In 2017 I had back surgery performed at an orthopedic specialist surgery center. During the billing process I set up auto-draft for all of the bills so that I would not have to worry about missing a payment. These included:
- Imaging
- Doctor Visits
- Anesthesia
- Physical Therapy
- Surgery
All of these are separate accounts in the same billing department. After about 8 months I received a collection notice from an agency on behalf of the surgery center. I called the surgery center and they informed me I had set up auto-draft on everything except the Surgery itself (approx. $3,000) that was not covered by insurance. Note: It took about 4 months for insurance to pay all of their portion.
The woman was very helpful and set up auto-draft to pay the bill off in installments to the surgery center billing department, and I thought it was resolved. I continue to get letters from the collection agency wanting me to pay them. I called again and she informed me that there is nothing that can be done about the collection on my credit report despite them auto-drafting the payment every month since.
To date they still auto-draft my account and then forward that money to the collection agency.
My question:
- Can I do anything to improve this situation?
- Can I make a valid dispute since the original creditor is auto-drafting my checking account and forwarding the money?
- I have never made contact or replied to the collection agency. Should I?
UPDATE: I took the advice from the answer here and contacted the collection agency. My account was not sold to an agency. The agency is under contract with the hospital to handle debts. The auto-draft is being applied every month and it shows the account is being paid. I am glad I called because some of my personal info was incorrect (address, etc.) I now have the account number and will be working with them to pay off the debt. Thank you everyone that commented for the input.