wish_theyd_done_it

RemindMe! 365 days

Are debt collectors allowed to charge additional collection fees?

I once had a doctor's office send me to collections for a $20 co-pay, and the collection agency added a $49 collection fee. When I balked at the fee they said that I had agreed to it when I filled out patient forms at the doctor's office. Of course, neither the doctors office nor the collection agency would actually produce the form I'd supposedly signed.

I did tell ask them in writing for proof of the original debt, and they called me saying that there was another $49 fee for that.

I paid the $20 co-pay, but the agency still reported an unpaid $69 debt to the credit bureau, then charged me an additional $150 to have it removed from my credit report.

$20 missed co-pay.
$49 collections fee.
$150 fee to remove item from my credit report.
2x$19.99 payment processing fees.

$260 for a missed $20 co-pay. How is that even legal?