Important information
- Customer Complaint:This business profile reflects national complaint activity
Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Kansas Counselors, Inc. (KCI)'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 53 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 15 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.
Initial Complaint
Date:03/22/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I am not liable for this debt with Kansas counselors Inc nor do I have a contract with them. They did not provide me the original contract bearing my signature like asked nor have they provided me with hippa authorization to have my medical information
Business Response
Date: 03/22/2023
The consumer in question has owed multiple debts to multiple providers referred to our office for recovery over a six year period. To which specific accounts is the consumer referring?Customer Answer
Date: 03/22/2023
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
Complaint: ********
I am rejecting this response because: this is the same response that this company always gives when they don’t have the necessary information to prove that I owe this debt to them. I have tried to get Kansas Counselors to show proof of a contract bearing my signature on any account that they claim I owe. I want all accounts deleted. The law states I have a right to privacy and it also states that you must have my written consent to furnish this information to my credit report. I want a copy of the opt-off form with my signature, if you don’t have your proof delete all accounts.
Regards,
****** *******Business Response
Date: 03/22/2023
To the contrary, KCI has always responded to any specific consumer issue for *** ******* if and when it identifies a particular account. It is not only unreasonable to expect KCI to research and investigate the validity of an account if the consumer will not even identify which account the issue and/or dispute pertains to. Additionally, federal law requires the identification of an account before triggering the need to perform such basic, but mandatory functions detailed in both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).Customer Answer
Date: 03/22/2023
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
Complaint: ********
I am rejecting this response because:I have provided a letter in my original complaint and never received the information requested so to say that they responded to my request is inaccurate they signed for it January 7 2023 it’s March now and I still haven’t received proof that they have a contract with my signature hippa release form with my signature. This is a tactic to keep fraudulent information on my credit report and the fair credit report act states that the information has to be accurate or must be deleted. If I don’t get the information that I requested if a 30 day time period that also is a violation of my consumer protection rights. So I state delete these accounts.
Regards,
****** *******Initial Complaint
Date:02/06/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I have reached out to KANSAS COUNSELORS INC.. They have failed to provide proof of validation regarding a debt that does not belong to me. They have furnished this alleged debt on my consumer report and have failed to validate the alleged claim pursuant to Sec. 809(b)of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and according 609(a)(1)(A), you are required by federal law to verify, through the physical verification of the original signed consumer contract, any and all accounts that you post on a credit report. I demand this item be removed from my credit report immediately. KANSAS COUNSELORS INC. you are furnishing inaccurate and incorrect information to the consumer reporting agencies.
The reporting of such inaccurate information has caused severe damage to my character, my reputation, my general mode of living and my ability to obtain credit for personal and house purposes.
You and your inaccurate reporting have damaged my livelihood.
15 U.S. Code § 1681s–2 - Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies
(a)Duty of furnishers of information to provide accurate information
1) Prohibition
(A)Reporting information with actual knowledge of errors
A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate.
Duty: a moral or legal obligation; a responsibility
Accurate: correct in all details; exact.
Prohibition: a law or regulation forbidding something
As Defined by The IRS
Even if you didn't receive a Form 1099-C, you must report canceled debt as gross income on your tax return.
The IRS Clearly defines a charge off as Gross or Ordinary income, INCOME DOES NOT GET REPORTED ON THE CONSUMER REPORT which in fact makes your reporting of this account inaccurate!
Account Number: ****************Business Response
Date: 02/08/2023
Dear *** ********
This letter
is in response to your correspondence submitted to the Better Business Bureau
(“BBB”).
Your
statement indicates that you allege the debt Kansas Counselors, Inc. (KCI) is
trying to collect, in the amount of $54.00, is an amount you are not responsible
for, and that KCI did not respond to your request for validation of the debt. I
want to take a moment to address your concerns.
First, as is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(FDCPA), and is strictly followed by KCI, an initial notice is sent to all
legal guarantors on delinquent accounts placed with our agency. This notice
contains our agency name, the name of the original creditor, your account
number, the date of service, the exact amount owed, the full mini-Miranda, and
the full statement of your rights to dispute and to request validation of the
debt(s) in writing within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice.
KCI
mailed you dunning notices for the accounts listed above to your last known
address on 08/18/21. The letter sent to your address was not returned via the
US Postal Service. You did not exercise
your rights within the time frame prescribed by law.
In
fact, until receiving your complaint via the Better Business Bureau, KCI has
never received any verbal or written communication from you claiming to dispute
this particular debt, nor requesting validation. Nor have we ever directly
received any verbal or written FCRA dispute.
My
records do, however, indicate that we’ve received three (3) disputes from you
regarding your account submitted directly through the credit reporting agencies
(CRAs). These Automated Consumer Dispute
Verifications (ACDVs) are forwarded to our agency through the Online Solution
for Complete and Accurate Reporting (e-OSCAR) system. With each dispute, our
agency performs a “reasonable investigation”, as is required by law, and after
coordinating with our client, found that the disputed information was accurate
and the debt to be valid and still unpaid. These actions were completed, in accordance with the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA), most recently on 12/19/22. At that time, we marked the account as
disputed, and provided the results of our query to the CRAs via e-OSCAR.
Please
understand, after completing our “reasonable investigation” in compliance with
the FCRA and responding back to the CRAs via e-OSCAR, KCI is not under
any obligation to send any additional materials to you. Nevertheless,
as a courtesy to you, I am mailing you a copy of the itemized bill for your
debt. This document is directly from the original creditor and serves as
validation of the services rendered to you by the emergency room physician **** ********* ** **********) at *** ****** ********* ******** on 04/21/20. I do not wish to attach it here so as to safeguard
your rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HIPAA). You may keep this for your records.
Most
importantly, you will notice that a claim was submitted to the VA Medical
carrier on your behalf and they successfully processed the claim. A payment was received and properly posted to
your account by the provider on 11/10/22 in the amount of $184.46 and a
contractual adjustment applied in the amount of $1,015.54 on the same day. These credits result in a remaining patient
responsibility of $54.00. You were
notified of this amount in the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) sent to you by the
Veterans Administration. To
reiterate, KCI is under no obligation to provide validation materials to you at
this late date, per the FDCPA, but in an effort to be helpful, our agency has
complied. The materials we have sent are
considered sufficient under the law, and we are under no obligation to provide
anything further to you as verification.
Unfortunately,
we cannot, at this time, agree to your desired resolution on your account based
on the fact that our verification efforts indicate you are the responsible
party, and that you have failed to pay the delinquent balance. In short, this debt has been validated, yet
remains unpaid. In the event you should
decide to resolve this debt, please feel free to contact my office to speak
with a helpful representative who will gladly assist you. I
wish to personally thank you for your correspondence and appreciate the
opportunity to alleviate your concerns. KCI has now responded and considers
this matter closed.
Sincerely,
***** ***** *****
Director of ComplianceInitial Complaint
Date:01/16/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I am not liable for this debt with *** *** and I do not have a contract with KANSAS COUNSELORS. I have attempted to resolve this issue with the debt collection agency. Equifax was able to delete the previous disputed address as it was not attached to me Equifax Conformation#**********. They did not delete the collections account that is also attached with the address. also did not provide the original application as previously requested.
Collection agency: KANSAS COUNSELORS
opened: Feb 04, 2019
Original creditor name: *** *** Balance: $8.77Business Response
Date: 01/16/2023
Dear *** ***********
This letter
is in response to your correspondence submitted to the Better Business Bureau
(“BBB”).
Your
statement indicates you allege that Kansas Counselors, Inc. (KCI) is attempting
to collect debts that you are not liable for. You also allege you do not have a contract with Kansas Counselors,
Inc. I want to take a moment to address
your concern.
First, you are correct in your statement that you do not have a
contract with Kansas Counselors, Inc. KCI is a third-party debt collection agency that was contracted by your
original creditor (**** ***). **** ***.
is the emergency physician’s billing service for the ER doctors that rendered
services to you at *** ****** ******** of Kansas City on 10/17/18.
In
addition, KCI is a contracted Business Associate for the original provider and
a Data Furnisher as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Next,
as is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and is
strictly followed by KCI, an initial notice is sent to all legal guarantors on
delinquent accounts placed with our agency. This notice contains our agency
name, the name of the original creditor, your account number, the date of
service, the exact amount owed, the full mini-Miranda, and the full statement
of your rights to dispute and to request validation of the debt(s) in writing
within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice.
KCI
mailed you a dunning notice for the above-referenced account on 02/04/19. The
letter sent to your address was not returned via the ** ****** *******. You did not exercise your rights within the
time frame prescribed by law.
Until
receiving your complaint via the Better Business Bureau Complaint Portal, KCI
has never received any written correspondence from you claiming to dispute this
debt, nor requesting validation. Nor have we ever directly received any verbal
or written FCRA dispute.
In
fact, during a conversation with you on 10/20/22 regarding this debt, you told
the representative that you might wish to settle the debt for less than the
full amount and/or would call back at the end of that particular week to make a
$20.00 payment.
My
records do, however, indicate that we’ve received two (2) disputes from you
regarding your account submitted directly through the credit reporting agencies
(CRAs). These Automated Consumer Dispute
Verifications (ACDVs) are forwarded to our agency through the Online Solution
for Complete and Accurate Reporting (e-OSCAR) system. With each dispute, our
agency performs a “reasonable investigation”, as is required by law, and after
coordinating with our client, found that the disputed information was accurate
and the debt to be valid and still unpaid. These actions were completed, in accordance with the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA), most recently on 02/22/21. At that time, we marked the accounts as
disputed, and provided the results of our query to the CRAs via e-OSCAR.
Please
understand, after completing our “reasonable investigation” in compliance with
the FCRA and responding back to the CRAs via e-OSCAR, KCI is not under
any obligation to send any additional materials to you.
Nevertheless,
as a courtesy to you, I am mailing you copies of the itemized bills for your
debts. These documents are directly from the original creditor and serve as
validation of the services rendered to you by the emergency room physician (*** ********* ** *****). I do not wish to
attach them here so as to safeguard your rights under the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA). You may keep this for your records.
Unfortunately,
we cannot, at this time, agree to your desired resolution on your account based
on the fact that KCI has complied with federal law regarding notice
requirements and our verification efforts indicate you are the responsible
party in this case, and that you have failed to pay the delinquent
balance. In the event you should decide
to resolve this debt, please feel free to contact my office to speak with a
helpful representative who will gladly assist you.
I
wish to personally thank you for your correspondence and appreciate the
opportunity to alleviate your concerns. KCI has now responded and considers this
matter closed.
Sincerely,
***** ***** *****
Director of Compliance
This
communication is from a debt collector. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will
be used for that purpose.Initial Complaint
Date:11/09/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
On 11/01/22, I noticed Kansas counselors inc on my credit report. Collections for $255 for 10 Evergy, open status. Says it was originally reported on 03/07/22. I have never seen or heard of this account before today. I don’t recognize the account. Also, I have not received any communications from them. It’s already after hours when I found it, but I did put in a “contact” request.Business Response
Date: 11/21/2022
Dear *** **********
This letter
is in response to your correspondence submitted to the Better Business Bureau
(“BBB”).
Your
statement indicates you allege that Kansas Counselors, Inc. did not notify you
in advance of reporting an outstanding account balance to the credit reporting
agencies. I want to take a moment to
address your concern.
First, as is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(FDCPA), and is strictly followed by KCI, an initial notice is sent to all
legal guarantors on delinquent accounts placed with our agency. This notice
contains our agency name, the name of the original creditor, your account
number, the date of service, the exact amount owed, the full mini-Miranda, and
the full statement of your rights to dispute and to request validation of the
debt(s) in writing within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice.
KCI
mailed you a dunning notice on 03/07/22 to your current address. Another
dunning notice was mailed to the address where you received services from
Evergy. These letters were not returned
via the US Postal Service. You did not
exercise your rights within the time frame prescribed by law.
Until
receiving your complaint via the Better Business Bureau Complaint Portal, KCI
has never received any written correspondence from you claiming to dispute this
debt, nor requesting validation. Nor have we ever directly received any verbal
or written FCRA dispute and no disputes received from you that were submitted
directly to the credit reporting agencies.
Please
understand, with regard to the FDCPA, KCI is not under any obligation to
send any additional materials to you at this late date.
Nevertheless,
as a courtesy to you, I am attaching a copy of the itemized bill for your debt.
This document is directly from the original creditor and serves as validation
of the utility services rendered to you by ****** for the **** ** ********** **** **** **** ******** ** ***** *********
Additionally,
KCI has made numerous attempts to reach you by telephone, but we have been
unable to reach you and you have not returned our calls.
It
is also important to note that the Open Date listed on your trade line is the
date the account was referred to collections by your creditor, not the
date it was reported to the credit reporting agencies. In this case, the report date was 09/05/22.
Since
your desired resolution is to have a representative reach out to discuss this
matter with you, we will certainly comply. I will have our Collection Supervisor give you a call immediately. She will be able to answer any questions
regarding the account in question and can assist you in any efforts to resolve the
matter. We look forward to assisting
you.
UPDATE: At my instruction, our Collection Supervisor
called on 11/10/22 and again on 11/14/22. There was no answer either time, but she left a Limited-Content
voice-mail message, in compliance with Regulation F. On 11/15/22, I was
informed you returned the call to our office, and you were able to discuss the
matter. We appreciate you reaching out.
Once
you are able to review the attached document, please feel free to contact us
again if you have any questions or wish to resolve the matter.
I
wish to personally thank you for your correspondence and appreciate the
opportunity to alleviate your concerns. KCI has now responded and considers
this matter closed.
Sincerely,
***** ***** *****
Director of Compliance
This
communication is from a debt collector. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will
be used for that purpose.Initial Complaint
Date:11/07/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I am not liable for the debt with KS COUNSLRS and do not have a contract with KS COUNSLRS. They did not provide me with the orginial application like I asked.Business Response
Date: 11/08/2022
There are numerous active collection accounts for this consumer in our inventory.
Please provide a Date of Service (DOS), Account Number, Creditor, or Amount so that I may research further and assist.
I will look forward to your response.
Thank you!
Customer Answer
Date: 11/09/2022
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
Complaint: ********
I am rejecting this response because: i have the account information that is needed please see below.KS COUNSLRS **************** $1,144
KS COUNSLRS **************** $844
KS COUNSLRS ***************** $770
KS COUNSLRS **************** $877
Regards,
***** ********Business Response
Date: 11/11/2022
Dear Ms. ********:
This letter
is in response to your correspondence submitted to the Better Business Bureau
(“BBB”).
Your
statement indicates you allege that Kansas Counselors, Inc. (KCI) is attempting
to collect debts that you are not liable for. You also allege you do not have a contract with Kansas Counselors, Inc.
and that we have refused to provide you with your original application. I want to take a moment to address your
concern.
First, you are correct in your statement that you do not have a
contract with Kansas Counselors, Inc. KCI is a third-party debt collection agency that was contracted by your
original creditor ***** ***** **** ***.
is the emergency physician’s billing service for the ER doctors that rendered
services to you at *** ****** **** ******** in Lee’s Summit, MO on 09/02/17,
08/30/18, 10/06/18, and 02/23/19, respectively.
In
addition, KCI is a contracted Business Associate for the original provider and
a Data Furnisher as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Neither KCI nor your original creditor (a
healthcare provider) are lending institutions, so I am confused by your
reference to an application.
Next,
as is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and is
strictly followed by KCI, an initial notice is sent to all legal guarantors on
delinquent accounts placed with our agency. This notice contains our agency
name, the name of the original creditor, your account number, the date of
service, the exact amount owed, the full mini-Miranda, and the full statement
of your rights to dispute and to request validation of the debt(s) in writing
within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice.
KCI
mailed you dunning notices for the above-referenced accounts on 12/01/17,
11/30/18, 01/25/19, and 06/03/19, respectively. The letters sent to your
address were not returned via the ** ****** *******. You did not exercise your rights within the
time frame prescribed by law.
Until
receiving your complaint via the Better Business Bureau Complaint Portal, KCI
has never received any written correspondence from you claiming to dispute this
debt, nor requesting validation. Nor have we ever directly received any verbal
or written FCRA dispute.
In
fact, during a conversation with you on 04/05/21 regarding these debts, you
declined to make any arrangement and told the representative that you would
instead simply wait until these debts “fell off” your credit report.
My records
do, however, indicate that we’ve received numerous disputes from you regarding
your accounts submitted directly through the credit reporting agencies
(CRAs). These Automated Consumer Dispute
Verifications (ACDVs) are forwarded to our agency through the Online Solution
for Complete and Accurate Reporting (*******) system. With each dispute, our
agency performs a “reasonable investigation”, as is required by law, and after
coordinating with our client, found that the disputed information was accurate
and the debt to be valid and still unpaid. These actions were completed, in accordance with the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA), most recently on 11/08/22. At that time, we marked the accounts as
disputed, and provided the results of our query to the CRAs via *******.
Please
understand, after completing our “reasonable investigation” in compliance with
the FCRA and responding back to the CRAs via *******, KCI is not under
any obligation to send any additional materials to you.
Nevertheless,
as a courtesy to you, I am mailing you copies of the itemized bills for your
debts. These documents are directly from the original creditor and serve as
validation of the services rendered to you by the emergency room physicians (*** ******* ****** *** ***** ** ********* *** **** ******** *** *** **** ** ******
respectively). I do not wish to attach them
here so as to safeguard your rights under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act HIPAA). You may keep these for your records.
Unfortunately,
we cannot, at this time, agree to your desired resolution on your account based
on the fact that KCI has complied with federal law regarding notice
requirements and our verification efforts indicate you are the responsible
party in this case, and that you have failed to pay the delinquent
balance. In the event you should decide
to resolve this debt, please feel free to contact my office to speak with a
helpful representative who will gladly assist you.
I
wish to personally thank you for your correspondence and appreciate the
opportunity to alleviate your concerns. KCI has now responded and considers
this matter closed.
Sincerely,
***** ***** *****
Director of Compliance
This
communication is from a debt collector. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will
be used for that purpose.Initial Complaint
Date:08/09/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
KANSAS COUNSELORS IN* **** *** ***** ******* ******* * ** ***** ****** ***** ******** ******* * ****************
KANSAS COUNSELORS INC is falsely reporting on my credit. I have never had any accounts with them. Per my research KANSAS COUNSELORS INC is a debt collector. They are falsely reporting to my credit!
Account #**************** are falsely reporting to my credit file and are against my rights and fair credit act. Under 15 U.S. Code § 1681d - Disclosure of investigative consumer reports; you are in violation. I have attached the definition so you can see the violation! (a)Disclosure of fact of preparation
A person may not procure or cause to be prepared an investigative consumer report on any consumer unless—
(1)it is clearly and accurately disclosed to the consumer that an investigative consumer report including information as to his character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living, whichever are applicable, may be made, and such disclosure (A) is made in a writing mailed, or otherwise delivered, to the consumer, not later than three days after the date on which the report was first requested
I request to be provided proof of this alleged item, specifically the original application, contract, note or other instrument bearing my signature with KANSAS COUNSELORS INC. Failing that, the items must be deleted from the report as soon as possible. Under federal law, you have 30 days to complete your reinvestigation.
I will also be seeking $1,000 per violation for:
1.) Defamation
2.) Negligent Enablement of Identity Fraud
3.) Violations of 15 U.S.C 1692g
I further remind you that, as in ****** ** ***** ***** ****., No. 95-6445 (C.D.Cal. Nov. 14,1995), you may be liable for your willful non-compliance. Credit reporting laws ensure that bureaus report only 100% accurate credit information. Every step must be taken to assure the information reported is completely accurate and correct.Business Response
Date: 08/23/2022
Dear Ms. *****:
This letter
is in response to your correspondence submitted to the Better Business Bureau
(“BBB”).
Your
statement indicates you allege that Kansas Counselors, Inc. (KCI) has violated 15 U.S. CODE 1681d of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA) by procuring or causing to be prepared an investigative
consumer report. I want to take a
moment to address your concern.
First, the statute you have cited pertains to hard inquiries into
a consumer’s credit report. KCI has made
no such inquiry.
Instead,
KCI is defined as a Data Furnisher and as such, subscribes to the credit
reporting agencies (CRAs) as a Data Furnisher and has the responsibility of
furnishing correct and accurate data to them in accordance with the FCRA.
Secondly,
KCI maintains a Services Agreement with the creditor in question (******) to
furnish such data on accounts written off to bad debt and referred to us for
collection. KCI waits an additional
180-days after the date of referral to report unpaid non-medical debt to the
CRAs.
The
creditor in question for your account is ******, which is the utility company
you contracted with for utility services between 04/24/20 and 06/02/21 at the
property address of **** **** ******* ****** ***** ** *****.
As
is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and is strictly
followed by KCI, an initial notice is sent to all legal guarantors on
delinquent accounts placed with our agency. This notice contains our agency
name, the name of the original creditor, your account number, the date of
service, the exact amount owed, the full mini-Miranda, and the full statement
of your rights to dispute and to request validation of the debt(s) in writing
within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice.
KCI
mailed you a dunning notice on 10/01/21 for the account listed above to the
address you provided at the time of your visit(s). The letters sent to your
address were not returned via the ** ****** *******. You did not exercise your rights within the time
frame prescribed by law.
Until
receiving your complaint via the Better Business Bureau Complaint Portal, KCI
has never received any written correspondence from you claiming to dispute these
debts, nor requesting validation. Nor have we ever directly received any verbal
or written FCRA disputes.
Additionally,
my records do not indicate any disputes submitted directly to the credit
reporting agencies.
In compliance
with the FDCPA, however, I have now marked your account as disputed and will
report it as such when KCI next furnishes data to the CRAs.
Also,
as a courtesy to you, I am attaching a copy of the itemized bill for your debt.
This document is directly from the original creditor and serves as validation
of the services rendered to you for utility services between 04/24/20 and
06/02/21 at the property address of **** **** ******* ****** ***** ** *****. This itemized statement includes all charges
you incurred going back to 2019. You may
keep this for your records.
Unfortunately,
we cannot, at this time, agree to your desired resolution on your account based
on the fact that KCI has complied with federal law regarding notice
requirements and our verification efforts indicate you are the responsible
party in this case, and that you have failed to pay the delinquent
balance. In the event you should decide
to resolve this debt, please feel free to contact my office to speak with a
helpful representative who will gladly assist you.
I
wish to personally thank you for your correspondence and appreciate the
opportunity to alleviate your concerns. KCI has now responded and considers
this matter closed.
Sincerely,
***** ***** *****
Director of Compliance
This
communication is from a debt collector. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will
be used for that purpose.Customer Answer
Date: 08/23/2022
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
Complaint: ********
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
******* *****Initial Complaint
Date:07/21/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
Kansas counselors inc is fraudulently lying about time frames on my credit. I went to the hospital over 7 years ago. They know this as my address has changed 3 times and they have sent letters to all 3. Yet they are trying to say on my credit report that their case is only 2 years old. Which is impossible as I said it have letter from 3 addresses over the last 7 years. My current residence being almost 4 years.
I have disputed this now that I’m new to the whole credit thing. I’ve read many things about this company doing this to multiple people. And I’ve seen their cocky repetitive replies with their cocky legal responses.
This company is horrible and so are the people who work for them.Business Response
Date: 08/02/2022
Dear Mr. *****:
This letter
is in response to your correspondence submitted to the Better Business Bureau
(“BBB”).
Your
statement indicates you allege that Kansas Counselors, Inc. has placed an
account balance on your trade line and that is more than seven (7) years old. I want to take a moment to address your
concern.
First, as is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(FDCPA), and is strictly followed by KCI, an initial notice is sent to all
legal guarantors on delinquent accounts placed with our agency. This notice
contains our agency name, the name of the original creditor, your account
number, the date of service, the exact amount owed, the full mini-Miranda, and
the full statement of your rights to dispute and to request validation of the
debt(s) in writing within thirty (30) days of receiving the notice.
KCI
mailed you a dunning notice on 10/29/19. The letter sent to your address was
not returned via the ** ****** *******. You did not exercise your rights within the time frame prescribed by
law. This is the only written
correspondence we have mailed to you on the account in question and it is the
only account currently being reported by KCI to the credit reporting agencies
under your name.
Until
receiving your complaint via the Better Business Bureau Complaint Portal, KCI
has never received any written correspondence from you claiming to dispute this
debt, nor requesting validation. Nor have we ever directly received any verbal
or written FCRA dispute.
My records
do, however, indicate that we’ve received a single (1) dispute from you
regarding your account submitted directly through the credit reporting agencies
(CRAs). These Automated Consumer Dispute
Verifications (ACDVs) are forwarded to our agency through the Online Solution
for Complete and Accurate Reporting (e-OSCAR) system. With each dispute, our agency
performs a “reasonable investigation”, as is required by law, and after
coordinating with our client, found that the disputed information was accurate
and the debt to be valid and still unpaid. These actions were completed, in accordance with the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA), most recently on 07/22/22. At that time, we marked the account as
disputed, and provided the results of our query to the CRAs via e-OSCAR.
Please
understand, after completing our “reasonable investigation” in compliance with
the FCRA and responding back to the CRAs via e-OSCAR, KCI is not under
any obligation to send any additional materials to you.
Nevertheless,
as a courtesy to you, I am mailing you a copy of the itemized bill for your
debt. This document is directly from the original creditor and serves as
validation of the services rendered to you by the emergency room physician
(******* ** ******* **) at ************ Shawnee Mission on 08/01/19. Despite the fact that you have signed an
Authorization to Release Health Info to the Better Business Bureau, I do not
wish to attach it here so as to further safeguard your rights under the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA). You may keep this for your
records.
Additionally,
as you can discern from the date of service during which these charges were
incurred, that the debt is clearly not seven years old.
Written
correspondence you received prior to 10/29/19 was for other accounts you
contracted with creditors for service on but never paid. These debts are now past the statute of
limitations and have been deleted from your trade line with the credit
reporting agencies and KCI ceased collection efforts years ago.
Unfortunately,
we cannot, at this time, agree to your desired resolution on your account based
on the fact that KCI has complied with federal law regarding notice
requirements and our verification efforts indicate you are the responsible
party in this case, and that you have failed to pay the delinquent
balance. In the event you should decide
to resolve this debt, please feel free to contact my office to speak with a
helpful representative who will gladly assist you.
I
wish to personally thank you for your correspondence and appreciate the
opportunity to alleviate your concerns. KCI has now responded and considers
this matter closed.
Sincerely,
***** ***** *****
Director of Compliance
This
communication is from a debt collector. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will
be used for that purpose.
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