800-346-0775: Debt Collector or Scam?

You are getting calls from 800-346-0775 because Central Financial Control thinks you owe money on a hospital bill and they want to remind you as many times as they can, as often as they can.

If you’ve been getting a call from this number every day or even several times a day, you’re not alone. The experiences shared by consumers on complaint sites indicate a pattern of behavior by this debt collection agency that values quantity over quality.

In this article, we’ll explain who’s calling you from this number, what they’re likely to do, and how you can bring this fight to the only place you can control: your credit report.

A History You Should Be Aware Of

If you suspect there’s something not quite right about the way Central Financial Control operates, you’re in good company.

In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered the company to pay $5.9 million in penalties and restitution after it failed to respond to more than 13,000 consumer disputes about information on their credit reports and failed to send consumers required debt validation notices more than 10,000 times. The company had no policies or procedures in place for investigating disputes and regularly took more than the legally allowed 90 days to respond.

Why Is Central Financial Control Calling Me?

The Hospital Connection

Central Financial Control is a debt collection agency that collects medical bills for hospitals owned by or affiliated with Tenet Healthcare Corporation, one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the United States.

Tenet operates about 58 hospitals, and its Conifer Health Solutions subsidiary contracts with more than 700 other facilities. When the hospitals decide an outstanding patient balance has gone unpaid for long enough, they send the account to Central Financial Control for collection.

Consumers have specifically named San Ramon Regional Medical Center, St. Francis Hospital, Piedmont Medical Center, Warminster Hospital, and various WellStar locations. If you’re getting calls from this number, they’re probably about a hospital visit to an emergency room or for another treatment.

Why You May Not Owe This Bill

Despite the frequency and urgency of the calls consumers receive from this number, a sizable percentage of people report they don’t owe the bill Central Financial Control is calling about.

A user on the ShouldIAnswer site said, “Hospital ‘billing’ office calling, hospital they were calling about has a TOTALLY different number and was aware of the scam. My account with the hospital named is clear and up to date.”

Some consumers even say they’re being billed for charges their insurance provider has already paid. A ShouldIAnswer user shared this experience: “I called them back and was informed I owed them over $11,000. I went to my insurance companies website and the claim was already posted there so I called them back and informed them of this and was told they would give me an additional 30 days to pay the bill.”

Wrong-person debt collection is another common issue associated with calls from this number. A user of the RoboKiller app said, “They are calling for some other person. And I’ve had this number over a decade.”

Their Go-to Tactics

The Urgency Machine

Volume is the name of the game for Central Financial Control. The company places so many calls to consumers from this number RoboKiller has tracked 63,846 calls with 288 reports from users describing the caller. 800notes tracks complaints about specific phone numbers and one user described their experience this way: “These people called me like 50 times a day for 7 months.”

That kind of volume isn’t an accident. Debt collectors know the more calls you get the more likely you are to pay the debt without validating it first. Each time your phone rings and you don’t answer, the caller is trying to convince you something terrible will happen if you don’t call back.

The Information Trap

Before they give you their name, people calling from this number often ask for Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and insurance information.

One RoboKiller user perfectly captured the absurdity of the situation: “The recording stated that they were looking up my records by way of using my telephone number; but when a live person picked up they asked for my name. They should have known my name if they were able to look up my account using my telephone number.”

Another user reported entering the last four digits of their SSN to connect with an agent and then being disconnected when they asked the name of the hospital that was calling. That consumer was left to wonder if their information had been stolen.

By asking for your personal data before offering any of their own, the debt collector is establishing a power dynamic where you’re giving them the information they need before you even know what you’re agreeing to.

This Is Really a Fight About Your Credit Report

Forget the Phone, Focus on the Report

When you’re getting harassed by debt collectors, it’s easy to get caught up in whether or not you owe money. But the reality of the situation is, the real fight here is about your credit report and how long a collection account stays on it. Every collection account is a boulder tied around your ankle as you try to swim to the surface, and this particular company has a history of reporting inaccurately.

A consumer complaining on the BBB site said, “I paid all 3 of my accounts over the phone and now when I go to the credit bureaus it still shows that I owe on all 3 accounts. I called the company and they stated that all 3 accounts have been paid and that they no longer have any information on these accounts because they are paid in full.”

The debt had been satisfied, but the damage to their credit report had not been repaired. That’s why “pay for delete” deals with debt collectors, where you pay the debt and they agree to remove it from your report, rarely work as advertised. Even after you pay, the account can remain on your report for up to 7 years. You may resolve the debt, but you won’t undo the damage.

Free Credit Reports Are Your Intelligence

The free credit reports you’re entitled to every year aren’t a privilege, they’re a necessity if you’re going to understand what Central Financial Control is saying about you to the credit reporting agencies and where the weaknesses are in what they’re reporting.

Look for any discrepancies in the dates, balances, account numbers, and names of the creditors. Central Financial Control has been sued for sending collection letters that mention three different entities without making it clear which one is actually the creditor.

If that kind of confusion is what’s on your credit report, that’s what you have to hang your dispute on.

Red Flags That Indicate a Problem

Warning Signs in Their Calls

Some behaviors go beyond annoying and cross the line into indicators something may be very wrong with the debt collection process. Demands for immediate payment without sending a written verification of the debt first is a red flag. Threats of lawsuits, refusals to answer basic questions about the debt, and demands for your personal data before they’ll identify themselves are all red flags. All of those behaviors have been reported by consumers on this number.

An 800notes user said, “When I asked to speak with a supervisor, she transferred me to someone else who would not identify himself but demanded my personal information. When I refused, he hung up the phone.”

When Silence Speaks Volumes

Several consumers using the ShouldIAnswer website to report calls from this number say when they answer the phone, they’re met with silence until they speak and then the caller hangs up. Others report hearing music or a loud beep before someone comes on the line. Those are all hallmarks of predictive dialer systems that dial more phone numbers than there are representatives available to speak.

One consumer described the experience like this: “When I answer this number and say hello, they just sit in silence. When I pickup but don’t say anything they will say hello until I speak then not say anything again.”

How to Push Back Without Returning Their Calls

Dispute Through the Bureaus

The single most powerful thing you can do when you’re dealing with calls from 800-346-0775 is something you can do without actually returning any of those calls. You can file a formal dispute with the credit bureaus which forces Central Financial Control to verify what it’s reported to the credit bureaus about you. If it can’t verify the account within 30 days, the credit bureau is required to delete it.

Given this particular company’s history of not responding to more than 13,000 disputes within the allotted timeframe, the odds may be ever in your favor. And once you successfully dispute and delete an account, in most cases the collector doesn’t have the ability or the incentive to put it back on your report. A deletion that happens because of a verified dispute is usually permanent.

Put It All in Writing

When you’re dealing with a debt collector, a paper trail is your friend. You can’t enforce the promises of a debt collector who calls you on the phone but you can document everything that happens when you put your communication in writing.

A complainant on the BBB site said, “Now they are trying to collect the same debt again, and are claiming that the payment was never received (despite making the payment nine months ago).” Written records would have ended that claim immediately.

Conclusion

Make Your Move

Calls from 800-346-0775 are designed to leave you feeling helpless. They come often, without explanation and with demands for personal information. Central Financial Control has built a business model around volume and pressure, counting on the idea you’ll pay what they say you owe without asking questions.

But you don’t have to play the game their way. The resources available to you through the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) exist for the express purpose of tilting the balance of power from debt collectors back to consumers. Your credit report is where this battle will be won and lost and every inaccuracy is a chance to change the outcome in your favor.

At FightCollections.com we specialize in helping consumers like you push back against collection agencies like Central Financial Control and challenge inaccurate and unverifiable information on credit reports. If you’re getting unwanted calls from this number, contact our team to schedule a free consultation.