Comments | infopractical: Unfair credit practices of CMRE Financial Services, Inc.

infopractical

Unfair credit practices of CMRE Financial Services, Inc.

Jul 16, 2007 11:26

This is the first post I've made public in a while, and I'm doing so because I want to publicly shame everyone involved.

Just over two years ago, I was treated in the emergency room at Grossmont Hospital. I received several bills for my treatment, and paid them all within a few weeks, in a pretty normal way.

Last month, I received a call from ( Read more... )

Comments 80

kirinqueen July 16 2007, 23:18:42 UTC

The Scripps hospitals work with CMRE, too. I am in the process of filing an identity theft police report (a whole nother story, and something I should have done long ago), so as far as I know I should be able to contact the credit companies directly to resolve the marks on my credit as a result of the theft, but I am dreading talking to anyone at CMRE again.

kirinqueen July 16 2007, 23:55:58 UTC

Sorry to hear about it. I hope you get your credit crap resolved nicely and quickly. I've been through identity theft twice (one is ongoing), and it's not happy.

infopractical July 17 2007, 18:08:53 UTC

Oops, that was me. Weird. I was logged in.

patchworkalice July 17 2007, 00:29:26 UTC

though to me it is absolutely a threat when they keep parroting, "as soon as you pay us, we will take this off your credit....

that isn't a threat, it's a carrot, and quite possibly a lie.

but that isn't what i wrote to say. once i handled a case like this (at least as similar as money-owing that i didn't owe, which for me was a cable box, and for you is interest) by taking my old student ID (expired, as i freely admitted, but with no expiration date) to legal counsel at Tulane. The counselor / lawyer there was more than happy to write some fat legalese which demonstrated, at least, that i was serious... without introducing any new information whatsoever to the dispute.

it might be as easy as demonstrating that you have representation. don't i know a lawyer?

The Power of the Pen royalbananafish July 17 2007, 05:50:57 UTC

Here is what you do.

First, write a letter stating the exact facts of what happened. Begin and end with a statement that you are enclosing check # for $, the amount of the new bill that is being presented to you (but NOT the interest--since you can't possibly owe interest). Use language that is not at all charged, and write it as though you are the most reasonable human being to walk the earth; pretend you are trying to explain what happened to a very stupid middle school student, using the full name of the hospital and the billing company at all times. Write that OF COURSE you are more than happy to pay any charges you incurred as a result of your medical care, as demonstrated by the fact that you promptly paid all of the bills you received. Etc. etc. Include the names of every person you talked to and when (with dates, if possible), and how they just couldn't help you to resolve this like the very reasonable person you are. Have a friend check it over for you before you finalize it. You want it to be clear and succinct. You ( ... )

Re: The Power of the Pen patchworkalice July 18 2007, 02:17:19 UTC

thank you, ma'am. let me know if you ever need anything. i am good at practical things, hiring and fixing and moving and babysitting and logistics. i also have friends in many towns : )

Re: The Power of the Pen infopractical July 18 2007, 06:11:22 UTC

While it may be well-intentioned, I'm not sure this is a solution I can complete, nor am I sure it would be desirable to complete. How many hours would that cost me? Can I even track down all the information required to follow that recipe?

I certainly can't imagine that taking up less than 10 hours of time, so on a per hour basis, it comes to less than 10% of my hourly income rate. Probably less than 5%. Which is part of why I think what's being done to me should be outright illegal, and should come with punitive damages. I shouldn't have to harm myself further in order to set things right.

boywithstick July 23 2007, 23:10:58 UTC

I will echo a couple of points that have already been raised. . . First, do not just send them full payment without getting something in writing stating that the charge will be removed from your credit report. I had a similar situation several years ago with Sprint. I was checking my credit report and found a collection I didn't recognize. I called the collection agency and they told me it was a final bill for long distance that I had in college. I had never received any bill and thought I had paid everything years ago, so I took their word for it and offered to pay in full if they would just remove the offending collection from my credit report. The rep agreed to do so and I paid them. In 60 days I checked my credit again only to find that they had only updated the account as "Paid" which reset the clock for it to roll off of my credit report. Not only did paying not get it removed, but it actually lowered my credit for 3 years because the collection was marked on the report from 3 years prior. Long story short, get the ( ... )

CMRE anonymous September 24 2007, 23:00:18 UTC

I have a similar situation with CMRE.

My encounter with CMRE anonymous October 3 2007, 22:35:34 UTC

My father passed away unexpectidly in mid-August of 2007. As his daughter I am doing my best to deal with his unfinished business. I stopped by his ex-girlfriend's house after he died, to pick up mail she was holding for him. There was a piece of mail addressed to both my father and myself. Confused as to what it could be I opened it and found a CMRE credit collection bill in the amount of $1614.98! On the statement it says the principal balance due at the time CMRE was brought in was $987.43. Add interest in the amount of $627.55 and you come up with a total of $1614.98! Horrified that I am responsible for some unknown bill, I called CMRE to find out exaclty what the bill was about. After having to call back twice because I kept getting forwarded to "full mailboxes", I demanded to speak to A PERSON and not a mailbox. The woman I talked to told me that in October of 2003, I was a patient in the ER at TriCity Hospital. The bill from that visit was never paid and now I owe $1614.98. I explained to her that I was NEVER a vistior or ( ... )

Re: My encounter with CMRE infopractical October 3 2007, 22:43:36 UTC

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your father, and your subsequent hassle with CMRE.

I can tell from the length and tone of your post that your buttons are all pushed at once, and I know that's the toughest. I hope you find a good resolution. Take a deep breath and move forward one step at a time. Perhaps legal counsel is in order -- particularly given the size of the bill in question.