My husband just got a bill in the mail for an ambulance trip to a hospital in California from June... but we live in Texas and it obviously wasn't him. The charge is for $1600. What do we do? I am not paying that but I do not want it to affect his credit score.
The bill has his first and last name and address but no other personal information. I tried looking up the phone #, hospital, billing website, etc. to see if it was a scam and so far it looks legit. UGHHHH.
grapefruit / 4442 posts
Did you call the company and see what could be done if it was fraud? I hope this gets resolved
nectarine / 2936 posts
Call the company. I once got a bill for someone else's very expensive surgery. It had my name on it, but I was out of the country at the time. It was a clerical error and was resolved quickly. Good luck!
pear / 1548 posts
My husband is at work so we haven't called yet. I'm worried that we will get more bills since this one was just an ambulance trip.
@mrs. 64: How did they get your information? Had you ever been to that hospital before?
nectarine / 2936 posts
@Boopers: This was a few years ago so I don't remember everything. I think it was my insurance's fault if I remember correctly. Someone had mixed up the accounts and put it under my name. I don't remember if the hospital was local or not, but I had never heard of the doctor. Whatever it was, I had a pretty easy time convincing them it was not me. I was so glad though because initially I was panicked.
pear / 1548 posts
@mrs. 64: ack! I hope it's that easy for us to resolve this. I pretty much panicked and then got really angry! lol
I guess I'm still a bit worried that this is a way to get his personal info. If we call (which I'll have him call when he gets home) how much personal info do you think they would try to collect about him, if any at all?
squash / 13199 posts
@Boopers: Not to scare you or anything but maybe someone is using his social security number?
pear / 1548 posts
@Mrsbells: I am worried about that! Is there any way I would be able to check if someone could be using it in any way? Maybe his credit score?
pomegranate / 3401 posts
@Boopers: If you suspect soc. sec. fraud (like his # was stolen etc) there is a hotline you can call!
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/48/~/reporting-social-security-fraud
Good luck!
bananas / 9899 posts
I would start by calling whatever organization sent the bill and asking for proof that it was indeed your husband who got that ambulance ride. repeatedly say you are not refusing to pay, but that you do not believe you owe the charges.
honeydew / 7811 posts
I'd give your husbands insurance a call too! See if anything else has been filed/claimed by mistake!
squash / 13199 posts
@Boopers: I dont know any personally but you can try the link posted by @Ginabean3:
pear / 1548 posts
**update**
DH called the number on the bill and stated it wasn't him and said he hasn't been in California in 5+ years. The lady said it may not necessarily have been in California and asked if he had been in any car accidents which he hasn't. She also asked his his DOB and last for of his SS# which both matched up so now I'm freaking out about identity theft.
She said she would clear the amount owed and would make a note about the identify theft to see if they could figure out how someone got his info.
While I'm relieved that he won't owe, I'm so mad about his info being stolen.
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
@Boopers: omg, that is so scary!! I'm sorry you're dealing with this 
GOLD / pomegranate / 3938 posts
@Boopers: You should consider getting LifeLock. Its an identity theft protection program. I would consider it if you suspect a problem of identity theft. Hopefully, however, the insurance company just has a mix up. In the meantime, though, you should at least order a free credit check report.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@Boopers: oh my goodness! That IS a scary situation. Is there anyway of knowing if whoever possibly stole his identity has done anything else with the information?
apricot / 432 posts
@Boopers: Credit Karma is something else you may want to look into. I hope it was just a clerical issue and not identity theft! I had something similar happen a few years ago...received a $18,000 bill in the mail, had a freak out session, called the hospital and luckily it ended there. Good luck!
pear / 1548 posts
@MrsMcD: How does Lifelock work?? I'm not even sure if any insurance was filed because the bill asked for insurance to be filed and insurance info to be sent in.
The bill said the ambulance ride was June 10. Should we request a credit report ASAP or wait in case anything hasn't even updated? I've never had to deal with this so I'm totally clueless!
We plan on filing a SSA identity theft form that was posted earlier to cover all of our bases!
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@Boopers: maybe the person on the phone was the one trying to steal his identity? Those are some pretty fishy questions they asked!
pear / 1548 posts
@mrbee: I was worried too but everything I looked for about the company from the bill, telephone #, address all related to the actual company they claimed to be. Nothing came up about a scam or fraud when I did some research last week. Maybe I'm just being naive?
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@Boopers: Ah maybe you're right! I did some research just now, and "medical identity theft" is an increasing issue:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/06/07/consumerwatch-medical-identity-theft/
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