Complaint Review: United Collections Bureau

I am under collection from UCB (United Collection Bureau) because my wife broke her foot (hair line fracture) 3 years ago and was treated at the local hospital but our insurance company did not pay the hospital.

The Insurance company's confusion, I believe, arises from the fact that my wife was recently added to my coverage (I paid to have her added about 3 months before her minor accident) and she had not yet received an insurance card, though she was officially on my account. However, the insurance company responded by saying that she was not on my account -- despite the documents that they had sent to me clearly indicating that she had indeed been added and the clear record of my payment to have her added (*note: the only "evidence" that the insurance co. has ever used to contradict our claim is to show that she did not yet have a card when she was treated -- however, the card is merely a superfluous proof of her coverage, not the coverage itself (which was paid for; furthermore, there was no moratorium between payment and coverage)).

After going back and forth between the hospital and the insurance company several times I finally stopped wasting my time in order to let them "sort it out" between themselves. I sent the insurance company and the hospital all the appropriate documents indicating that the insurance company was legally obligated to pay this relatively small (about $1,000) medical bill since my wife was clearly under my coverage (as the documents sent to me from the insurance company themselves indicate -- they claim that she was not covered, but they also show that she was covered (what the heck?!?)).

At any rate, eventually the hospital sent me to the collection agency since the insurance company was still refusing to pay and kept throwing up spools of red tape (I complied for a while, sending them documentation proving that I had added my wife to my account and so on and so forth). Once I was contacted by UCB, I attempted to work with them and I told the representative my story. However, he assumed that I was a "deadbeat" and told me he wasn't interested in hearing my "excuses" -- and so on -- and threatened me with legal action in order to obtain payment from me. If the collection company is interested in obtaining their client's money, then they ought to be interested in working with me to sort things out with the insurance company rather than saying that they are "not interested." That simply doesn't make sense.

At any rate, that is my story in a nutshell.Thanks for your time and any and all responses. Please note: in order to protect my identity, I have used a pseudonym for this posting (aside from that, my story is true and accurate). I live in Columbus, OH.

Kell
Thatville, Ohio
U.S.A.