Hello - I try to do my absolute best to make sure my credit score and history is the best it can be. I received a letter today indicating I had a debt that went into collections. It tells me I can refute it by sending in a notice. I went through my bank history and I do think it is a valid debt, the thing is, I don't think I received any bill or notice. I pay all my paper/nonrecurring bills immediately to avoid ever forgetting to pay them. This is a medical bill for a small amount at a diagnostic laboritory. At the time that the orginal bill was released, I was in the middle of moving. I had my mail forwarded immediately, but do not ever recall receiving any type of bill. What is the best was to handle this? Is it possible to get it taken off of my credit report even though I do agree that it is a valid debt? Also, it was for a medical bill that I would think my insurance would have taken care of, so I was never even expecting a bill for it. HELP PLEASE!

Pay it.


No. When you pay it it'll show up as a paid collection.


Many times insurance will exclude lab tests. You'd need to review your insurance policy to be certain.

I agree that you should and must pay it. Medical billers are notorious for sending things to collections after only making the minimum effort to bill you directly. Also, not knowing about a bill does not excuse you from paying it unfortunately. I have been there myself - for instance accidentally used a credit card I hadn't used in a few years, and it turned out I never updated the address they had for me.

The bill may be covered by your insurance; again, some medical providers don't put much effort into figuring out who owes them the money. Pay the bill yourself and then talk to your insurer to see if it was covered and get reimbursed.

Sometimes you can negotiate with the collector to remove the item from your report if you pay it in full immediately. It doesn't hurt to ask. Try to get it in writing if they do agree.