National Hospital Collections , LLC (NHC) is a third-party collection agency based in West Virginia that specializes in collecting delinquent medical bills. NHC has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), such as using false or misleading information in an effort to collect a debt and using prohibited communication tactics. If NHC has contacted you about past due collection items, make sure you understand your rights before you respond.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), National Hospital Collections, LLC was founded in 1984. The BBB established a profile page for NHC in 2002. The BBB lists NHC as a collection agency. The BBB indicates that NHC’s General Manager also serves as the General Manager for Credit Collections USA (CCU), another medical collection agency based in West Virginia. Buzzfile does not host a listing for NHC, but they do host a listing for CCU. Buzzfile estimates CCU’s annual revenue at $2.1 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 23 employees.
According to its website, NHC began with the founding of CCU, which “began offering a collection service that exemplified a proven 39 year track record in the collection industry. One of the main goals of the company was to offer a collection service that assured not only a high rate of return, but also a fair and competitive rate.” NHC “inherit[ed] the highly successful collection practices established by [CCU], but dedicating itself exclusively to the hospital industry. NHC has seen… impressive growth and now services 19 hospitals in 5 states.”
National Hospital Collections is a full-service collection agency that uses “telephone contacts and collection letters… to collect …delinquent accounts…Two collection staffs make morning, evening, and Saturday calls to attain the maximum number of contacts.” Collectors make telephone calls “in the morning, and if the attempt is unsuccessful, an additional attempt is made in the evening.” Calls “continue…every other day until six (6) attempts have been made.” If collectors fail to make contact, a “Saturday call is attempted. Collection letters complement the telephone effort or are utilized solely if phone contact is not possible.” If no payments are made or no disputes are received within 40 days, “all accounts that are not paid in full or lack a valid dispute are reported to the four major credit reporting agencies.”
The NHC website provides information about client reports and remittances, as well as a link to a client access portal. The patient payment portal includes a “mini-Miranda” identifying NHC as a bill collector. However, the NHS website does not provide any information about its regulatory compliance policies, and there are no links or references to consumer protection resources, laws, or enforcement agencies.
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. We’ve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
As of July 2019, the BBB has given National Hospital Collections a rating of F, citing NHC’s failure to respond to any of the complaints filed against them. The BBB has closed 4 complaints against NHC in the past three years, none of them in the previous 12 months. Almost allof those complaints alleged problems with billing and collections.As of June 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 49 complaints against either NHC or CCU. Justia does not list any cases of civil litigation involving either NHC or CCU.
National Hospital Collections, LLC
16 Distributor Drive, Suite 2
Morgantown, WV 26501
Telephone:(304) 291-6596
Website: http://www.nhchome.com/
It is illegal for a debt collector to make empty threats to sue you or garnish your wages. It is also unlikely NHC would sue you for a debt you may not owe or they cannot validate. However, debt collection agencies are known to have summoned debtors to court and garnish wages after a default judgement. Contacting an attorney BEFORE this could possibly happen would be a smart move. We’ve helped thousands of consumers fight back against unscrupulous debt collection harassers. Find out if we can help you too today!
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Unlawful Debt Harassment? Learn the Law & Sue the Collector.
Absolutely. Here are some Sample Complaints
Complaints against National Hospital Collections cite problems resulting from disputes about the validity of debts and the accuracy of information reported to credit reporting agencies. In November 2017, a complainant stated that he had been “notified by his credit monitoring service that there was a collection that was reported on his credit by NHC for $10.” According to the complainant, he called NHC and spoke to a representative “to figure out what it was, and she allegedly said it was from a hospital” stay. The complainant told her he had never been to the hospital in question, and “she said it might be from his doctor.”When the complainant “asked why he wasn’t notified before sending it to the credit bureau,” the complainant said that NHC “only sends one letter, and that’s all they need to do.” The complainant indicated that he had “never received anything” and told the representative that “mail gets lost everyday.” The NHC representative said she had tried calling, so the complainant asked her what phone number they had used when calling him. “When she provided…the number from which they called,” the complainant reviewed his call protection software provided by the phone company to see if he had received any calls from NHC. The software is designed to “keep records of all calls and filter scam calls…The number NHC called from…was auto blocked by the…software as suspected spam and showed 630” call attempts “logged as spam.” The NHC representative responded by telling him to “just pay the $10, and NHC will report it as paid.” The complainant told her he had “no problem with a $10 payment,” but he insisted that National Hospital Collections remove the delinquency from his credit report “because he was never notified about it, and…the number NHC called from is listed as suspected spam,” according to software provided by his telephone company. He also said that “sending only one letter is not justifiable, especially when it’s going to affect someone’s credit.” The NHC representative allegedly said she didn’t care; that “all NHC is required to do is to send one letter; and that it’s not her problem that the… number they call from is listed as suspected spam.” NHC did not provide any response to this complaint.
Federal laws protect you. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the behavior of collection agencies by prohibiting actions such as the use of abusive or threatening language; harassment; or the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt. The FCRA regulates how collection agencies and creditors report delinquent debts to credit reporting agencies. Additional consumer protection laws include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
But here’s the rub: If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. These laws provide individuals like you with a means to seek monetary damages in court. For example, the FDCPA allows consumers who have been violated to recover damages of up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.
You may have a case, if…
“I have to admit, I was not sure of y’all initially but you proved me wrong. You not only got the calls to stop but you have the company to dismiss the accounts once and for all! It had been more than I anticipated.”
“Prior to contacting you, we had tried repeatedly to handle this matter without threatening litigation. In the end, not only were they unapologetic, but they were dismissive – even of an attorney friend who called on our behalf. Sincerest thanks for resolving this matter for us!”
“Lemberg Law has saved me from the endless calls, and harassing voicemails. They really do go to bat for you. I didn’t know that debt collection agencies can end up paying your legal bill. What a surprise, to receive free legal help. I’m very grateful for all the hard work they did to finally give me my life back.”
“Thank you and your team at Lemberg Law for the exceptional work you did on my behalf. I have never experienced the level of care, professionalism, timeliness in follow-through, and monetary compensation obtained through your firm.”
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Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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