Can collection agency report invalid debt to the bureaus?

[bocley]

I received a letter last week from a collection agency claiming I owe medical bills for a service from last year. I responded requesting they show prove and documents, as I am not aware of such a bill or service looking through my records.

I did not expect they would proceed with reporting to the bureaus while I awaited documentation proofs per consumer rights. Well, it turns out yesterday (only 2weeks into the process) they reported to Experian and my score took a 30 point dive. WOW!! How can this be? what protection do I have as a consumer dealing with aggressive collection agencies?

You inputs and suggestion are appreciated. I would prefer you reply if you are knowledgeable handling this situation. Thank you.

[adusa37]

Dispute the entry with the credit bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com. If they can't prove it's yours it will be removed from your file.

[merla15]

The medical provider turned the bill to the collection agency. The collection agency reported the debt to the credit bureaus. It is normal for them to do so even before contacting you. Your request for documentation does not mean they have to remove the debt. Actually, your request may have expedited reporting the debt to the credit bureau -- a little pressure to make you pay up just to get rid of them.

You can dispute the item with the credit bureaus but it probably won't do you much good at this point. The credit bureau will contact the collection agency to verify the debt and all they have to do is say "yes, that's correct". The item stays.

Wait till you get a response to your request for documentation. It is very likely that it is a medical bill that your insurance should have paid or you thought they took care of. Pretty common for the odd medical bill to get sent to collections because it fell thru some crack in the insurance process.

If this is your debt, negotiate a pay for delete -- you pay and they remove the item from your credit. Not all collection agencies will agree to this. Just make sure you get any settlement agreement in writing before you pay and do not give the collector direct access to your bank account.