Why Is Capio Partners Calling Me? How to Settle Debt
Dena Standley | July 30, 2024
Legal Expert, Paralegal Dena Standley, BA
Dena Standley is a seasoned paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in legal research and writing, having received a certification as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal from Southern Technical College.
Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.
Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.
Summary: Capio Partners is a medical debt collection agency that might purchase your debt from the healthcare provider and sue you. Luckily, there are ways to defend yourself in court and settle the debt, starting with filing an Answer into your case.
Unexpected health care expenses can wreck even the most well-thought-out financial plan. Even worse, debt collectors that specialize in uncollected medical debt often add stress to an already difficult situation.
If you’ve been contacted by Capio Partners about a medical debt, keep reading to learn how to resolve the debt for good.
Capio Partners, based in Sherman, TX, is a debt collection agency that specializes in medical debt, buying uncollected debts from healthcare providers, and then attempting to collect the amounts owed.
Capio Partners, LLC has received numerous consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), such as rude and abusive behavior, providing false or misleading information, and the failure to provide written verification of the debts it is attempting to collect. If Capio Partners has contacted you, make sure you understand your consumer rights before responding.
As the third-largest healthcare debt collector in the United States, Capio Partners, LLC has contact with thousands of consumers every year. Capio is not a scam. It is an authorized debt collection agency, but that doesn't mean you can't assert your rights and win against them.
With a score of 1 out of 5 stars on its Better Business Bureau profile, Capio Partners has received more than almost 500 complaints with BBB in the past three years. Capio Partners also has nearly 1,000 complaints against it on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau database. Out of hundreds of Google reviews, Capio only has an average rating of 1.6 out of 5 stars.
Many negative reviews share a common theme of rude employees, false information, the inability to validate debts, and bullying and harassing behavior. There are numerous allegations of the company pursuing previously settled or satisfied debts. In fact, most of these complaints could be considered violations of the FDCPA.
Let’s take a look at some real Capio Partners reviews:
As a consumer, you should learn about your rights to protect yourself from unfair debt collection practices by Capio Partners. Keep reading for more information about your rights and how to file a complaint against Capio.
What should I do when Capio Partners contacts me?
When a debt collection agency contacts you, the first step should always be to request that any future contact about the debt be in writing. Using SoloSuit, you should send a Debt Validation Letter requiring Capio Partners, LLC to validate the alleged debt within 30 days.
Keep a careful record of all contact and attempted contact by Capio Partners, LLC. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) protects consumers from over-aggressive debt collectors and sets clear guidelines that every debt collector must follow. If Capio Partners violates the FDCPA, they can accrue fines and waive the right to collect the debt. Below are some common ways debt collectors violate the rights of consumers.
Contacting you about debts that are not yours.
Failing to prove that the debt belongs to you.
Using automated robocalls in an effort to collect the debt.
Calling you at work or contacting friends, family, and coworkers.
Calling you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in your time zone.
Calling multiples times per week.
Using inappropriate language or attempting to intimidate you in any way.
Threatening you with criminal charges, adverse credit reporting, lawsuits, or other actions.
If you feel Capio Partners is violating your rights as a consumer, submit a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Better Business Bureau. You might even consider filing a counterclaim, as you could be eligible for $1,000 in compensation per each violation of the FDCPA by Capio.
Medical bills impact your credit score—here's how
Medical bills are a unique type of debt. Though they can negatively impact your credit score, they are not weighted the same as other types of debt. The Fico Score 9 is the latest version of the FICO credit scoring system most commonly used by lenders to assess creditworthiness. The new FICO Score 9 gives medical debt less weight than other types of debt. The same is true of VantageScore, another popular scoring model.
Few health care providers report directly to the credit bureaus, so your debt doesn't end up on your credit report until it has been turned over to a collection agency. Since the debt is not sold to a collection agency until you are at least 90-120 days past due, you have some time to explore your options for paying the debt.
Once your healthcare bill goes to collections, it doesn't appear on your credit report right away. The three main credit bureaus, Equifax, Transunion, and Experian, provide a 180-day grace period to resolve medical debt before it appears on your credit history. The grace period is because insurance companies can often take months to approve, or deny, payment to health care providers. Billing or coding errors are common and can slow the process even further. The grace period is intended to give consumers time to resolve the issue before impacting their credit score.
However, to address the medical debt crisis in the US, Congress and federal agencies recently enacted measures like the No Surprises Act and directed credit reporting companies to remove certain medical debts, significantly reducing the number of Americans with medical debt on their credit reports.
Prevent medical bills from ruining hard-earned creditworthiness
You can spend a fortune on quality insurance, buy supplemental policies, and do your best to stay healthy, but all it takes is one accident or unexpected illness to wreak financial havoc. Insurance companies often refuse to pay for necessary treatments, or healthcare providers may initiate treatment options without insurance approval. Either way, consumers can be left with hefty bills they are unable to pay.
You have options when dealing with medical debt. First, remember that being contacted by a medical debt collector such as Capio Partners, LLC means that the debt has been purchased for pennies on the dollar. You can often negotiate a payment for far less than the original debt. If you negotiate with Capio Partners, LLC for a settlement, make sure you get everything in writing.
Example: Capio Partners purchases a bundle of debts from a healthcare provider and takes several consumers to court. One of these consumers, Gary, is being sued for his medical debt of $5,000. He sends Capio Partners a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter asking them to take a lump-sum payment of $3,000. Capio accepts the offer, and Gary's debt is reduced by 40%.
Watch this video to learn more about how to negotiate a debt settlement that works for you:
Never start negotiations until you have Capio Partners' validation of the debt in writing. Make sure the date of service, type of service, original creditor, and amounts all match your own records. If there is any mistake in the debt verification, or Capio Partners fails to provide the required verification, file a dispute with the credit reporting bureaus. There is a dispute form available on the website of Transunion, Equifax, and Experian, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers sample letters if you are unsure of what to include.
Use these negotiation tips to settle debt with Capio Partners
Ready to negotiate your debt with Capio Partners? Here are some expert negotiation tips from an attorney:
Don't threaten bankruptcy unless you actually mean it.
Give them reasons to accept your debt settlement offer, such as hardship.
Tell them about any other debts you have.
Be prepared for a counteroffer.
Make a fair offer.
Negotiate with the opposing attorney.
To learn more about these tips, watch the video below where we interview a consumer rights lawyer about debt negotiation:
Contact Capio Partners, LLC
If you have been contacted by Capio Partners, LLC about medical debt, you may want to reach out to get them to validate the debt you supposedly owe. Here's how you can contact them.
Capio Partners' physical address is 1745 N Brown Road, Suite #405, Lawrenceville, GA 30043. Their phone number is (678) 682-3680. The debt collection agency has locations in Sherman, Texas, Lake Oswego, Oregon, and Lawrence, Georgia.
Respond to a debt lawsuit against Capio Partners
If Capio Partners, LLC is taking you to court over a past-due medical debt, the first step to winning your case is to respond. You should have received a Summons and Complaint (also known as Petition). The Summons notifies you of the lawsuit and any pending court dates, while the Complaint lists the specific claims against you.
You have 14-35 days to respond to the lawsuit, depending on which state you live in. If you fail to respond, the court will likely place a default judgment against you. This gives Capio the right to garnish your wages and even put liens on your property. That's why it's so important to respond. Use SoloSuit's Answer form to respond to the lawsuit and win in court.
Follow these three steps to respond to a debt lawsuit against Capio Partners:
Respond to each claim listed in the Complaint.
Assert your affirmative defenses.
File the Answer with the court and send a copy to Capio Partners.
Unexpected medical expenses are stressful, and consumers shouldn't have to deal with shady collection practices. Know your rights, and hold Capio Partners, LLC to the standard provided by the FDCPA. SoloSuit can help with a full range of information and services to help you protect your rights.
Watch this video to learn more about the three steps to responding to a debt lawsuit:
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