ComplaintsforProfessional Finance Company (PFC USA)

• Initial Complaint

  09/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We've never had an account with this company, heard of them, or been contacted in anyway by them yet they're flagging our credit report multiple times a month for delinquency causing our credit score to plummet.

  

  Business response

  09/28/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. ("PFC") appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********* complaint.  It appears that Ms. ****** was provided services from ********** ******* (**** * ****** * ******) on 6/28/2021.  Ms. ********* **** insurance was billed and left and amount owing as patient responsibility.  When ********** received no payments, the account was placed with PFC for collection on 10/19/2021.  PFC mailed initial notice of the debt and received confirmation that the notice was delivered to Ms. ********* **** ****** ***** address on or around 10/30/2021.  On 11/4/2021,  PFC reached Ms. ******* by telephone on 11/4/2021 and discussed the account.  At that time, Ms. ******* stated she would pay online and did not want to receive any further telephone calls.  As a result, PFC marked the account as disputed and ceased telephone calls.  When PFC did not receive payment, it began reporting the debt as an open collection account 12/26/2021.  PFC is happy to work with Ms. ******* to remove this account from her credit report and will agree to remove the account upon payment.  Of course, if Ms. ******* has further information she would like to provide regarding any dispute, PFC will investigate this information.

  Customer response

  09/28/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the bill of $618.40 was paid in full to **** **** **** ****** on November 3, 2021. I can provide a credit card statememt reflecting this.

  Regards,

  
  ******** *******

  

  Business response

  09/28/2022

  This bill does appear to be for a different charge ($171.00) and the services were performed at the ****** ********** ******* ****** * ******.  If you would like to provide the proof of payment referenced, PFC will forward that to ********** ******* for review to confirm whether this payment was made to ********** or another servicer.  That information can be sent to ******************.  Please refer to reference number ******** in the email. 

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We paid off an account - they still garnished my hunband's wages and we had a double payment that we had to call in for a total of 12 times. I requested a superviser to call me. They still have not reported that this account is PAID IN FULL to the credit bureaus after our numerous requests! We want them to stop report negative items to the credit bureaus and report that this is in fact PAID IN FULL

  

  Business response

  05/18/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to **** ******* complaint.  PFC did file a complaint to collect two accounts from the *** and **** ***** on 10/21/2020.  A judgment was entered against the ***** on 4/1/2021 by the ******* County Court.  On 4/14/2021, **** ***** telephoned PFC and set up a temporary payment arrangement for $80/month for 6 months towards the judgment.  On 4/16/2021, PFC received two additional accounts for collection from the *******, mailed out initial notice of the debts, and received no notification of returned or undeliverable mail.  A listing of all debts that have been placed with PFC for collection from the ******* has been attached to this response. When the payment arrangement ended on 9/14/2021, PFC attempted to call *** ***** and set up further payments on 9/16/2021 and twice on 10/25/2021.  However, **** ******* mailbox was full and PFC was unable to leave a message.  **** ***** telephoned PFC on 11/17/2021 and was informed that there was no current payment arrangement for the debt.  **** ***** was also informed of the additional accounts that were placed for collections on 4/16/2021.   **** ***** did not set up a payment arrangement at that time and stated she would send in a written request for information on her payments.  However, no such request was received.  On 1/25/2022, the ******* County Court issued a Writ of Continuing Garnishment to *** ******* employer, as PFC had not received payment towards the judgment for 4 months.  On 2/14/2022, **** ***** telephoned PFC, made payment towards the judgment, and set up payments towards the non-judgment accounts at $80/month.  As a result, PFC filed a release of the garnishment with the Court on 2/16/2022.  PFC sent this release of garnishment to *** ******* employer on 2/16/2021.  Despite releasing the garnishment and sending notification to *** ******* employer, PFC did receive a check from the employer on 3/7/2022.  PFC endorsed the check to *** ***** and mailed it to *** ***** that very same day, as the judgment account had been paid off.  **** ***** followed up with PFC several times regarding the refund between 3/16 and 3/23/2022, requesting a call back from a supervisor.  Each time a supervisor attempted to reach **** *****, the call would go to a voicemail box that was full.  On 3/23/2022, one of PFC’s supervisors was able to reach **** ******* voicemail.  PFC did not hear from **** ***** again until today, when she called to inquire about her remaining balance.  PFC then received the instant BBB complaint.  As stated above, PFC has included an account summary of her paid/closed and open accounts.  In respond to the complaint regarding credit reporting, PFC has confirmed that the accounts that have been paid have indeed been submitted for deletion.  According to *******, the accounts that PFC is credit reporting are the unpaid account for *** ***** owed to ****** *** ** ****** ****** (PFC’s File Number *******) and the unpaid accounts for **** ***** owed to ***** ****** *** ******* (PFC’s File Number ********).  PFC is happy to answer any further questions and is always willing to work with *** and **** ***** to get the accounts resolved in an amicable manner.

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I keep getting harassing letters from Professional finance company I do not owe the 14.02 I have ******** and ******** Both has paid my bills in full for the last 15 years I am 62 years old and disabled I have contact this company many times They are rude and hateful ******* ******** ********* has all of my information I am not paying this bill so stop your Harassment If you want your money go to ******** and Medicare

  

  Business response

  04/18/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. ******** complaint.  On 8/3/2021, ******* ******** ********* (“***”) provided services to Ms. ******.   UCR billed Ms. ******** ****** ******** Advantage insurance, received a payment/adjustment of $446.98, and a balance was left owing of $14.02.  When no payment was received, UCR placed the account for collection with PFC on 4/5/2022.  On 4/8/2022, PFC mailed Ms. ****** initial notice of the debt (which has been attached to this response).  The notice is the Model Validation Notice that was created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the only communication that PFC has had with Ms. ******, and PFC does not believe the notice is “hateful” or “rude”.  Again, PFC has had no other contact with Ms. ******.  If Ms. ****** believe she has had such other contacts with PFC, PFC would appreciate the opportunity to get information on these contacts so that they may be investigated.  Due to the low balance, PFC has closed the account and has ceased all collection efforts regarding the account and Ms. ******.  PFC is happy to answer any further questions regarding this matter.

  Customer response

  04/18/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  But I did call several last year and explain I was on ******** as well

  As ******** and gave then my ******** number 

  Each time they were rude and hateful 
  Regards,
  
  **** ******

• Initial Complaint

  04/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received notice today that PFC reported my balance to the credit agencies even after I have spoken with their representatives and have disputed these charges. I have copies of the EOB from my insurance company stating that the amounts in question were denied due to no referral being submitted on the bill by ** ********. It is the responsibility of the providers to submit this referral to obtain full payment for services. I spoke with ** ******** about this multiple times prior to the account being sent to bad debt. I spoke with Mirenda/Miranda and Diana and have documentation of my calls with them. They both agreed that a referral was not obtained and said they were sending the claim back to the AR team for appeal and reprocessing. I also spoke with my PCP office, ********** ****** **********, who placed the order for these services and confirmed that they provided the referral. I told both ***** and ** ******** this information; however ***** told me that they did not receive an appeal in a timely manner with the correct information from ** ********. My insurance covers 100% of negotiated charge after I pay my specialist co-pay which I did. I have attached copies of my insurance EOBs showing that the reason for the charges is the lack of a referral provided with the bill by ** ********. While my initial complaint is with ** ******** (and I have submitted a claim against them); PFC did not investigate and then subsequently reported this small balance (<$300) to my credit reports.

  

  Business response

  04/21/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********’s complaint.  PFC has reviewed the information and EOB provided by Ms. ******** and has reached out to University of Colorado Medicine (“***”) to review this matter as well.  It appears that *** is still in the process of reviewing the billing of Ms. ********’s accounts.  As a result, PFC has closed the accounts in its office back to ***, has ceased all collection activity on the accounts, and has submitted deletion of the credit reporting of the accounts.  PFC is unable to speak as to what *** may choose to do with the accounts in the future and it is PFC’s reading of the EOB that it does indeed state “without a referral, you owe this charge.”  However, PFC is unaware of whose responsibility it may be to obtain that referral.  Nevertheless, as stated above, PFC has ceased all collections and submitted deletion of credit reporting as requested by Ms. ********.

  Customer response

  05/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  It never should have escalated to this point as I spoke with this company's agents multiple times and explained what happened and they did promise to dispute for me.  However, following my complaint with BBB. they have finally followed up as promised.  I am also in contact with ** ******** directly (I contacted them initially several times too) and they have resolved most claims given it was THEIR responsibility to confirm the referral.  We are working on one remaining claim which is taking time due to the age of the visit (it's more than 2 years ago now).
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ********

• Initial Complaint

  02/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have no knowledge of this company or alleged debt. I have disputed this debt with the credit bureaus and it came back verified i have since then contacted the company and haven't received a response. Where are the documents that your company used to verify that you are reporting these accounts accurately? What is the name of the person in your company who verified the accuracy of this account? What documents did they use to verify them? Please provide me with the name of that individual, their company title, and telephone number as well as copies of the documents that they used to verify that this disputed item are being reported accurately. Delete account from all 3 credit bureaus

  

  Business response

  03/03/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. *****’s complaint.  As referenced in Ms. *****’s complaint, PFC was assigned 11 accounts for collection from **** ****** Hospital and Clinics beginning on 5/26/2020.  For each of these accounts, PFC mailed Ms. ***** initial notice of the debt to the PO Box provided to **** ****** at the time services were provided and received no indication of returned or undeliverable mail.  Beginning on or around 5/2/2021, PFC received notice from the credit reporting agencies that Ms. ***** was disputing the accuracy of the reporting of the **** ****** accounts.  The disputes passed to PFC by the Credit Reporting Agencies included the following statement: “Delete this account I have not been supplied proof under the doctrine of estoppel by silence ********** * ******* Mo 281 SW 715 719 I may presume that no proof of the alleged debt exists Times Disputed In Last 120 Days 0”.  Ms. ***** also was disputing the date of first delinquency.  In response, PFC performed an investigation, including reviewing information provided by **** ****** to PFC related to date of delinquency of the accounts, and determined that the information being reported for the accounts was accurate.  Of course, since PFC had not received any previous correspondence or requests from Ms. *****, it did not believe that any estoppel by silence applies.  As to Ms. *****’s claim that PFC has her information in violation of HIPAA, PFC would direct Ms. ***** to the following links from the Department of Health and Human Services: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/267/does-the-privacy-rule-prevent-reporting-to-consumer-credit-agencies/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/268/does-the-hipaa-privacy-rule-prevent-health-care-providers-from-using-debt-collection-agencies/index.html
  In response to this complaint, PFC is sending Ms. ***** the information she has requested from **** ****** regarding the debts in question to the address listed in the complaint.  PFC has still not received the letters attached to Ms. *****’s BBB complaint, but has treated them as the requests for this information.  PFC looks forward to assisting Ms. ***** in resolving her dispute and assisting Ms. ***** in removing these items from her credit report.

  Customer response

  03/08/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I want these accounts deleted I need a fax number to send in the dispute letters.
  
  Regards,
  
  *** *****

  

  Business response

  03/09/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. ("PFC") appreciates the continued opportunity to resolve this matter.  PFC is happy to review any documentation Ms. ***** would like to provide, either through this BBB portal or directly to PFC's General Counsel's at [email protected].  PFC will then perform another investigation of any information provided and respond to Ms. ***** through the BBB Portal or by email.

  Customer response

  03/10/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  I want them to delete the account through the bbb
  Regards,
  *** *****

  

  Business response

  03/17/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. appreciates the continued opportunity to respond to Ms. *****'s complaint.  **** ****** Hospital has provided the documentation attached to this respond for Ms. *****'s review.  Based on the documentation provided, PFC believes the information being reported is accurate and owing.  However, if Ms. ***** still has a dispute after reviewing the attached documentation, PFC is happy to address any such concerns.  PFC looks forward to resolving this complaint.

• Initial Complaint

  01/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Business is trying to reach me for paying my medical bill that was already paid fully before the due date. The bills are paid by Nov 1 2020 with $0 due but the professional finance company has been asking for debts and reported derogatory activity on 11/2021.

  

  Business response

  02/09/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. **********’s complaint.   On 5/20/2020, ********** ** ******** ******** (“***”) provided services to Ms. **********.  These charges from *** for physician services, are separate from any hospital charges incurred, and *** is a separate entity from the hospital.  *** bills Ms. **********’s insurance and a balance was left remaining as Ms. **********’s responsibility.  When *** received no further payments for these services provided, the debts were placed with PFC for collection.  PFC mailed Ms. ********** initial notice of the debts on 12/12/2020 and received no indication of returned or undeliverable mail.  PFC reached Ms. ********** by telephone on 12/29/2020.  During this communication, Ms. ********** stated that she had proof that the accounts were paid, stated she would be sending PFC this proof, but never provided any proof of payment to PFC.  On 2/9/2021, Ms. ********** telephoned PFC and stated that she had paid the hospital.  However, PFC explained that *** and the hospital were separate entities.  PFC received no further communications from Ms. ********** until the filing of the instant complaint.  However, Ms. ********** did pay the *** account after telephoning PFC on 2/8/2022 and accepting the explanation that the hospital charges and the charges from *** are indeed separate charges.  As further explanation, PFC has included the itemized statement from *** that shows the nature of the charges at issue.  Due to the confusion from Ms. ********** surrounding these charges and Ms. **********’s payment, PFC has agreed to deletion of the credit reporting of these accounts.  PFC expects that with Ms. **********’s payment, this matter is closed.  However, PFC is happy to answer any further questions regarding this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  01/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Recently Professional Finance Company (PFC) placed a collections account on my 3 credit bureau reports from ********** ******* *** **** *****. After disputing this medical collection, ******** and ********** were not able to verify its validity and they deleted it from my reports. However, ******* sent an updated report saying they had verified the information (see attached file). I also sent in a dispute to PFC regarding this alleged collection and sought verification and validation of this supposed debt from them. I did not (and have not) received any of the validations I requested from either ******* or PFC. In addition, PFC is in direct violation of HIPAA laws because I did not give them permission to access, view, or, in any other way, obtain my confidential medical information. In addition, I never received a letter from PFC regarding this alleged debt. My address has not changed in the last 3 years and appears on all three credit reports so obtaining it to send me a debt collection letter should have been fairly easy. I'd like PFC to please remove the said collection from my ******* credit report since they are in direct violation of HIPAA laws, with assurances on their part that they will not seek to place this collection ever again on my credit reports. Thank you for your assistance.

  

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. *****’s complaint.  ********** ******* ****** – *** *** (“**********”) provided services to Ms. ***** on 3/3/2020.  ********** billed Ms. *****’s ***** insurance and an amount was left owing as patient responsibility.  Ms. ***** made several payments, the last of which was made on 6/15/2020, and a balance of $71.05 remained.  When ********** received no further payments, the account was placed for collections on 7/13/2020.  On 7/16/2020, PFC mailed Ms. ***** initial notice of the debt to her *** ***** *** address.  PFC received no indication of returned or undeliverable mail for the notice and PFC’s letter tracking service indicated that the notice was delivered as addressed on or about 7/25/2020.  When PFC received no response to its collection efforts, the account was credit reported as an open collection item on 11/21/2021.  Ms. ***** telephoned PFC on 11/29/2021, confirmed the address to which PFC mailed the initial notice, and was provided information regarding the ********** account.  Ms. ***** stated during this call that she wanted to check with ********** prior to making any payments.  PFC then did receive a dispute through the credit reporting agencies.  PFC performed an investigation into the account and responded to the dispute on 12/16/2021 that the information being reported was accurate.  On 12/29/2021, PFC received Ms. *****’s letter of dispute requesting verification of the account.  When PFC received the instant complaint on 1/10/2022, it was waiting for ********** to respond to the request for further documentation.  This documentation was mailed to Ms. ***** on 1/11/2022 and has been attached in response to this complaint.  Neither PFC nor ********** believe that the placement of accounts for collections is a HIPAA violation.  PFC would direct Ms. ***** to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ website for further information at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/267/does-the-privacy-rule-prevent-reporting-to-consumer-credit-agencies/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/268/does-the-hipaa-privacy-rule-prevent-health-care-providers-from-using-debt-collection-agencies/index.html.
  PFC has a Business Associate Agreement with ********** that allows PFC to act as **********’s collection agency.  PFC only requested further information regarding Ms. *****’s accounts from ********** when this information was requested by Ms. ***** in keeping with HIPAA’s minimum necessary requirements. 
  PFC believes that consumers should be given an opportunity to paid owing debts prior to any impact to their credit. Thus, PFC is happy to delete credit reporting of the account upon payment and take Ms. *****’s word that she was previously unaware of the account.  We look forward to assisting Ms. ***** in resolving this matter.

  Customer response

  01/13/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  

  I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However, I do want to make it clear that I did phone ********** when the account reported on my credit reports. When I inquired if I could pay ********** directly if I indeed owed the outstanding balance, they responded that the debt had been sold to PFC. They did not state that PFC was employed as their collection agency. If indeed the debt was sold, according to HIPAA law, a collection agency cannot collect on a medical debt as it is in violation of  a patient's privacy. Here is a statement from the hhs.gov website regarding the former: The Privacy Rule permits covered entities to continue to use the services of debt collection agencies. Debt collection is recognized as a payment activity within the “payment” definition. See the definition of “payment” at 45 CFR 164.501. Through a business associate arrangement, the covered entity may engage a debt collection agency to perform this function on its behalf. Disclosures to collection agencies are governed by other provisions of the Privacy Rule, such as the business associate and minimum necessary requirements.
  

  
  

  I may have misunderstood the customer rep at ********** on ownership of this debt. But if I owe this debt, I will happily pay it with an assurance of deletion from my credit reports as stated in PFC's response.

  
  

  Please let me know how I may resolve this account.

  
  

  I thank you for researching and responding to my complaint.
  

   

  Best regards,

  ********* *****

  

  Business response

  01/18/2022

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. ("PFC") appreciates the continued opportunity to resolve this matter.  To clarify, PFC does not purchase debt and did not purchase Ms. *****'s debt.  It is possible that the representative at ********** misspoke or was misinformed.  Regardless, Ms. ***** is welcome to call PFC at (855) ******** at her convenience and we would be happy to assist her.  As previously stated, PFC will submit a deletion of credit reporting upon receipt of payment.

  Customer response

  01/18/2022

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business (PFC), and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I appreciate the swift and courteous response to my issue. And I regret that ********** misinformed me as this situation could have been resolved much sooner.

  Thanks to BBB and PFC for endeavoring to resolve complaints in a timely and amicable way.

  Regards,
  ********* *****

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  PFC sent a letter about an alleged debt detailing how they were going to pursue legal action for an alleged debt and it was their intent to seek a judgment. This is illegal under the FDCPA, which funny enough they claim they follow the law. You are not allowed to threaten legal action, and the threat of judgements is yet another threat as it ruins credit further. They are doing illegal practices in trying to collect debt.

  

  Business response

  12/07/2021

  
  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Mr. ******’s complaint.  Between January and July of 2019, ********** ** ******** ******** (“UCM”) provided services to Mr. ******’s minor children 12 times.  For each of these 12 dates of service, UCM billed Mr. ******’s Aetna insurance and a balance was left owing as Mr. ******’s responsibility for a copay, coinsurance, or deductible. When UCM received no payments from Mr. ****** for these amounts, UCM placed the accounts for collection throughout 2020.  For each account placed, PFC mailed Mr. ****** notice of the debt to the address listed in his complaint and received no indication of returned of undeliverable mail.  PFC also attempted to reach Mr. ****** be telephone to discuss the debts, but was unsuccessful.  On 11/19/2021, one of PFC’s attorney’s reviewed Mr. ******’s accounts for potential legal action.  Finding that the accounts qualified for legal action and that Mr. ****** may have the ability to pay for the accounts, PFC’s attorney reviewed and signed the letter to which Mr. ******’s complaint refers.  As stated in the letter, the accounts qualify for legal action and PFC is prepared to take legal action to collect the accounts.  PFC’s letter also informs Mr. ****** that PFC is providing Mr. ****** another opportunity to dispute the debts or request further information.  PFC will treat Mr. ******’s complaint as a dispute and request for such further information and is mailing Mr. ****** itemization of the debts from UCM to fulfill this request.  The FDCPA does prohibit “threat[ening] to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.”  15 USC § 1692(e)5.  However, PFC is both allowed to, and intends to, take legal action to collect the debts should they remain unpaid or a valid dispute is raised.  PFC does not and cannot place judgments on a credit report but does understand that some credit bureaus do sweep public information for such judgments. PFC truly treats litigation as an avenue of last resort to collect debts and would much rather work with consumers to resolve their accounts.  PFC is always happy to work with Mr. ****** to resolve his debts and looks forward to doing so.

  Customer response

  12/08/2021

  I reject this. First of all this agency is acting like the debt is mine without even having validated it yet. Second, they have the right to say they are going to take legal action if they intend to do so, immediately. However the wording of this letter from the agency does not intend that.  There are words of "potential legal action", "should we proceed", "we will not initiate any legal action until". These are not definitive statements.  Additionally, there is an 8% interest rate on this letter,  which would be this agency adding on their own interest rates, as I've not signed for interest rate on medical. So I completely reject this agency's response. 

  

  Business response

  12/08/2021

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the continued opportunity to respond to Mr. ******’s complaint.  First, PFC has attached additional information from ********** ** ******** ******** (“***”) to validate the debts at issue.  These same documents have been sent to Mr. ****** by mail as well.  PFC must disagree with Mr. ******’s view of the letter sent by PFC.  PFC does not believe there is a requirement to state only that PFC will take legal action immediately.  Allowing Mr. ****** additional opportunity to dispute or pay the debt prior to litigation is of benefit to Mr. ****** and there are no false or misleading statements in PFC’s letter.  PFC is not required only to make definitive statements or predict the future, as circumstances may change that avoid or prohibit litigation.  Finally, PFC and *** are allowed to add on 8% interest under Colorado law.  Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes 5-12-102(2), “When there is no agreement as to the rate thereof, creditors shall be allowed to receive interest at the rate of eight percent per annum compounded annually for all moneys after they become due on any bill…”  Of course, PFC is happy to waive any interest accrued for Mr. ******, should he wish to resolve this matter. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/12/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have a entry on my credit report from Professional Finance Company (Account number ********) that states this collection was open on September 7, 2021 for the amount of $264 and that they acquired this debt from ******* ******* ******* ***. However I never had any interaction and documentation from or with Professional Finance Company (along with ******* ******* ******* ***). When this came on my Credit Report with ******* ******* ******* *** I disputed it because this debt does not belong to me and I have requested verification and have not received anything from ******* ******* ******* *** and they were dropped from my Credit reports (as they should be because this I am not responsible for this debt). Now Professional Finance Company is trying to claim I owe them this debt. I do not know what type of debt this is. This is not my debt and if this is a Hospital debt they are in clear violation of my HIPPA as to i did not give any permission for any of my information to be released.

  

  Business response

  11/17/2021

  
  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to Ms. ****’s complaint.  On 9/7/2021, ******* ******* ******* (“*******”) placed the account in question with PFC for collection efforts.   PFC mailed Ms. **** initial notice of the debt on 9/10/2021 and received notification from the USPS that the mailing was forwarded to Ms. ****’s ******** ****** address.  When PFC received no response to the notice or its telephone collection efforts, PFC began credit reporting the account as an open collection item.  As a result of Ms. ****’s dispute, ******* has chosen to cancel the collection placement with PFC.  As such, PFC has closed the account, submitted a deletion of any credit reporting, and ceased all collection efforts.  Recently, PFC has received disputes through the credit reporting agencies and has responded to Ms. ****’s disputes by requesting that the account be deleted.  PFC is unable to offer legal advice regarding HIPAA, but would direct Ms. **** to https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/268/does-the-hipaa-privacy-rule-prevent-health-care-providers-from-using-debt-collection-agencies/index.html for further information.

  Customer response

  11/17/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ****

• Initial Complaint

  08/24/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I paid this company off 2 months ago. They said that my payment never processed and claimed they called me and screwed my credit score. I had an 805 and now its in the mid 700's they did not attempt to reach out to me for 2 months and them screwed m y credit score up. I tried paying them and if I had known my payment didn't process I would've gladly taken care of that. But they only tried getting back to me one time and didn't even leave a voice-mail.

  

  Business response

  08/31/2021

  Professional Finance Company, Inc. (“PFC”) appre***tes the opportunity to respond to Mr. *******’s complaint.  To provide background on Mr. *******’s complaint, it appears that ******** ******* ********** (“***”) provided services to Mr. ******* on 1/4/2021.  At least some portion of those services were left to patient responsibility for payment.  When *** did not receive payment for that portion, the account was placed with PFC for collection efforts on 6/21/2021.  On 6/23/2021, PFC mailed Mr. ******* initial notice of the debt and received no indication of returned or undeliverable mail.  On 7/6/2021, Mr. ******* telephoned PFC and attempted to make payment in full for the debt.  PFC accepted Mr. *******’s payment information but was informed on 7/7/2021 that the payment was declined and failed to process.  As PFC’s Policies and Procedures dictate, PFC attempted to call Mr. ******* to get the payment reprocessed.  PFC telephoned Mr. ******* a total of 10 times between 7/8/2021 and 8/24/2021.  PFC also attempted to leave messages several times but each time it appeared that the phone was answered and immediately hung up.  Unable to reach Mr. *******, PFC did begin credit reporting of the account on 8/22/2021.  Mr. *******, in reaction to seeing the account hit his credit report, did telephone PFC on 8/24/2021 and was (understandably) upset that an account he had thought had been paid was appearing on his credit.  Several PFC representatives attempted to explain the account history to Mr. ******* but were interrupted.  Eventually, PFC explained that the account would be deleted from credit reporting upon payment and Mr. ******* successfully made payment on the account on 8/24/2021.  PFC submitted deletion of credit reporting on 8/25/2021 and again on 8/29/2021 to ensure that the account will get removed.  PFC was able to confirm that it’s deletion requests have been processed by the credit reporting agencies.  However, credit aggregation services (e.g. Credit Karma) usually take additional time to reflect these updates.  PFC does apologize to Mr. ******* for the inconvenience and hopes Mr. ******* does understand that PFC did make extensive attempts to contact him prior to any credit reporting.

  Customer response

  09/15/2021

  They did not attempt to call me. They claim they did 10 time but this is not true. If it is then there phone number is automatically flagged because they're number is labeled as spam. That is an unfair, sneaky and crooked way to run a business. Also they never once tried leaving me any sort of messages, no emails, no text, no phone call from a number not reported as spam, they never sent me a letter in the mail informing me my payment did not process.  They made 0 effort informimg me that my payment did not process on their end. I gave them my credit card via phone they said they would process it. My card apparently was never charged somehow. If that happens a business reaches out to you informing that your payment for their services weren't processed. Instead they reported me to the credit bureau. They know I wanted to pay them as they received payment info the day after I got my first letter from them. After thinking I had taken care of this, 2 months go by and they ding me instead of trying to get ahold of me. The lady I spoke with on the phone was incredibly rude and hung up on Me multiple  times while I was trying to explain to her I had already paid. This company is a sham, rude and unforgiving. Anyways, the exact day I was  alerted by credit karma via email my credit was dinged I paid them, money wasn't an issue here nor was me attempting to pay my bill. Lack of care and effort on their behalf is the problem and it's damaging hard working people's credit scores.

  

  Business response

  09/15/2021

  We certainly understand Mr. *******’s frustration and apologize for the inconvenience that Mr. ******* experienced by seeing the account appear on his credit report.  PFC does know and understand that Mr. ******* did try to pay this account.  PFC did attempt to alert Mr. ******* that the original payment had failed to process by telephone many times and each time that a message was attempted to be left, PFC’s representatives encountered a pickup/hang-up of the telephone or were cut off by Mr. *******’s cell phone carrier.   PFC only credit reported the account accurately as an owing account when it was unable to reach Mr. ******* and immediately deleted the credit reporting upon confirmation of payment.  Unfortunately, the myriad of rules and regulations severely limit how and when PFC may contact consumers.  Now, it’s very possible that Mr. *******’s cell phone carrier had mislabeled PFC’s telephone number as spam, but this is inaccurate and something entirely out of PFC’s control.  PFC certainly doesn’t want to be labeled as spam so that consumers ignore its calls.   If Mr. ******* is interested in checking with his carrier for these calls, the first three calls were made by PFC on 7/8 at 3:13 PM, 7/14 at 1:05 PM, and 7/20 at 11:28 AM.  Mr. ******* is correct in that PFC’s representative did terminate the phone calls between Mr. ******* on 8/24, as Mr. ******* insisted on interrupting PFC’s agents attempting to explain what happened, only to be yelled at and called crooks and liars.  PFC does not ask its representatives to endure such communications. Recordings of these phone calls are available for the BBB's review if Mr. ******* consents to them being provided.  PFC has confirmed that the account has been deleted from Mr. *******’s credit and, once again, apologizes for the unfortunate set of circumstances that led to this interaction.  PFC cannot agree that no efforts were made to contact Mr. ******* or that PFC derives some benefit from not obtaining a payment. 

  Customer response

  09/15/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business. I am happy too see that my credit score has went back up recently and I do thank you for doing the right thing. I was very unhappy with the way this was handled and I whole heartedly did belive you were being crooks and liars, that was very much my opinion. At this point now that my credit has been restored I am no longer (as) angry and unsatisfied with you. I do still stand by the fact that you should have reached out via email,text or postal mail to get ahold of me before damaging my credit. That is how I initially found out I had been sent to collections was through postage, so it should have been simple to re contact me that way. Again thank you for making things right and I apologize for the headache I've put you through and hope that this can be a learnning lesson for your company as it has been for me. I will now forever require receipts for bills paid instead of just trusting that since I gave you my dedit card info it was taken care of.
  
  Regards,
  ******* *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩