Merchant's Credit Association Payments against debt were cashed and then responded to with a threatening letter. Ripoff Bellevue Washington

 Well have fun at court with them Cuz they have judge and court in their back pocket it's a micky mouse court no one on your side you go in there and it's you against everyone in their and they don't care what you have to say

This goes out primarily to Dan the Ex-Employee:

I have a unpaid medical bill which my insurance company refused to cover (long story)...the hospital wouldn't reduce what I owed more than just a few bux so I figured screw em. So instead of settling with me for a reasonable amount they sold off my debt to CMA for a fraction of what I would've given them. Now these dingbats call me all the time but never leave a message. My credit rating is already crap and I don't own a home and don't have a job at present. Very little money in the bank either. They can't garnish wages from a job I don't have and a lot of good a 20 year old car will do them LOL I'm the kind of nut who has no problem with making a spectacle of myself in public or court and if that's what it takes to embarrass both CMA and the hospital into backing down then I'll do it.

Unless it's not advised, I was thinking of calling the hospital again to see if they can or will make a cash settlement deal with me---or are they out of the picture entirely now that CMA is involved? Thanks in advance!!

I just got off the phone with MCA and was treated like utter garbage. I was the one who called them back to talk to the account suporvisor. The man I was on the phone with started out simple telling me what my  account status was which was pretty bad. I honestly don't have a good explination for why we hadn't paid our bills. The point I was trying to get across to him was, we wanted to pay it off. I wanted to have it paid off before the end of the next month. He said it had to be in full and we could not do a payment plan. He said we were about to get a 48hr notice. That ment we have to pay in 48hrs or they would take it. While I sat there trying to think I asked him what other options we had. The man repeated himself 20 times about how it was my own fault and they needed the money now or they would take it in full. I started to get upset but tried my best to keep calm. That all went out the window. The convrsation had gone on a lot longer than it should and finally he said I could just send in two post dated checks. I was furious that he hadn't said something before. He kept telling me it's my fault and I needed to pay. I understood that and was tired of hearing it. All I wanted to do was find a reasonable compromise to get this taken care of. Even though he knew full well that I was willing he still treated me like I was the scum of the earth. I started that phone call with complete composure and  politeness. If didn't have to pay that debt to them I wouldn't have. I wish I could have delt with a different collection agency. I got the name and extension of his boss and left a voicemail. I don't know if that will help their tactics or even take care of the man that treated me so poorly, but it was worth a try. I am still human and expect to be treated like one even if I don't make the best choices all the time.

Hi I have a question for the person above me.

I was served a summons by Merchants Credit two days ago. The paperwork I received told me to respond within 20 days or else a default judgment will be awarded to them. There are two small medical collections in question, one back from 2004 and the other from 2007. With all the legal fees MC has added into it the grand total is $1,200. I'm thinking I will probably have to contact my own attorney to guide me through this process. Do you have any advice on how to get MC and their attorney to back off or has it gone to far? Do they ever agree to settle outside of court? I really don't even know where to start with this and I'm on a very limited time frame to fix it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

   As an ex-employee of this organization I would like to tell consumers how to make MCA go away with out getting a negative mark on their credit burl report. Merchants is unlike most collection agencies, they really sue people. However, if you don't live in the state of Washington they will not sue you (with some exceptions to Alaska). They work primarily in medical accounts (the largest medical collections agency in Washington). If you do not live in Washington or Alaska and a Merchants Credit collector said words like sue or garnish or further collections action sue them I guarantee an out of court settlement. 

As a victim of MCA I would love to see this company shut down. This is a rutheless company with no moral or ethical compass. We had a lot of medical bills due to an illness and lack of insurance. These were sent to MCA. The collection agent repeatedly called and threatened me. They attacked my character and threatened me calling me a thief and a lier. They also threatened to come to my house and to tell my employer I was a thief. I asked them if I could make payments arrangements several times and they refused payments telling me that they don't make payment arrangements. This went on for over 2 years. Finally I was served papers for a judgement and disputed it. Again I was threatened. They told me if I did not agree to pay and sign an agreement in leiu of judgement that they would lien my checking and savings accounts, take my paycheck, get me fired from my job (which made no sense to me because then I would have no money to pay them) and file a lein to take my house. I can not believe that this company has not been sued and put put of business. There has to be more people out there that have experienced this behavior from this company. If anyone reads this and wants to join in a class action lawsuite against this comapny please add a response.  

   I am an ex-employee of Merchants Credit Association in Bellevue Washington. I terminated my job there based on how they treat consumers and how they treat their employees. My last day there was in June of 2009. I was at work today (01-20) and thought I would google them to see if there are any others out there that feel the way I do. I have a lot of insider information on this company. I can even tell you the unethical technique they use to maintain a A+ rating with the BBB. They primarily work on medical bills and are violators of the HIPPA laws. Based on that alone they should be shut down, however their operating system depends on suing and garnishing people (people on disability, social security, and people that just need help). MCA will tell consumers a $50 payment is fine. However after they get the consumers account information they will garnish it, never intending to work the payment agreement. Just looking for an asset. This organization treats people like trash and they do not deserve to stay open, I really want to help please contact me.  

As you unfortunately pointed out, the collection agent doesn't care - all they care about is lining their pockets. they purchased the debt for pennies (literally) and everything they get over that is making them millionairs.

as you also discovered, your husband should have gotten a written agreement before the first amount was paid. (some even suggest using money orders, certified checks to pay so the collection agency doesn't get your banking info ...) if there is a judgement against his ex-wife, you will probably need to get an attorney involved.

living in california you have very specific rights and I would suggest you go to privacyrights.org and look under debt collection.

also go to budhibbs.com (consumer advocate) for additional information on this sleazy company ...