Amcol Systems Hit with Class Action After Allegedly Threatening to Report Medical Services Debt to Credit Bureaus

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Amcol Systems Inc. is the defendant in a proposed class action that centers on a collection notice mailed to a Wisconsin consumer in January 2018 (Exhibit A). 

According to the suit, the plaintiff received from Amcol a notice concerning an obligation of $351.23 supposedly owed to Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group. The lawsuit says the letter contained a statement that “Account(s) over $50.00 not paid in full, may be reported as bad debt collection items on our credit bureau record after the time period described below.” This statement, the case argues, represents that Amcol would report the plaintiff’s alleged debt to one or more consumer reporting agencies following the expiration of the 30-day validation period afforded by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). 

“The unsophisticated consumer would understand the statement that Amcol would report their alleged debt to CRAs after the expiration of the 30-day validation period to be a threat that the alleged debt would be included on his credit report if he did not pay or dispute it during the validation period,” the complaint reads. 

The case goes on to state that as of September 15, 2017, a 180-day waiting period is in effect with regard to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion’s reporting of alleged medical service debts on consumers’ credit reports. In line with this, the suit points out that “medical debts are not delinquent when the account is first billed; instead, the debt becomes delinquent if left unpaid for a certain amount of time, usually at least thirty days.” 

As the notice the plaintiff received in January 2018 denotes a “service date” for the individual’s medical services as September 8, 2017, the case argues the date of the first delinquency on the debt would be sometime in October 2017, thereby precluding it from eligibility to appear on a credit report until 180 days after October 2017.

“Assuming the date of first delinquency for the alleged debt referenced in Exhibit A was sometime in October 2017, the debt would not have been eligible to appear on a credit report until sometime in April 2018,” the case argues.