Medical Debt Wreaks Havoc on Consumers’ Credit Reports

POSTED BY: Mark F. Anderson | Consumer Debt, Credit Score, News

Medical Debt Wreaks Havoc on Consumers’ Credit Reports The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report that reveals that over 1 in 5 consumers, or 43 million, have black marks on their credit reports for medical debts, and that medical debts constitute over half of debt collection items on credit reports. Chi Chi Wu of the National Consumer Law Center said “This report is another example of the powerful information revealed by CFPB’s groundbreaking research.” Medical debt is different from other types of consumer debt. Medical debt is unique because the most vulnerable patients – the uninsured and underinsured...

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Medical Debt is Causing Big Problems for Consumers

POSTED BY: Mark F. Anderson | Consumer Debt, News

Medical Debt is Causing Big Problems for Consumers Medical debt is causing big problems for huge numbers of consumers. The New York Time reports that medical providers and their debt collectors are unfairly hitting consumers with reports to the credit bureaus they have have not paid medical debts. One seemingly simple medical procedure may result in an avalanche of bills from hospitals, insurance companies and doctors. The bills themselves are often confusing as to what the consumer is supposed to pay and how long the consumer has to pay. Some medical providers charge huge amounts for simple procedures. Hospitals routinely...

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Equifax Is Obtaining Workers’ Salary Info & Selling it to Debt Collectors!

POSTED BY: Mark F. Anderson | Consumer Debt, News

NBC news reports that Equifax is obtaining salary information from corporations and others and selling it to debt collectors and others.. The information is collected in a database created through an Equifax-owned company called The Work Number. It is if folks posted their salaries on the Internet. The salary information for sale by Equifax through The Work Number is incredibly detailed with paystub information dating back years for many individuals, names of health care providers, and whether they ever filed an unemployment claim. In 2009, Equifax said the data covered 30 percent of the U.S. working population, and it now...

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American Express Caught Deceiving Customers

POSTED BY: Mark F. Anderson | Consumer Debt, News

The FDIC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have announced a settlement with American Express Centurion Bank of Salt Lake City concerning deceptive debt collection and credit card marketing practices. American Express will pay restitution $85 million to over 250,000 consumers and pay penalties of $27 million. The authorities found American Express engaged in the following outrageous practices: 1. Misrepresented that if consumers entered into an agreement to settle old debt (that was no longer being reported to consumer reporting agencies), such settlement would be reported to consumer reporting agencies and thereby improve the consumers’ credit scores. In fact,...

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Debt Collectors & Banks Scheme to Revive Old Debts

POSTED BY: Mark F. Anderson | Consumer Debt, News

The WSJ reports that debt collectors are teaming up with some banks to offer a credit card to consumers who have old credit card debts. The old debts are barred by the statute of limitations. The debt collectors send misleading letters to the consumers stating that upon payment of a few hundred dollars on the old debts, the bank will issue a credit card. What the solicitations do not make clear is that the payment will revive the old debts. In other words, payment starts the statute of limitations running again. In California, the statute of limitations is four years...

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