ComplaintsforAccessOne MedCard, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  07/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had received a collection letter from access one about a hospital bill that I owed for $1053,25 , I made a payment arrangement of $47.63 a month I had been told there are not hiding fees or interest, obviously its very difficult to pay this amount for me. I made already 14 payments =$666.82 I checked today how much I owe because I dont have a job. According with my calculations $1.053.25-$666.82 = $386.43 when I checked in their system I owe $461.52 its $75.09 more than supposed to be. When a person ask for aid to be able to pay, is because we dont have the money. The hospital dont supposed to sale my apparent debt without my authorization to a company and charging interest and fees and I didnt even know. Please review my ************ you

  

  Business response

  08/09/2024

  Dear ******************,

  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concern.Our base payment plan allows patients to enroll in a 12-month 0% interest rate payment plan or a longer-term plan (***** months) with lower payments that carry interest. Our records indicate that when you opened your account last year you selected the with interest option.

  Understanding your preference to use a zero-interest plan,AccessOne is in a position to refinance all of your payments from this year to interest free status. That leaves the account with a balance $432.07. Moving forward,the minimum monthly payment on the account (as long as no new charges are added)will be $31.90instead of $47.63.

  Our records indicate that our call center was able to speak with you directly on August 5 to discuss these changes. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us again at ************.

• Initial Complaint

  03/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been in contact with Access One since December about a balance accrued from atrium in the amount of aprx. 2400. I was told I qualified for a low payment plan that fit my budget but would not be updated on the account immediately. By early January after waiting a few weeks for my account to be updated I began getting calls stating the payment was late. I called in and was told I was now two payments behind and needed to make a double payment to be up to date. Although the account never properly reflected on the agreed upon ***** I was getting calls stating I owed upward of 200. I made the double payment of ***** with the representative. A couple weeks later I began getting calls stating the payment was coming up but the automatic system did not reflect the agreed upon payment which prompted me to call in. Once again I was told not to worry and ignore the automatic calls my account should be updated to the agreed payment amount. I have called at least 3-4 times in regards to my account being updated and each time was told to ignore the system it was calling because it was not accurate on the actual amount I was to pay monthly. I have never received an actual billing statement from the company nor does logging into my account reflect that any were sent out. I am now being told my account was sent back to atrium for non payment and would no longer be able to make payments on the agreed upon *****. Access One has failed to give me accurate information with correct billing statement and expected date of payment along with the correct means to make this payment but it is somehow my fault I did not make the payment on time and by their standards defaulted. I was told if I did not make a payment in ******************************************************************************************************** 90 days. I have been calling in to make sure something like this did not happen and seemingly can not win. Very disappointed in how I was handled as a customer.

  

  Business response

  03/29/2024

  Dear ******************,

  We have reviewed your account records. They show that you charged $2,683,86 of medical balances to your AccessOne account on November ******. We have identified an error within our system that prevented your account from being transferred to a lower payment option.
  

  Please note that unlike a most forms of credit, AccessOne does not report information to credit rating agencies. We also forgave the late fees that had accrued in our system before sending your remaining balance back to your health provider (which occurred on March 25, 2024).
  

  Thank you for speaking with our customer care representative (*******), about your available options with regard to this balance. We anticipate that the plan structure mentioned in your message (monthly payments of $26) can still be set up.
  

  Please feel free to call our patient *************** at ************ with any further questions, comments, or concerns.

• Initial Complaint

  01/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On Dec 5, 2019, I set up an interest free payment plan with Access One for the medical charges after delivering my twins at ******************* in Sep 2019. The borrowed ****** was $5, ****** at that time, and was set up for automatic monthly drafts of $104. Another $5,500.90 in medical charges was added to my account totaling $10,608.09 (after making two payments of $104 already). I agreed to pay $221 a month for 48 months interest free.Access One did not take the agreed upon monthly ****** of $221. Instead they only took $201.68 the first month and decreased the payment ****** by $2 and some change every month for 48 months. I have physical copies of the bank and credit card statements showing these payments to Access One but they are too many to upload (over 30 pages). There were a couple of months that they took no payment for no given reason. Other than October and November of 2023 when I had contributed the max ****** to my HSA account, the funds were always available to be withdrawn or charged. My mother-in-law had a brain aneurysm in October of 2023 at the same time that my HSA account ran out of funds. We were in survival mode driving to and from the hospital daily while still taking care of our 4 year old twins, so I was not even aware of the insufficient funds for a month, as no one called me or notified me. When I realized what happened, I called to give them another form of payment.I logged into my Access One patient portal for the first time (as I was not getting paper statements) when I realized that I was being billed for finance charges. I immediately called Access One (Jan 22, ****) to find out when they started charging me interest, as the online statements only go back as far as Sep 2022. I was told by their representative, *****, that my account had been changed to an interest plan on March 5, 2020 (without my knowledge). Access One offered to take off 6 of the 47 finance charges, which I declined. I am still waiting to hear back from them.

  

  Business response

  02/02/2024

  Dear **************,

  Thank you for contacting AccessOne and bringing your concern to our attention. AccessOne takes pride in providing an exceptional patient experience, and it is important to us to know when expectations are not met.
  

  After reviewing your account history, ********************** will be providing you with your requested relief and will adjust your balance accordingly.
  

  As further background, the original Terms and Conditions of your credit agreement with AccessOne (see attached) do allow for finance charges to be applied when a consumer misses a monthly payment or pays less than the amount indicated on his/her statement.
  

  Beginning last year, AccessOne adjusted its program. We now ask that consumers contact us or indicate on their online AccessOne account portal if they would like to use our lower payment option with interest.
  

  Your current terms and conditions, which we also provided to you via email, are attached.Your account is now set to stay on our interest-free payment program.
  

  Please feel free to contact us via phone at ************ with any further questions.

  Customer response

  02/06/2024

   
  I am rejecting this response because:
  My original $10,608.09 loan with Access One would have been paid off by now, according to the terms of our agreement. However, I still owe $2,617.71 of my original loan due to their actions. They intentionally decreased my monthly automatic payment by a sliding $2 for 47 months resulting in erroneous finance charges.  

  

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  Dear **************;

  In response to your concerns, we remitted $3,995.66 of finance charges that had been posted to your account. Additionally, we were able to roll your remaining balance of $6,358.88 into a plan that is interest free and that only requires you to make payments of approximately $132.50 each month. (Please note that the amount would change if you add additional charges to your balance).

  Your current balance is made up charges that were transferred to your AccessOne account balance on January 3 and 5, of 2023 and on December 31, 2019. Our records indicate that the 2023 charges were for a total $4,087.37. That means you still have a balance of $2,271.51 remaining from the 2019 charges.

  AccessOne is not in a position to offer further adjustments to your balance. If you prefer, AccessOne can remit part or all of your balance to your health provider. That balance would then be subject to the collection procedures and the collection timeline set by your provider.

  Our review of your account has not been able to conclusively determine why your balance was placed into AccessOnes lower payment with interest option in February of 2020. This account option allows account holders to only pay ****% of their total balance instead of the 1/48th required to stay in our interest-free plan. We regret that we only learned recently (after nearly 4 years) that this payment structure did not meet your expectations.

  (A conversion to the with interest option, as described in your 2019 account disclosures, used to happen automatically if a payment was missed or late. Such a conversion now only occurs if we are contacted directly by a consumer.)

  We acknowledge your frustration and hope that our ability to offer you a longer interest free repayment period on your 2019 balance provides you with at least some satisfaction.

  Please feel free to contact us again at ************ with any further questions.

  Customer response

  02/16/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint, and accept this resolution. My desire is to warn consumers about this company in hopes that they too will be aware of their scheme to take advantage of consumers by applying bogus charges that easily go undetected by gradually lowering your monthly payment.  
  Thank you. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In November ***** Atrium Health had a bill on ****** for me, there was an issue with the billing and they resolved it told me on **** they sent the remaining balance of ****** to Access One. They then gave me an adjustment of ****** because of an issue on their side. End of December I made a payment of ******. leaving what should have been a balance of *****. I noticed the bill at Access One was over $200.00. I then called Atrium Health who said they did not see that and they were going to ask Access One to fix the problem. I then waited a week or so and the balance was adjusted but not properly. Now it shows a $****** WHICH IS STILL not correct. After speaking with Atrium Health they stated my balance was and is only ***** and I need to speak with Access One is still denying that amount and showing a ****** payment. below is the break down and I am frustrated.I owe only $***** why does Access One show $******. October bill $****** Payment 11/17/23 $118.79 Payment 11/28/23 $100.00 Sent to Access One $****** AH Adjustment 12/5/23 $148.82 Payment 12/28/23 $****** Balance $ ***** The original bill and my payments listed are attached. Access One should apply the AH Adjustment of $****** properly. I only owe $94.80 I SIMPLY NEED ACCESS ONE TO APPLY THE $****** CREDIT PROPERLY Atrium Health stated they have the following information Bill#*****8113 -- $48.96 Bill#*****2253 -- $45.84

  

  Business response

  02/02/2024

  Dear *****************

  Thank you for contacting AccessOne and bringing your concern to our attention. AccessOne takes pride in providing an exceptional patient experience, and it is important to us to know when expectations are not met.
  

  AccessOne is a leading provider of patient payment options designed to help you manage your healthcare costs. Weve helped more than a half million patients, just like you, by providing compassionate financing options. We partner with hospitals to offer no-interest or flexible low-interest patient loans. Unlike a traditional credit card, we cover all patients regardless of credit balance or credit history- and we never credit report. Our customized payment options offer the following benefits:

  -No credit reporting or fear of collections
  -All applicants are accepted
  -No hidden fees
  -Convenient payment methods: online, phone, check and auto pay
  -Consolidated statements for other outstanding accounts and multiple family members
  -Customized, interest free and regular low-monthly installments
  

  Our records indicate that on January 24, ****, you participated in an extensive discussion with an AccessOne call representative which included a representative from your health provider. Our records indicate that your AccessOne account was closed at your request. As a result, you owe no further payments to AccessOne and can work directly with your provider on arranging future payments.
  

  The balance in AccessOnes system was the result of charge adjustments that were input into your providers bill tracking system. This system showed an entry on December 7 that cancelled that adjustment for $148.82 you mentioned in your message to us.Now that your balance has been returned, you can work directly with your provider on ensuring that any remaining balance on your account is correct.

• Initial Complaint

  12/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I joined AccessOne in June 2023 to help make monthly payments on medical bills . When I joined I agreed to pay 230 a month by the 30th for interest free payments or 114 for payments with interest . After I joined they would only let you pay by putting your bank account on the website which luckily I smart enough not to do because by August it was saying I owed 450 a month for interest free payments which would have been coming out of my account had I put my bank info on their website . I was also charged a late fee and I have never paid late . I called and they said their statements were broken and it would be fixed by the next month . Continue on it is now December and their statements still havent been fixed . Its still charging me late fees and showing the wrong amount that I owe . I have never once paid late . I have paid more than the interest free amount multiple times for them to charge part of the extra amount that I paid to themselves for their late fee when it wasnt paid late . *** called and emailed almost every month trying to resolve this issue and ** always promised that it will be fixed by the next month and it never is .

  

  Business response

  12/27/2023

  Dear Ms. ********************** you for allowing us to review and respond to this issue. We have flagged your monthly statements and are working to ensure that future statements reflect your correct payment amount. We appreciate that you have continued to make payments on time, and we have reviewed your account to confirm that any and all late fees have been refunded and removed from your account.

  We apologize that the issue you have communicated has taken longer to fix than anticipated. Please know that we are tracking this issue closely and will stay in communication with you if we notice any errors on future statements.

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Have paid this company $900 on two separate occasions for my bills at Atrium Health. First, they do not let you use a credit card recurringly. Secondly, they take OVER 30 days to post your payment to the Health institution. I paid a $500 amount Sept. 16, 2023 and the balance did not post until Oct. 27th, 2023. I paid an additional $400 Oct. 17, 2023 and I have no idea when to expect that to hit Atrium because their customer service representatives say they can't make promises or only have a best guess. Well, long story short...Atrium actually owes me money because of adjustments made (very thankful) but because they wont send the money to Atrium, they [AccessOne] are trying to collect an additional $344 from me or hope that I wait it out and get caught paying them an interest fee on the requested amount. That is beyond ridiculous, fraudulent and needs to be investigated. I had my balance sent back to Atrium because all though all these companies are all slimy, Atrium is who I owe my money too and now I don't have a third party trying to interfere and delay anything. But seriously...AccessOne get it together and please at least send my money back to Atrium and post the $400 to them that I paid you.

  

  Business response

  11/28/2023

  Dear **************;

  Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention and for providing the accompanying materials. We have reviewed your AccessOne account and confirmed that it was closed per your request. You have no remaining balance and are under no obligation to make any future payments to AccessOne.
  

  Because your balance was returned to your medical provider,we do not have visibility into any recent transactions that *** have occurred on your account. We can confirm, however, that information about both your $400 and $500 payment to AccessOne has been shared with your provider.
  

  Because your account with ********************** is no longer active,questions about your current account balance, and an explanation for any balance adjustments should be directed to your provider. If, after discussions with your provider, you continue to believe that your payments to AccessOne were not properly allocated, please feel free to contact AccessOne at ************ to provide a billing contact (at your provider) so that we can determine a solution for any remaining discrepancy.
  

  Thank you again for reporting this matter. We apologize for any inconvenience.

  Customer response

  11/28/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I made a payment of $400 to Account Number ending in **** using ********************** on 10/17/23. The Confirmation Number for payment is **********. After speaking with representatives at AccessOne, it can take 30 days for a payment to be sent to the provider. However, all payments should be sent by the first of the month after they are received (so this would be 11/1/23 when my provider at Atrium Health was supposed to have received it.) I have reached out to the provider, Atrium Health and they have not received it still as of 11/28/23. I am not talking about missing adjustments. I just want the $400 sent to the provider, Atrium health OR refunded to me. This is fraudulent considering I have proof of the payment in two places as going through to AccessOne. AccessOne is obligated to then pay it to Atrium Health. 

  
  

  

  Business response

  12/05/2023

  Dear **************,

  Thank you for being willing to speak to us directly about your situation. We appreciate you taking the time to talk with our representative last week.

  As we stated earlier, we need information from your provider to help determine the cause of the disconnect between what AccessOne reported to the provider and what you are being shown on your statement. Our records confirm that all payments made to AccessOne were credited to your account. The initial balance of your AccessOne account was $1,632.62. The balance stood at ****** when on November 7 you asked AccessOne to return the balance to the health provider. It may be that your payment to AccessOne was incorrectly coded as another type of balance adjustment by your provider.

  Beginning today we will work on contacting your provider in order to ensure that their records correctly indicate your previous payments on your AccessOne account. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received a phone call on my home phone from this company saying I had applied for this card and was asking for information. I did not at any time ever apply for this service or card. They did have my name and phone number already. I gave no more info to them but am very concerned about this type of business practice as I have been trying to get and understand information on my upcoming ******** decisions, I will be 65 in the upcoming year. I am very leery of this type of phone call, and concerned as to this business intentions.

  

  Business response

  11/22/2023

  Dear ********************,

  Thank you for contacting us with your concern. We apologize if our outreach to you has caused any confusion.
  An AccessOne account is a repayment option offered by your health provider that allows you to repay your outstanding balances overtime.

  Our program is optional, and you wont be enrolled unless you read and agree to the Terms and Condition of an AccessOne Charge Account Agreement.

  Our program offers the following benefits and features:
  

  1. No interest and low interest options for repaying your balance
  2. No credit reporting or fear of collections
  3. All applicants are accepted
  4. No hidden fees
  5. Convenient payment methods: online, phone, check and auto pay
  6. Consolidated statements for other outstanding accounts and multiple family members
  

  If you have further questions, we encourage you to contact our *********** at ************** during regular business hours.

  Customer response

  11/22/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Thank you. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Accessone is using false information that materially impacted my decision. As many have said here, the company no longer accepts HSA cards as a form of payment since they expire which is a pretty silly reason. It would be better to have to replace an expired card then not accept at all considering the company is specifically for paying medical bills. The *** page of their website says they accept cards and HSAs but Im not sure how they justify that since HSAs dont use routing/account numbers for payments. Company responses here say there are ways to pay using an HSA card but then dont specify. This company shouldnt be allowed to accept business from healthcare providers if they dont accept medical savings accounts. You cant attempt to make a payment until your account is transferred so there was no way to know the website was providing false information until it was too late. Im well in advance of my first payment and hope the company will make this right and simply accept HSA card payments as all other medical providers do easily.

  

  Business response

  10/31/2023

  Thank you for contacting us with your feedback. Currently there are several avenues available to patients who prefer to use a payment card, including an HSA card, to make a monthly payment. More information is available in the attached document. Our policy, at present, requires consumers that use a payment card to submit their payment on a monthly (as opposed to recurring basis).

  AccessOne is currently developing a solution that will expand the payment processing options that are available to account holders.Beginning soon we expect to be able to accept recurring payments from HSA Debit cards in accordance with your request.

  Please contact AccessOne at ************** If you have any further questions.

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  There is no way to autopay using an HSA account. On the phone, they blame the institution you are paying with but myuncchart.org uses the same debit card info and the payment works with no issues. accessone needs to allow **** HSA autopay. This is a basic payment feature that they have chosen to break, "Effective 05/15/2023, we will no longer be accepting cards for new recurring payment setups through the patient portal. If you have an existing recurring payment setup with a card, please update now to avoid missing a payment.". Get a new online merchant if there is an issue with that.Autopay via Routing/Account number is also not allowed for HSA cards: "These account and routing numbers can only be used for depositing money in your HSA, not for spending your HSA money."Let me be clear, I'm fully aware this is a game to get fees. Please re-enable auto-pay for HSA accounts, this is your basic line of service. If this isn't done, I'll be sure to call every month to make my payment process as costly as possible.

  

  Business response

  09/22/2023

                  Thank you for contacting us with your feedback. Currently there are several avenues available to patients who prefer to use a payment card, including an HSA card,to make a monthly payment. More information about those options is included in the attached guide.
                  AccessOne is currently developing a solution that will expand the payment processing options that are available to account holders. Beginning on November 1, 2023,we expect to be able to accept recurring payments from HSA Debit cards in accordance with your request.
                  Please contact AccessOne at ************** If you have any further questions.

• Initial Complaint

  08/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am no longer able to use my HSA credit card which is solely for paying medical bills, to pay my Access One account online or by phone. Absolutely unacceptable and very, very poor business practice! I set aside money from my paycheck automatically to my HSA account for the purpose of paying my medical bills and suddenly Access One will not allow that form of payment. Truly shocked and upset. It seems odd that a business who wants payments from customers has made it much more complicated for those payments to occur. Not a smart business move.

  

  Business response

  08/07/2023

  Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to respond to your concern. Currently there are several avenues available to patients who prefer to use a payment card, including an HSA card,to make a monthly payment. More information about those options is included in the attached guide.

  If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact AccessOne at **************. We also accept card payments over the phone.

*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. ↩