Everest Receivable Services Erik Cotton ERS Collections threatened my wife and I today Depew New York

Sick people beware! Doesn't anybody care anymore? Today I received a call from Erik Cotton of a ERS Collections advising me that I owed a debt from 2010 of an alleged unpaid medical bill of $270 from Mountain Vista Hospital. I told him we were contacted several weeks ago about this, and it was the first we had heard of it. At that time I called the hospital where the alleged charge came from and they said they would send me proof of the charge. They did not as of this date. He demanded I pay him that minute without any proof and he would not take a check or a credit card. He said I had to give him my debit card over the phone. Who does that anymore? I don't even know this guy.

I asked him to talk to my wife who handles all of the bills. She inquired about the bill. He immediately was talking over her and not letting her speak at all. He became beligerant when she asked who he was and that we had never heard of him. She said she would pay but why had it taken so long since 2010 to ask for the money. Weren't we entitled to see the bill from the hospital? He demanded the money again and berated her, threatening her on the phone and making fun of her. My wife asked for a Manager, Erik said he was the Manager and that was why he was calling. Our matter had been escalated. She told him she would not give a debit card over the phone, again the assault on my wife and the threats to ruin our lives. If they wanted $270 so bad and it had been escalated then why wait so long to bring it our attention.

My wife said she wouldn't give the number over the phone, he said he would report us as "refusing to pay". Then he hung up. A few minutes later he called back and left a very long and insulting message about my wife on my cell phone which I kept for future proof of this man's unprofessional and totally out of control demeanor. This is harrassment. We checked and there are all kinds of complaints out there about this company. I am sure being a debt collector is not the most popular job, but even debt collectors are required to work within the law and the better ones certainly don't lose their tempers and threaten people's lives. 

We called the hospital and they said we had to pay him, that they could not take the money nor would they provide any proof as to what the debt was for. 

So basically we are being held up by Everest Receivable Services and Mountain Vista Hospital. Go to another hospital and ask for every single bill at the time of check out and do not ever give your debit card over the phone! I don't care if they say they are reputable, I wouldn't give my debit card over the phone to my most trusted friend. And my friend and trusted businesses would never ask for it these days.