Leonard R.* called me from San Jose one day.
He was rightly frustrated and at wit's end about a major medical services company who insisted that Leonard had not yet paid a bill that he HAD, in fact, PAID months ago!
Leonard Could Demonstrate He'd Already Paid His Bill in Full
What's more is that Leonard had the PROOF that he had paid. How did he get it? Well, he had kept the original contract and then requested a copy of the check he sent to them from his own bank, but then he went to the company itself and asked them to admit that he didn't owe it. Had the company just left Leonard alone, he might never have called me (even though by that time, he already had a really good case!) for help.
The Company Illegally Called Leonard, then Passed Him to a Collection Agency
But, they didn't. The company not only continued to call Leonard on his cell phone after he told them not to (a major violation of the Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or "TCPA"), they forwarded his account to a collection agency! A collection agency which then reported false information to the Credit Bureaus!
By the time I got that call from Leonard, both the medical services company AND the collection agency had dug themselves a hole that they just weren't going to get out of. The Federal Lawsuit alleged dozens of violations of State and Federal debt collection and credit reporting laws that subjected the medical services company and the debt collection agency to significant liability.
Leonard's case was resolved to everyone's satisfaction a few weeks later by way of a CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT that prevents us using Leonard's real name in this story, telling you what happened to the "debt" and all of the credit reporting errors, and from letting you know about the amount of the Settlement Payment.
I think that the moral to this story is that if you've already paid a bill, but someone is still trying to get you to pay more, get help fast.
* Real names have been changed to protect confidentiality. This testimonial, dramatization, or endorsement does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter. The results portrayed were dependent on the facts of that case, and your results will differ if based on different facts.
