This account was assigned by our client, *** *** *** ***, on June 16, (under the last name ***)At the time they placed the account with us, they stated the last known address for her was *** *** ***They said that the Post Office returned their letter from that address
because the address did not existSo, we attempted to find a good addressOur search found a last address of *** *** ** *** *** ** ***We mailed our first notice to this addressIt was not returned by the Post Office and we did not get a response from Ms***We mailed a second letter and it was returned by the Post OfficeWe then attempted to contact her by phone at the number provided by our clientWe were unable to make contact The account was first reported to the national credit repositories on September 3, Today, we notified the credit repositories to remove this from her credit file since she is stating she never received our first notification letterThe repositories should have it removed in five to seven business days. Also, we will mail a new first notification letter to the address she listed on the Revdex.com complaint informing her of her rights, even though the Post Office did not return our original letterBecause of this, we will allow Ms*** days to resolve the balance or dispute the account in writing before reporting it again to the national credit repositories Ms*** can contact me directly at ###-###-####, Monday through Friday, 7:to 4:CSTI will assist her in any way I can to resolve this as quickly as possible Regards, *** *** Chief Operating Officer

Re: Revdex.com ID# *** The account for Mr*** was assigned by our client on
November 6, We mailed the required first notice on November 7, The
Post Office notified us of a change of address for Mr*** and indicated
that our letter had been forwarded to his new address
(the same address he is
showing on his complaint to the Revdex.com)Our letter was not returned by the post
office and we did not receive a response from Mr***We sent five more
letters to Mr*** at his address of *** *** *** *** ***, TX
Our letters were mailed November 21, 2014, November 28, 2014, December
15, 2014, December 29, and January 12, None of our letters were
returned by the Post Office and we did not receive a response from Mr*** Our client did not provide a contact number
for Mr*** and we were unable to locate a phone number through our research
methods for Mr***.As you can see, we did give Mr*** notification of the
debt multiple timesWe are not required by law to mail our letters certified,
therefore, all letters are mailed as standard first class.On October 16, we received a letter from Mr***
stating he intends to “sue us for violations of Fair Debt Collections Practices
Act” because he claims we hadn’t mailed him the required notice.In response to his letter to us we have mailed Mr*** a
letter (to *** *** *** *** Austin, TX78717) explaining we have not
violated the FDCPA because, we had mailed the required first notice to his
address of *** *** *** *** *** ** *** on November 7, Our
letter also states we mailed him five other letters notifying him of the debt
owed to our client, as wellIncluded in our letter to Mr*** is
validation of the debt. This validation
includes the client’s form he signed stating he “would be financially
responsible for all non-covered charges”.This is a reportable item but now that we have heard from
Mr*** we will report the account as a “disputed item”If I can be of any assistance to Mr*** he can call me
at *** Monday through Friday 7:to 4:CST.To reiterate, MPB
has not violated the FDCPA!

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Regards,
*** ***

Our first verbal communication with Ms*** was when she called our office after receiving our first noticeThe first thing Ms*** heard was a recorded message that states “a part of our business is debt collections and any information obtained may be used for that purpose”Also, our notice states “this is an attempt to collect a debt” We did not try to mislead her in any wayOur notice also states the debt may be reported to the credit file During her initial call to us, she stated she was disputing the debtOur representative told her to put her dispute in writing and mail it to the address on the noticeShe did mail in a written dispute and as required by law we forwarded her letter to our client requesting validation of the debtOur client sent us the proper validation and we mailed that to Ms***After waiting a period of time for her to receive it in the mail our representative placed a call to Ms***When she answered the phone and confirmed her identity, our representative stated “This is an attempt to collect a debt.” When making our calls we do give our name as Merchants and Professional Credit Bureau, IncThis is a legal name for our company Ms***’s statement that “a collection agency and a Data furnisher are two very distinct functions that can not be combined” doesn’t make sense to me. We are definitely allowed to both collect on accounts and report them to the national credit bureaus We have reported her account as a “disputed” item as required by law. As of today, July 5, 2016, our client still shows her to be responsible for the outstanding balance Our two divisions are not in any way a “conflict of interest” However, we feel Ms*** will not be paying this amount to our client because of her dispute with their processing of her claimDue to the unresolved billing issue we are cancelling and returning the account to our clientMs*** will need to work directly with them and her insurance company if she wishes to clear this matter We have notified the national credit bureaus to remove our reporting of this account

Below are the facts on this account: Her account was assigned by our client, DrF* ***, on April 3, Our only direct communication with Ms*** was on May 8, when we called her and discussed the outstanding balanceOn that date she did not dispute that she owed
our client for service they rendered, but did state that Medicaid refused to pay the claimOur client’s records indicate that she only listed *** insurance at the time she filled out the patient profileTheir records also indicate that *** did make payment towards the charged amount and that the remaining amount was applied towards her deductible On March 22, 2017, we responded, as required, to an inquiry from ***n (initiated by Ms***) through the EOscar system, confirming the account belonged to her MPB has never received a written or verbal request for validation of this account directly from Ms*** We have notified our client of her dispute of their account and requested complete validation papers from them. When we receive the papers from our client we will mail them to her at the address shown on this complaint Also, we have stopped all collection activity and have notified all three credit reporting repositories to remove the account from her credit file during the validation period. If our client is unable to provide the required validation the account will be cancelled and returned to our client Tell us why here

*** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** Our client, *** *** ***, assigned the above referenced account for collection on July 2, At the time of assignment, they provided a copy of their “Service Agreement” signed by *** ***The agreement was
for services to be rendered at the address of *** *** *** *** *** ** ***We mailed our first notification to that address on July 3, informing Mr*** of his right to request additional information and his right to dispute the debtWe did not receive a response from Mr*** and our notification was not returned by the Post Office as undeliverableWe mailed two more letters to Mr*** with the same non- resultsWe then attempted to reach Mr*** at the phone number listed on the Service Agreement, which is the same phone number he listed on his Revdex.com complaintWe were unable to make phone contact with Mr***We then mailed three more letters, but did not receive any communication from himWe first reported this account on his credit file in September We are reporting the account to the three national credit reporting repositories as an “unpaid disputed collection account”Now that we have received a written dispute from Mr***, we will mail validation of the debt to himIf I can be of any assistance to Mr***, he can reach me at ###-###-####, Monday thru Friday, 7:to 4: Regards, *** *** *** ***
*** *** ***

Revdex.com- Case ID #*** *** *** account #*** Ms*** is correct in that there are only four national credit bureausBut, there are many local “credit bureaus” across the United StatesMerchants and Professional Bureau, Inchas been in business since July
We have been providing credit reports to our clients since In 1974, after meeting strict requirements by the then Associated Credit Bureaus, Inc(now Consumer Data Industry Association) we were confirmed as a “credit bureau”It was at this time we added “Credit Bureau” to our name and registered it as an assumed nameWe re-registered the assumed name of “Merchants & Professional Credit Bureau, Inc.” in Our credit reporting division is separate from our collection division and yes, we are still providing credit reports to our clients We are not “mis-representing” ourselves to Ms*** nor did our representative try to “intimidate” her during the phone callI have reviewed the recorded phone call and found our representative was professional and polite giving her instructions on disputing her account Ms*** did mail a written dispute of her account to usAs required by law, after obtaining proper validation from our client we mailed the paperwork to herUnder FCRA guidelines, we are reporting the account to the national credit bureaus as a “disputed, unpaid collection item” Regards, *** *** Executive Vice President Tell us why here

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: This is incorrectThis has been removed from my credit reports previouslyIf you reported it "under different circumstances" I would like to know what those "different circumstances" are and how they relate to meWhy would I not call and at least try and find out options since in you refused to remove it at the very beginningI'm not sure what your point was thereThat is not validating a debt, it is finding out what my options are.
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com- *** *** *** April 28, Case #*** Below are the facts on this account: The account was assigned on April 6, by our client, BalfourWe mailed the required first notice on April 7, Since we did not receive a response from him we mailed a second notice on April 21, To date we have not received a phone call from Mr***The first communication we have had with him is this Revdex.com complaintHis statement about our phone numbers not ringing then “go dead” must be due to something on his endWe receive thousands of calls per day and have not had any other complaintsIn regards to his comment that we “increased the amount owed and Balfour said that was incorrect but are trying to get extra for the account” is not a true statement. We do not add fees to accounts assigned to us for collectionWe do have many clients that will add fees when an account goes delinquent in their officeBalfour’s written policy states that if the consumer defaults on the credit card payment plan they will add “reasonable collection charges and /or attorney fees associated with the collection of the remaining balance due”. Mr*** had a recurring payment plan set up with BalfourAccording to our client’s record, the first four payments ran successfullyOn January 22, 2016, the fifth payment was declined as was the sixth payment on February 22, 2016, which would have been the final payment of the plan. Our client did attempt to contact Mr*** to resolve this prior to adding the fees and then assigning to us for collectionWe have notated Mr***’s account that he is disputing the balance and will report it to the credit repositories as a “disputed item”. Also, we will mail validation of the debt, provided by our client, to himMr*** may contact me directly at ***, 7:45-4:30, Monday through FridayThis is the same phone number listed on both of the notices we mailed to him. Regards, *** *** *** *** Tell us why here

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meI will send a copy of my license and a copy of a report where my wallet was stolen in 2010.
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com-*** *** Case #*** MPB account
#***Below is the history of this account:The account for Ms*** was assigned by our client on
August 8, We mailed the required first notice on August 9, Our
letter was not returned by the Post Office and we did not
receive a response
from Ms***We sent two more letters to Ms*** with the same
results. We then attempted to make phone
contact with herOn our first contact after confirming we were speaking to the
correct party she stated “I’m not working” and hung up On October 9, 2014, we again made contact with
herShe again told us she wasn’t working and there was nothing she could doOur
representative explained to her that this would be placed on her credit file
She said if it does that’s fine because there is nothing she can doWe mailed
her three more lettersThe last one was November 10, Every letter we
mailed stated this may be reported on her credit file if it remained unpaid.On November 19, Ms*** contacted our office and
spoke with our representative about her account being placed on her credit
fileShe first stated she didn’t think we had contacted her to let her know
this would be placed on her credit fileOur representative informed her that
we spoke with her in OctoberShe then said she vaguely remembers us calling
She said she remembers telling our representative that she had knee surgery
just that day. Our employee then told
her he would work with her to set up a payment plan and that once paid in full
the account would be removed from her credit fileShe told him if he didn’t
get this removed immediately from her credit file she would file a report with
the Revdex.comOur employee told her she could speak with his supervisorShe asked
him some more questions which he politely gave her the informationAt the end
of the call, she stated she doesn’t care if this stays on there for seven years
but what bothers her is that we reported it after only trying to contact her
for three weeksWhen our representative attempted to counter her accusation
she became irate and he had to terminate the callShe called back minutes later and asked to speak with a
supervisorOur Vice President of Collections, Tom Jenkins, spoke with her
During this conversation, Ms*** stated she wasn’t sure what was still
owed or what charges insurance had paid on but did know she still owed some
amountMrJenkins suggested we send her an itemized statement of the charges
and dates of service we are collecting on so that she could check against her
records and speak with her insurance carrierHe explained to her she would
need the itemized statement to discuss the various charges with her insurance
carrierAfter more discussion, she told MrJenkins to send her the itemized
statementWe mailed the itemized statement November 20, After waiting
ten days for a response we mailed a letter to her on December 1, No
responseWe mailed a letter on March 5, Again, no responseNone of our
letters were ever returned as undeliverable by the Post Office. On March 25, 2015, our client called to inform us that Ms
*** had contacted them threatening suit because she stated they violated
HIPAA when they gave us the itemized information At that time, we placed the account in a cease
and desist status.Since we have a Business Associates agreement with our
client neither of us violated any part of the HIPAA law by supplying Ms
*** an itemization of her billThe itemized statement was supplied in the
attempt to collect a debt assigned to us for collections. Then we received notification
from Experian through the EOscar system that Ms*** disputed the debt
which we responded with validation of her data on July 31, At that point
we marked the account to be reported as a disputed itemNext, we received a second
notification from Experian through the EOscar system which we responded to on
September 14, On October 14, 2015, she called our office and spoke with a
different representative who mistakenly told her this account had been returned
to our client because of the cease and desist statusThis representative
instructed her to call our client to make paymentThe account had not been
returned to our client, it was simply in a status to not allow any more letters
or out bound phone calls(We do not purchase debts so the account always
belonged to our client.)We received a third notification from Experian and a first
notification from Equifax, through the EOscar system, that Ms***
disputed the debt to which we responded with validation of her data on November
2, Ms***’s comment “she (referring to our
representative) was almost proud that she had skirted the issue of HIPPA” is
way off baseOur representative simply tried to explain to her that we had not
violated the HIPAA law. (And, it is
HIPAA, not HIPPA. Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act.) Our client did not supply Ms***’s “detailed
medical history”They provided the information needed to collect a past due
debt.As I stated, this is a valid and past due debt owed by Ms
*** and will continue to be reported on the credit file as a disputed past
due collection itemIf I can be of any assistance to Ms*** she can call
me at 512-346-Monday through Friday 7:to 4:CST.*** ***

Revdex.com-*** *** MPB account *** April 2, Our client, *** *** ***, assigned this past due balance to our office on March 16, We mailed the required first notification to Ms*** on March 19, As required by law,
this letter contained, among other things, the client’s name, the amount due and a statement informing her of her right to dispute the debtWe are not required to list the dates of service on our lettersWe are not a “dishonest” companyWe do not buy past due accountsWe are hired by our clients to attempt to collect accounts they show to be outstandingRegarding Ms*** statement that she did not receive a bill from our client, we can only state that our client shows they mailed statements to Ms*** that included this date of service and the remaining charge owed for this date of service Their records show the statements were mailed to the same address we mailed our letterThe same address she list on this Revdex.com complaint We do not have a website where a consumer can “login” and look at their account informationThe law does not require us to have our clients “prove” that they have “attempted to collect a debt prior to having a debt company collect it”All medical providers are required to mail bills for paymentMs*** thinks we should “be able to prove that the attempts were received”The only way to prove someone received a mailed item is to mail it as certified mail, requiring a signatureMedical providers are not going to go to that expenseWe have mailed an itemized statement to Ms*** todayIf we can be of further assistance to Ms***, she may call our office at ***, Monday through Friday, 7:to 4:CST Tell us why here

Our records indicate that the $account was assigned by our client, *** *** * *** ***, on November 17, for us to assist in collection of the past due amount We mailed three letters to Ms***’s address but did not receive a response from herThis is the first
notification we have had of her disputing the debt As required by law, we will mail validation of the debt to Ms***’s address If she has any questions she may call our office and we will assist her in any way we can

This account was assigned by our client on April 5, with an address of “*** *** *** **”We mailed our first notice on April 6, and it was returned by the Post Office as not a valid street nameWe then attempted to reach him by phone at the number our client showed in their files and
provided to usWe had not been successful in reaching him with that phone number The account was reported to the national credit repositories on July 5, We appreciate Mr*** calling us as soon as he received the alert and will assist him in resolving this as quickly as possibleWe re-mailed our first notice informing him of his rights today with the correct address Unfortunately, since not all clients allow their accounts to be removed from the credit file when they are paid, we are unable to make a blanket statement on our websiteThe policy is on a client by client basis and with some clients, a case by case basisThis client does allow us to remove it from the credit repositories once it is paid in full If Mr*** would like to contact me directly, I can be reached at ###-###-#### Monday through Friday 7:to 4:30. Regards, *** *** Chief Operating Officer Tell us why here

Revdex.com- *** *** *** 2/22/ This account was assigned to us on October 18, We mailed the required first notification informing Ms*** of the original creditor and her rights on October 19, We did not receive any response nor was the letter returned by the Post Office as undeliverableWe mailed a second notification on November 2, stating she still had time in the day validation periodAgain, no response from her and no return mailA third letter was mailed on November 9, with the same non results. As previously stated, we called Ms*** on November 19, I have retrieved this call from our archives and listened to the conversationAfter verifying we had contacted the correct party, our representative gave Ms*** the required Mini-miranda, stated the name of the original creditor, the amount and that the balance owed was for a ringMs*** stated she did have a ring but did not recognize the name we gave herOur representative explained that she could have purchased it from a branch of our client and gave her that name. Ms*** said yes that she recognized that name and had purchased her ring from themShe said she was willing to pay but would be unable to until after the first of the yearOur representative asked her to pay earlier and she hung up on him. She did not ask for validation at any time during this conversation As stated in my original response, we have mailed our client’s validation of the account to Ms*** after receiving the first Revdex.com notificationShe should be receiving it shortly as it was mailed on February 10, Our client stated this was an internet order and set up with recurring payments to her credit or debit cardThree of the seven payments were madeOur client states they sent four letters to her before assigning the account to our office but did not receive a responseThey also noted they placed a call to her but did not get a response Our client confirms this is a valid account and is to remain on the credit file until paid Tell us why here

Revdex.com-*** *** MPB account *** January 18, Our client is a reputable companyOur client did not provide Mr***’s social security number to usThe service agreement they provided as validation of debt does not reflect a social security numberIt only shows billing information of *** *** at *** *** *** *** ** and was signed with the name *** ***This is a valid debtWe have mailed a copy of the service agreement signed by *** *** to his address as validation of the debtThe service agreement plainly states the terms of the agreementI’m not sure but I think Mr*** is stating that he signed something but did not read what he signed because he was told he didn’t have to because he was paying by check? If that is what he is saying I really don’t know what to tell him; other than he signed a service agreement with our clientHe signed a legal and binding documentThis account is being reported to the three national credit reporting repositories under the guidelines allowed by law Regards, *** ***
*** ***
*** *** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I am not directly responsible, didn't sign any instrument or contract obligating me to do so Indirect liability is based on agency principles and the doctrine of necessaries Under the Texas Family Code, a person is personally liable for the acts of the person's spouse only (1) the spouse acts as an agent for the person; or (2) the spouse incurs a debt for necessaries A spouse does not automatically acts as an agent for the other spouse solely because of the marriage relationship There seems to be a common misconception that there are "community debt" and "community liabilities"I know that for Merchants & Professional to place this on my credit report is fraud and I will be hiring a consumer law attorney to assist me with this matter I don't need to call Merchants & Professionals because the medical debt is not mine
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Any letter sent to this address did not arrive to my home addressThe mailbox in the neighborhood is a community mailboxTherefore, if it was placed in the incorrect slot, I would have no knowledge of itI have never heard a voicemail regardsrequesting payment from this company
Regards,
*** ***