Fidelity Creditor Service Debt Collection Nightmare (Review)
As someone with a 790 credit score who has never made a late payment on any account in my entire life, I thought it was either a joke or a scam when I received a call from the Fidelity Creditor Service company to hound me for money. The events that follow happened over the next 90 minutes or so from getting the initial call.
This is what my alleged debt is for:
- Services which were rendered at Century City Doctor’s Hospital nearly 4 years ago.
- When I answered the phone, she first said I owed $1,680 but then after I agreed to pay, they tried upping the total amount to $2,451.88 (will discuss this more in a minute).
- They are not able to provide me with an itemized bill for this alleged debt.
As I said, my first assumption was that this Fidelity Creditor Service out of Glendale, California was some sort of scam or ripoff. However that’s not the case – they’re legitimately collecting outstanding debts for Century City Doctor’s Hospital, which apparently went bankrupt not too long after my treatment (which if I recall correctly, was a bone scan).
So they are collecting debts for a bankrupt hospital? Okay, that sounds reasonable. But the circumstances surrounding this are definitely NOT reasonable…
- My phone number has been the same for around 5 years so there is no excuse for them to not call me until years later. Their response was that they aren’t legally required to notify me by phone (which is true) and they called me as a courtesy. But the question is… if they were serious about debt collection from me, then why didn’t they give me a “courtesy” call during the past 3 to 4 years?
- They claim to have mailed me a bill in June, but to an address I haven’t lived at for a few years. My credit report clearly reflects my one and only current address and has for years, so why would they mail me at an old address but not the current one reflected on my report?
That brings us to the question… being that they could have gotten a hold of me if they tried, why would they wait so long? Well my suspicion is it might have something to do with the interest which is accruing, ballooning the principal almost 50% higher to $2,451.88 (that’s $771.88 more).
This is totally unacceptable
My credit is important to me. I also strongly believe all legitimate bills should be paid. Therefore I agreed to pay the bill immediately, but under the following stipulation:
It is unacceptable to have this debt appear as “paid in full” on my credit report, because it was a bill I was never once notified about, ever. It needs to be removed entirely.
This needed to be in writing (you can’t trust a debt collector!) so they agreed to email me a letter stating such and surprise! The letter now states I am paying $2,451.88 – because of 10% interest compounded. Prior to that, I was told $1,680 and interest wasn’t mentioned.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it felt as if they took advantage of my eager willingness to settle the debt and then decided to try tacking on interest, because they assumed I would still pay it.
Well *if* that was their plan, they made a big mistake…
My promise to go crazy
If Fidelity Creditor Service thought they could milk me for interest unethically, they’re sorely mistaken. If this was a bill I was sent and ignored, then I deserve to pay interest. But the fact is that I never once received a bill – ever – and therefore the idea of paying interest on a debt I was never notified about is totally outrageous.
I go bonkers and tell them…
I’ll spend whatever amount of money it takes (many times more than the amount owed) to become a legal nightmare for them. And guess what? This wasn’t a bluff. Out of principle, I was so disgusted with what they were trying to do, I honestly would spend virtually anything to engulf them in lawsuits and legal headaches. Why? Because it wouldn’t be a waste of money to me, if in the end it taught them to not pull that kind of crap with other people. Money was beside the point; it was about the morality of the situation.
Well apparently they realized I was serious so they reluctantly agreed to charge me only the principal AND still report the account per my specifications. But one last trick up their sleeve… now there was a $50 charge for credit card payments…. BS! (hey, I wanted the reward points!) Fortunately, they quickly backed down.
What is it happens to you?
Now my situation is a bit different because:
(A) This was related to a car accident and I’m fairly confident I will be able to get reimbursed for it eventually. But even if I don’t, I personally have no problem paying the full amount – if I agreed to a bone scan at $X, I want to make good on my word and pay the $X.
(B) From the looks of their website it appears Fidelity Creditor Service does debt collection on a contingency basis. So it’s not like the money is just lining the pockets of Fidelity Creditor’s, but also the now defunct entity (which I agree, is owed money if they weren’t paid for my services by insurance).
But if this happens to you, how should you handle it? Well after this nearly 90 minute ordeal, I called my doctor who had ordered this scan and his office said others have experienced similar circumstances. If you stumble across this review, because you also had a bill from this hospital and were never informed about it, don’t get bullied for interest.
Written or last updated November 2011
If anyone is finding this website now, know that those of us who have fought Fidelity, whether through our own hard fight or through a credit repair service, it is being handled. There is a local Los Angeles investigative reporter (Joel Grover) doing a story on Fidelity and its illegal practices. Please contact anyone on the list who has given their email address and they can discuss this further with you.
Count me in I live in TX now, received treatment 10 days before they filed for bankruptcy in 2008, didn’t know the debt existed until I pulled my credit last month and dipsuted it, recieved an bill toa from Fidelity for $6141 plus interest in the amount of $2216. I’m in if there will be a class action suit, this is horrible. I’m calling Blue Cross tomorrow to find out if they ever paid the hospital.
My email is starzatnights@[REMOVETHISPARTFIRST]yahoo.com
Cindy
For those who are interested, this is the letter I sent to Fidelity the next day aafter they called me. They NEVER responded which technically invalidates their right to collect (by law they must respond within 5 days or debt is considered invalid).
Transmitted via Fax and USPS Certified Mail
August 4, 2011
Diana XXXXXXXXXX
Fidelity Credit Service, Inc.
Ventura Branch Office
4587 Telephone Road, Suite 212
Ventura, California 93003
Telephone 805.477.7447
Fax 805.650.0790
Re: Century City Hospital alleged debts
To Whom It May Concern:
I am sending this letter to you in response to a voice mail I received from Sunny on August 3rd, 2011 and as a follow up to the several phone conversations I had with Sunny on August 3rd, 2011, following that voice mail. This letter is also to inform you that I would like a verification of the debt and your ability to collect this money from me.
On August 3rd, 2011 I responded to a voice mail left on my home answering machine by Sunny; she advised me that there are three debts that I owe to the Century City Hospital, as outlined below.
(1) $15.53 for services received on 5/18/2006 (I later got an EOB from insurance showing I owe $0 on this)
(2) $431.76 for services received on 11/2/2006
(3) $1,795.54 for services received on 3/28/2007
Please be advised that I have never been notified of this collection action or that I owe the debt prior to speaking with Sunny on August 3rd, 2011.
In regards to the debt (3) above – service date 3/28/2007:
After speaking with Sunny on 8/3/2011, I was able to validate that I received services at the Century City Hospital on 3/28/2007, by retrieving EOB issued by my insurance company. My insurance was billed by the Century City Hospital on July 21, 2008, 16 months later after the services were provided. I provided Sunny with an EOB issued by Anthem Blue Cross in regards to the services I received at the Century City Hospital on 3/28/2007. As per the EOB, it is not my responsibility to pay $1,755.18 and it is my responsibility to pay $40.36. Sunny confirmed receipt of the EOB via fax as well as stated that as per that EOB I only owe $40.36 to the Century City Hospital for the services received on 3/28/2007. Therefore, the alleged debt listed above should be corrected to $40.36. Please be advised, that although my insurance company was billed, I was never billed by the Century City Hospital for my co-payment portion of the fees for the services issued on 3/27/2007. I will pay $40.36 as soon as I receive a formal billing statement issued by your agency in the correct amount I owe for the services received on 3/28/2007 as well as a formal statement indicating that once the $40.36 payment is made I am clear of that particular debt and that it is not going to be posted on my credit report with the three major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) and will not impact my credit score.
In regards to the (1) and (2) above – service dates 5/18/2006 and 11/2/2006:
Please be advised, this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. Under the FDCPA, I have the right to request a validation of this debt. I request that you prove that I am indeed the party who is contractually obligated to pay off this debt.
I respectfully request that your office provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you as it pertains to the alleged debts listed above under (1) and (2).
Please provide me with the following documents:
1. Agreement with your client that authorizes you to collect on these alleged debts.
2. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable.
3. Agreement that bears my signature where I promise to pay the original creditor.
4. Proof that you are licensed to collect in state of California.
5. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.
6. Complete payment history on this account, to prove that the amount you wish to collect is accurate.
7. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on these two debts.
I hope you are aware that reporting any invalidated information to major credit bureaus may constitute defamation of character. In addition, you must also be aware that until you validate this debt, you cannot continue collection activities or report this information to the credit bureaus. Non-compliance with this request may land your company in serious legal trouble with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other state/federal agencies. If your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the three major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), said action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
• Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.
Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel. This includes any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.
If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.
This is an attempt to correct your records; any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.
Best Regards,
Diana XXXXXXXXX
Hi Everyone –
I have had several victims contact me at fidelityclaim2008@gmail.com so that we can get a string going and discuss options / class action. If anyone is interested in joining the string of fellow innocent people that have been duped, please email me! Strength in numbers.
fidelityclaim2008@gmail.com
IMPORTANT: if you have proff that you paid the bills, or EOB that shows discrepancy vs. what Fidelity posted on your credit history, PLEASE fine dispute with Transunion (very easy can be done online) ASAP!!! The more people file formal disputes and the more entries by Fidelity the credit bureaus have to delete due to inaccuracies, the more power we have in prooving them wrong. Please do it, do not delay!
Good news – I submitted a dispute on Transunion website on 2/24 and just got a response that they deleted one of the two negative entries Fidelity had on my credit history. Whoo-hoo! The one left is where they claim I owe $440 but never produced validation of debt and my insurance was never billed for services on that day.
I will certainly continue fighting that one until justice is served! Now, all victims of this terrible crime that Fidelity is committing against innocent people (if you only knew how many sleepless nights this has cost me!), we MUST do something to make them pay for this. As I wrote earlier, I had picture perfect credit, not a single late bill ever…they have to pay for this. I like the idea of going to a news reporter. I was successful with this once before, many years ago, when my car was stolen off the dealership’s lot while being services and the dealership refused to file a claim with their insurance. After a brief article on the front page of the LA Times, the dealership was at my doorstep on their knees.
I found some articles online about collection agencies fined tremendous amount of money for illegal and unfair collection practices, so I know it is possible to find justice here. Does anyone here know an attorney who specializes in this type of cases? Please, if you do, post here who the attorney is and I will gladly make the initial contact, unless someone here prefers to do it themselves. I have several personal friends who are attorneys (not in this area of law) and I will ask them whether they could recommend someone. Also, does anyone have suggestions which news outlet we should pursue to make this story public? Any suggestions? It’s time to take actions!!!! dianag0220@gmail.com
In late January 2008 I was FORCED to take medical services even though I explained that I did not have health insurance and that I could not pay the bills. (And it wasn’t that I needed emergency surgery and they had to admit me.) I never received ANY itemized statement from the hospital and never knew that I owed ANY money on this account. I thought I was being considered an indigent patient and that the money owed was forgiven because of that. How was I supposed to know that I owed $4,406? It has now ballooned to $6,220 because of interest. They claimed they sent me a letter back in July of last year, which I, like many of you on this site, never received.
I asked today to see an ITEMIZED bill of services rendered and they said that they can not do that. Then WHY IN THE WORLD would I offer to pay that amount if I don’t even know what I’m being charged for???? My credit is RUINED! I have a score of 802 under Equifax (who doesn’t show the delinquency) and 686 under Experian! I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure if we even HAVE to pay this amount if the company is in bankruptcy.
I offered today to pay, in one lump sum, $1,500 if they would remove this from my financial records. They said no, that they would only do it if I paid $4,000. But again, I can’t see paying that money if I don’t know why I’m paying it. My original offer was to try to just “pay” to clean up my credit score.
Because of my frustration and frantic search for answers, I haven’t quite read all the posts here, but does anyone know if Fidelity Creditor Services bought the bad debt or if they are just acting as an agent? What’s the story with paying a Chapter 7 bankrupt business?????
Tara
Im in the SAME boat. My doctors office says (bc although i probably paid, who remembers a $190 payments from 5 years ago) i have paid for the visit from Aug 2007 and i have a zero balance. I am currently waiting to receive a verification from their billing office to send to fidelity.
The credit system is SOOOO flawed!! Anyone can do a lot of bad things to your credit.
*****FOLLOW UP*****
So what happened was i owed money to century city doctors hospital in 2007 and it went to collections(CRME). I paid CRME in 2009 and was done with it. Fidelity called me in early 2012 and said i owe the same debt and that CCDH is now bankrupt and fidelity is working for the US bankruptcy court to collect their debts. I have found allll the proof they need to remove the collections notice from my report. I will update once it has been removed!!
From what ive heard from here and other sources, CRME apparently screwed up all the collections work and so they dont know who paid their debt or not. Therefore this has been reassigned to fidelity. I dont know if Fidelity is the same company as CRME.
I spoke to a friend that is oddly in the collections business, and he says it is not rare that collections agencies sell old files to other collections companies to resettle the debt. If this this is to show up with another collections agency, ill know something is up.
Speak to Aria at fidelity, she seems to care a bit about people that have actually paid their debt(ME!), and will help you through the system.
Count me in for a law suit if anyone has proof of any sales of information or fraud. I hope this does not show up again, because it took me 3 days to finally located bank statements,check numbers, and copies of all this. BEST OF LUCK
Oh no! Me too! I got a phone call this week from Fidelity. I immediately thought this was a scam because my husband ALWAYS PAYS OUR BILLS.
This is the best way I can explain the situation (I seriously am so livid):
My daughter had an xray of her arm in 2006. Our insurer, Blue Cross, made a payment…in 2008 we were sent a bill from CMRE (they were the billing service for Century City Hospital) and we paid the balance. Last week, Fidelity called, claimed we never paid the balance, that they emailed the bill to my husband (a lie); that they mailed numerous bills to our home (more lies) and that we owed the balance plus interest. My husband keeps meticulous records, found the copy of the check he wrote to CMRE for payment on that bill and I have that copy. Meanwhile, our credit is dinged and they are claiming they never got that payment. This is SO ILLEGAL!!!!!!!
Please contact me…I think this is more than class action. Each and every one of us should drag them into small claims court. (Like the women who sued Honda and won) I think we need an investigative news reporter on this as well as Kamala Harris. I can be reached at vixkipper@gmail.com
Please add me to class-action. My credit score was in the upper 700s and because they illegally did this my credit is dinged. It’s totally a scam. I am contacting the 3 credit companies and printing this out. Also, did a dispute with my bank because i asked my bank not to authorize them taking my money. The bank even agreed that the company Fidelity is at fault and the bank returned my money.
Please anyone that is interested in joining forces, or if you already engaged an attorney, I’d like to join in. I am very angry about this situation and I am ready to take them to court. I am in disbelief that someone could be so bluntly breaking so many state and federal laws and possibly get away with it. This thought terrifies me. They ruined my perfect credit history, I have never in my life had a single late payment. They placed illegal information on my credit file alleging that I owe them thousands of dollars when I sent the my insurance EOB showing that I only owe $15 on one bill, $40 on another and $0 on the third bill. I can be reached at dianag0220@gmail.com. Or, leave a comment for me here and I’ll reach out to you.
This just happened to me as well. Bill from Century City showed zero balance, now Fidelity dinged my credit report without contacting me and are not being responsive. Has anyone had any success with resolving this?
RM
CENTURY CITY DOCTORS HOSPITAL FALSE REPORTING
I too am furious, as this is the first time I have ever received a negative report on our credit report. This certainly seems like a scam to me. I am sending a copy of the following letter I sent to Fidelity Credit Service with copies to Trans Union, Equifax and Experian. This is an absolute waste of time and energy. If anyone has further information I would truly appreciate it. I will also contact the FTC.
Christine
Fidelity Credit Service
216 S. Louise Street
Glendale, CA 91205
RE: SS/# Reported Date of Service: 9/20/06
Century City Doctors Hospital/Bankruptcy Filed 2008
Ms. Careno:
As I reported to you on or around January 17, 2012 that the charges you received from Century City Doctors Hospital were and are fraudulent. Stanley Zahn was seen in the office of OUR FAMILY DOCTOR on September 2, 2006, there was no confirmation or authorization received by him from Blue Cross for testing to be done at the aforementioned hospital, nor is there a name of a doctor at CCDH, for services performed.
As my husband explained to you before, he remembers arriving at CCDH without a recommendation or authorization sometime before the December 14,2006 date but was not sure of the exact date because you would not provide us with the proper information, he believed you had told him it was November 20, 2006 as did I. I therefore had Blue Cross search and they found the payment for the date of December 14, 2006. There was no authorization/recommendation or a doctor present at Century City Doctors Hospital prior to the December 14, 2006 date. Since researching the information further today, January 30, 2012 you then informed me that the correct date was September 20, 2006. I followed up with Anthem Blue Cross and was given the following information.
When Blue Cross received the claim dated September 20, 2006 in the amount of $2960.60 they responded with a request for information from CCDH for the name of the doctor who performed the “reported” services on this date ,as well as an authorization sent to CCDH from Blue Cross authorizing this date of service. I am waiting for the Claim Archives from Blue Cross which I will send to you as soon as possible. I will also send copies of information I receive from, our family doctor. Dr. E does not and never has practiced medicine at Century City Doctors Hospita. Since there was no authorization from Blue Cross for September 20, 2006 that can be provided to us, and based on what Blue Cross has reported to me at this time all I can do is let you know I am working on this and I would only ask you to provide me with the information that you have received from “the Bankruptcy Trustee” in CCDH’s behalf so that this issue can be resolved.
The only claim paid by Blue Cross to Century City Doctors Hospital was for December 14,2006. The total amount billed was for $3374.75, Provider Write Off: 2939.84, Paid by Blue Cross $434.91 DED: 00 and co-ins: $0.00.
I will follow this letter with another Claims Archive Report for the September 20,2006 date. If as you claim that Blue Cross is lying or I, in some way have not been straight forward then please send me the information to prove your claim that I have requested from you. At this time you have refused to provide
I would also like to point out at this time that we lived at our former address, from 1985 to July 2009, and have been currently located at xxxx. We never received any correspondence prior to or since moving regarding this claim.
I look forward to resolving this as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
name of above
CC: Experian
Trans Union
Equifax
I too was a patient at Century city doctor’s hospital over 5 years ago. I paid my bill to the hospital, as any responsible person would. 2years later I received a collections notice from a creditor called crm I spent 6 months fighting the charges and finally they told me it was a mistake and my name was cleared. I had moved during that process and crm had my new address. My credit score was 810 as of last Jan I always check my credit score in Jan to my dismay it had dropped to the 600′s. As I looked into it, it was due to the fact that Fidelity creditors had placed my Century city doc hospital bill in to collections! I never received one call or letter!
When I called they had the nerve to tell me it was my responsibility to contact them that I had moved! They had the info that crm had the Debt prior but claimed they had no way of knowing I had moved. They claim they represent the bankruptcy court and are here to help. But when I call they have no new news for me if I leave messages they clam not to have received them. They have also said they are reputable and are not predatory. As I can see the are a predatory creditor and now that I know I’m not alone it makes me angrier.
Add me to the list that wants to start a class action lawsuit against this collection company. I sent the letter disputing a debt that supposedly occurred over 4 years ago and have never received a bill. The only reason i found out about it was from getting a credit report. I have a pristine credit score, except after they reported a collection account it dropped enough to have my bank reduce my line of credit. I requested verification and they responded with nothing resembling a verification. They didn’t even include the address of the original creditor (an absolute requirement) AND did not report to each of the credit agencies that the debt is in dispute. Each of those failures to report would be a $1,000 judgment against them. They are subject to both CA and Federal law. If anyone knows that someone is putting together a class action lawsuit to obtain damages from this collection agency and to erase whatever they reported to the credit agencies, COUNT ME IN….
More of the same with me. They claim I owe $1658 from an MRI I had in 2006. I have never had a single late payment in my life…..I am very very angry. Credit score is very important to us at the moment as we are in the process of getting a new mortgage and this issue will definitely increase costs. I would just pay the bill to get rid of it, but my mortgage broker advises that would be the worst thing to do……so I am not sure where to go from here. I am going to talk to an attorney.
I am actually part of this issue concerning Century City Doctors Hospital. They actually had a contract with my insurance at the time but did not try to file the claim with them even though they had all my information ranging from my telephone number to my SSN to even my home address in Hawaii even though I was temporarily living in LA for a few years. A while back, I thought this collection claim, which was being handled by CRME at the time, was settled b/c the hospital went bankrupt and I didn’t owe anything, but now Fidelity is claiming that that agency didn’t follow the Federal Bankruptcy Court’s procedures and that now my file was given to their office. My former insurance company has no record of Century City filing a claim but now Fidelity is claiming I owe the original amount on top of the interest and they claim that I was sent letters saying how much I owe and that the hospital did try to bill me.
Btw, my initial visit to the hospital took place in April of 2008. It’s nearly 4 years past that and only now do I have these people threatening my credit score which I have worked hard at repairing due to debt over the past few months. Is this legal? I am not too sure about the legal processing to go against this company but I do believe that what they are doing is immoral. On top of that, their customer service is horrible. The lady who claimed to be the manager was being verbally abusive towards me and when I called her unprofessional, became even more temperamental and hung up on me.
I do know that there are some California laws concerning debt collections and hospital billing practices but do not know the exact literature. If someone where to be able to find links so I could read up on them, I would greatly appreciate this information. Also, you can count me in on any type of legal action that may take place against them.
I was contacted by them yesterday. I never received a bill and never received a letter that Fidelity claimed to have sent in June of 2011. They sent me what they called “proof” which was a statement that said I was billed $178, that my insurance paid $178 and that I owed $178. When I called them back to advise the statement shows my insurance company paid in full they advised they made an error when they typed in the numbers. How is this proof if they plugged the random numbers in themselves. Long story longer I found my EOB from 4 years ago that showed my insurance cranny paid the majority of the claim. I am refusing to pay the $47 dollars that my EOB shows not covered because I am certain that I handled this at the time. I am also certain at this point that this company is falsifying information and acting immorally if not illegally. I will become involved in a class action suit of anyone gets one started. I have forwarded my documentation to the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court that they claim to be collecting for. I will also be going to the BBB. It is a very sad situation when a company with zero morals have been given the power to damage our credit score. How many people will be paying them money that the insurance company already paid because they don’t keep their records for 4 years?
I am currently in the same position with Fidelity. Has anyone had any success or can recommend a lawyer?
This is exactly what happened yesterday to me and it’s for the service rendered the same Century City Hospital. They called me in October in fact, but I thought they were some kind of scam and I ignore them being certain that I have already paid the bill long time ago. Luckily, I have all the documents that the bill is paid off, so I faxed the proof of the payment. I’ll see what’s going to happen hoping that it would resolved ASAP.
I am formally disputing their claim if they do not remove it. I have started a dispute online with Experian Credit Reporting and have mailed Fidelity certified letters as they have absolutely no proof or documentation of their alleged claim of me owing $1,350 plus an (illegal) interest of $400 they tacked on.
Here are a few codes they are violating for most of us – California Health and Safety Code 1379, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 809(a) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 809(b), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 808(1), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 813 (a).
I am prepared to take legal action should this not be resolved. Strength in numbers…
Please email me if you’re interested in pursuing/sharing info..
fidelityclaim2008 (at) gmail.com
JULIA,
I BASICALLY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AS YOU AND AM VERY ANGRY AT FIDELITY.I AM DEFINATELY INTERESTED IN PURSUING/SHARING INFO. I CAN BE CONTACTED BY EMAIL : merrill.lewis [at] gmail OR (310) 578-6597.
THANK YOU,
MERRILL
This happened to me. I received services for an office consultation in June 2008. Just heard from Fidelity in November 2011 stating I owe $1,800 ($1,350 for services plus $450 of “interest”). Has anyone made progress or have any outcomes? My lawyer is currently working with me on this. No interest is ever owed on a debt like this, per the law.
Hey All-
If you’re interested, I’ve been doing some digging regarding Fidelity Creditor Services with regard to the Century City fiasco. Same story as most. (Had service, was told it was covered, never heard anything for years, and then saw a ding on my credit report). Fidelity also claimed to have sent me notice in June – again, never happened. Fact of the matter is, this agency is attempting to collect for services that were never billed and, in some cases, never even took place. I am likely taking them to court, and am definitely reporting them to the attorney general’s office for an investigation, so if anyone wants in, let me know. The more the merrier. Of note, for those of you who had services beyond two years ago, you should know that the statute of limitations has probably run and Fidelity is knowingly attempting to collect a debt that they don’t have a legal right to. In California the statute of limitations for an implied contract (what most medical treatment falls under) is two years. They reported you first and sought payment later so that they’d have some leverage when negotiating on these false claims.
I AM PART OF THE “CENTURY CITY FIASCO.” I WOULD LIKE TO GO TO COURT WITH YOU.JUST LAST WEEK I FIRST HEARD FROM THEM ON A BILL THAT WAS OVER 4 YEARS OLD. THEY SAID I WAS SENT A STATEMENT IN JUNE WHICH I NEVER RECEIVED. I CAN ALSO BE CONTACTED AT (310) 578-6597 . MY BILL WAS ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF.
Merrill Lewis
P.S.I AM VERY ANGRY.
Hi All,
This just happened to me as well. I had excellent credit and out of the blue got dinged for a bill I have never seen or been contacted about and I am also sure if I check into it, my insurance would have paid for this.
Has anyone reported Fideltiy to Kamala Harris office and gotten any results? This business needs to be closed down for violating the fair credit act and so many other violations. Please let me know if any of you have filed a class action against this firm. I would love to join it.
thanks,
Liz
I too have been a victim of this collection notice on my credit report – five years after the bill for services at Century City Doctor’s Hospital were allegedly not paid. I also inquired with Fidelity on what the basis was for their filing this complaint against my otherwise high 700′s credit rating. Like the initial blogger, they also told me they notified me by mail in June of this year. I received no such notice as well. When I spoke to Monica at Fidelity and objected to her insistence that I was notified – albeit five years later – she hung up on me. In a subsequent call I was able to speak with her supervisor – Daniel who was more reasonable in wanting to hear my story. I am now engaged in a nightmare retrieval of old documents to make the case that I settled this matter five years ago with my Doctor and Doctor’s Hospital who was on the board of Century City Dr’s Hospital at the time. I will report back on how this is resolved
In many cases the collection agency has bought the receivables and they are the only one that is making money off this collection. In these cases they have paid pennies on the dollar. In your case do you have any idea who is receiving the funds?
Since when do medical debts owed directly to the provider accrue interest? I would follow the FCRA procedures for demanding that the debt be itemized and verified in writing, and then only pay the original amount unless they can provide a legal contract for interest and fees.
That’s what I said… there should be no interest accrued. Don’t worry, I only paid the original amount. You’re right about the FCRA; if I had any doubt as to the legitimacy of the bill, that would be the way to go for sure.