Update: Credit report and dental bill - wwyd?

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:16 am

In August I was out of state and had a dental emergency. I did not have the money to pay the dentist, so she helped me apply for ''Care Credit'' and I was instantly approved. I had the dental work done and I expected to receive from Credit Care a bill in the mail and pay it off in installments.

I never received a bill and forgot about the incident.

This week I checked my credit report and discovered my balance is ''past due''.
I'm concerned. Why was no invoice sent til now?

I've tried so hard to keep a good credit and this has caused my credit score to dive down more than than 100 points Sad

I check my credit via Credit Karma. When I clicked the button to file a ''dispute'', the button says the system is having a problem, so I'm unable to file a dispute. I've been trying a few days, so far it's not processing my request to dispute.

baby12x

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:38 am

Why would you dispute? You legitimately owe the money. Contact “care credit” and pay the bill, in installments if you have to. Your credit score should recover

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:38 am

baby12x wrote:

Why would you dispute? You legitimately owe the money. Contact “care credit” and pay the bill, in installments if you have to. Your credit score should recover

I want to dispute the drop in credit score.
And I'd like to see the bill before I pay it. It's been too long ago and I don't recall the charges. Would you not want to see what you're being billed for before you pay a charge on your cc?

simba

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:40 am

You should dispute it with the credit agencies directly, not CreditKarma.
Credit Care should have tried collecting payment from you before reporting it to the credit bureau.

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:42 am

simba wrote:

You should dispute it with the credit agencies directly, not CreditKarma.
Credit Care should have tried collecting payment from you before reporting it to the credit bureau.

Yes, this makes sense to me.
I'd never been in such a situation before, so didn't know how to proceed. Honestly, I panicked and froze. So thanks for pointing me in the direction.

baby12x

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:44 am

amother wrote:

Because credit scores don’t work like that. The best course of action is to contact the lender directly and ask THEM to remove the report. Fact is you were late on a bill and the credit reporting agency doesn’t care why. The lender does, I believe, have the ability to change their classification of the bill so contact them for a payment plan and hopefully you’re credit score will recover.
It is very upsetting when this happens. I was once a few minutes(!) late in paying a credit card bill and it was reported. But you’re credit should recover if you pay the bill

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:46 am

On another note, I was on the phone the other day with the billing dept at my pulmonologist's office. I'd seen him in June or July and never received a bill. I had contacted the office numerous times requesting an invoice so I could pay up. Nobody ever responded. (The individual who is helping me pay the bill has been asking about it because he's waiting for his check to clear.)

Finally, yesterday I was told by the billing dept that the office had waived the fee ($700) and that if I were to receive a bill in the future the law would be on my side because according to law there is a time limit for billing a patient.

So it makes me wonder if there is a time limit on this bill as well.

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 11:47 am

baby12x wrote:

But you’re credit should recover if you pay the bill

Does it recover immediately? Can future lenders see the history?

simba

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 12:05 pm

amother wrote:

Does it recover immediately? Can future lenders see the history?

No. It takes 6 months to fall off. Call and disputed it. BTDT, it’s not a a big deal.

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 12:14 pm

Update: I called Credit Care and found out that my ''account is closed, and you have a zero balance and no payment due."
Now I understand why I've not been receiving a bill from them.
And I'm utterly befuddled as to why my credit report indicates that there's $414 past due.
What do do next?

amother

Lavender

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 12:17 pm

Contact the credit care company and let them know it’s showing up on your credit report. They need to withdraw their report to credit agencies as it is clearly in error.

Get them (credit care) to write a letter stating that it was erroneous and that you don’t owe money and instructing the credit agencies to remove it. Keep a copy of this letter.

amother

Taupe

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 12:32 pm

Just spoke with a live person at Credit Care.
She said the bills had been going to a wrong address Sad

She's resetting the account, removing all late charges, and the $385 remaining is interest free until August 2019 which I'll pay off in installments.
She's removing the credit report today. I guess it will take time for it to be reflected.
Breathing easier.

TwinsMommy

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 2:17 pm

For future reference you can set up an acct online with them. I never bother with paper bills from them. They're just on my list of bills to pay each month. I log in before my due date and pay.