Much to my surprise I received a debt collection letter in the mail for $40 from my dermatologist's office. The original date of service was from around the time there was that ransomware attack that prevented doctor's offices from taking payments at the time of service.
I was never sent a bill for that visit. Frankly, I had forgotten about it, assuming they'd catch me next time or send a bill. I guess a year and a half has passed with no communication by mail not phone…then today just a letter from Revenue Cycle Associated for $40.
I don't mind paying but I don't want my credit wrecked over the office's clerical error. Any advice? Google says RCA is extremely aggressive.
Debt collection letter
byu/LittleMissMuffinButt inpersonalfinance
Posted by LittleMissMuffinButt
7 Comments
Ask them for proof that you owe the debt. Check your credit scores and see if it’s on there. If so, you can challenge the validity with the bureau (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian). If you have Credit Karma, you can do it for two of the bureaus, I believe.
Have you checked your credit report and score? Is it “wrecked”?
In terms of contesting this…if you owe someone money then “Well…you didnt remind me that I owed you money” is not considered to be a legitimate excuse.
Your credit won’t be wrecked or even impacted by a $40 medical bill. If you owe it, pay it. If you normally pay $40 for a visit, and you didn’t pay anything for that visit, then you probably owe it. Don’t give it any more thought.
If it’s not on your credit report pay the doctor’s office directly, and then write back to the debt collector within 30 days disputing the debt.
Don’t admit it’s valid or that you paid
Dear debt collector:
I got your notice about Dr. Smith account #1234. I am disputing this invalid debt. On 9/10/2025 I accessed Dr Smith online billing portal which reflects $0 on this account.
1. Is this a bill you actually owe? If yes, I’d just offer to pay 100% of the value right now. Damage to your credit (if any) is already done.
2. If this is not a bill you owe, simply demand they submit proof you owe the bill via mail.
I had something similar happen to me once. The office sent me one notice that I missed and then sent it off to the debt collector. Evidently they were tired of people not paying and didn’t have the staff support to follow up. I paid it and was no problem
We once had a bill for about $15 get sent to collections. It was from a lab that our doctor had sent a swab to. I never received a bill from them, ever. No EOB either. I did call the billing office for the lab and asked if I could just pay them directly. They said yes, so I did. She was able to see on their end that something had gone awry, I don’t remember what it was anymore.
Anyway – my point is that it would be perfectly fine to call your doctors office about this.