Bureau of Medical Economics (BME Services) on Your Credit Report? Fight Back and Win

You checked your credit report and saw a listing for the Bureau of Medical Economics, or BME Services, as a collections account. What do you do? You aren’t familiar with the company name, yet it’s led to a drop in your credit score, impacting your life in different ways. Maybe you’re also dealing with calls or letters from this company, creating worry and stress.

There are solutions if you find yourself in this situation, and you can get BME Services off your credit report and stop the calls.

What Is the Bureau of Medical Economics (BME Services)?

The Bureau of Medical Economics is based in Arizona and is also known as BME Services. BME Services is an accounts receivable company, meaning they’re a debt collector. The company works as a third-party collector. Companies will contact a debt collector and either pay them a fee to collect debts owed by creditors, or the collections company might outright buy the debt.

While a third-party company can work either way, typically, the Bureau of Medical Economics works on a contingency fee basis. Businesses and health care providers will contact them and hire them as debt collectors. Then, BME Services will try to collect on delinquent accounts, and if they can, they’re paid a percentage of what they recover.

Who Does the Bureau of Medical Economics Collect For?

BME Services Collects for health care providers. This can include primary care physicians, specialists, and diagnostic testing such as radiology, hospital care, and urgent care clinics. BME Services will also take very small-balance health care accounts, unlike other medical debt collectors.

Is the Bureau of Medical Economics Legitimate?

The Bureau of Medical Economics isn’t a scam. They’re a legitimate debt collection company based in Phoenix, Arizona. You can reach them at:

• Mailing address: P.O. Box 20247, Phoenix, AZ 85036-0247
• Phone number: 602-252-3469
• Website: www.bmecollect.com

According to the Better Business Bureau, the Bureau of Medical Economics isn’t accredited, and there are many consumer complaints against the company. One issue consumers consistently have is that BME Services calls them repeatedly, but they haven’t been able to get proof of the medical visit being referenced. There are complaints from consumers who feel the company hasn’t been any help getting issues resolved that they believe are mistakes.

There are also consumer reviews that say that despite paying their debt in full and being told that it would be removed from their credit report, it is still an open collections account, and the Bureau of Medical Economics has been unresponsive.

A number of the BBB complaints against BME Services cite concerns about potential identity theft that they’ve disputed with the collections company, and they can’t get them to remove the account from their credit report.

The FCRA and BME Collections

The bulk of people’s complaints against the Bureau of Medical Economics relates to the effects a collections account is having on their credit. Many consumers believe it’s the result of an error, yet they can’t get a resolution from the company, which is why contacting a consumer protection attorney before doing anything else is the best option. 

In studies, it’s been shown that a significant percentage of people find at least one error on their credit report when they check it. The information can vary between the three primary bureaus—Equifax, Transunion, and Experian—so if someone doesn’t check all three, they may not be aware of errors. 

There’s an assumption that if something is listed on our credit files, it will be accurate, but this isn’t always true. Reasons for errors that lead to collections accounts being wrongly reported and causing drops in credit scores include:

• An account is re-aged, meaning that the statute of limitations for it to expire has been restarted incorrectly, so it’s reported as a new debt. 
• Debts should be removed from credit reports typically after seven years, and in rare circumstances of chapter 7 bankruptcy, after 10. This isn’t always what happens, so some people have items that stay on longer and continue to affect their credit when they shouldn’t.
• Names and personal identifying information can get mixed up, so you could be getting calls from the Bureau of Medical Economics for a debt that belongs to someone else.
• If you’re the victim of identity theft, a person could have opened an account in your name.
• A debt amount could be listed incorrectly.
• You could have an account in collections that you actually paid.

These are just a few examples of wrong information on credit reports that are identified by consumers every day.

You do have legal protections, primarily under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) addresses misreporting and misuse of credit information. If a creditor or collector violates the FCRA, it can cause a drop in your credit score, meaning you’re denied credit and may have to pay higher interest rates.

Even when consumers contact collections companies or creditors to let them know about an error, it’s not always removed from their report. They might also have difficulty getting in touch with someone who will help them, whereas when an FCRA attorney works on your behalf, it indicates you’re serious about protecting your rights. 

How to Handle the Bureau of Medical Economics

If you legitimately owe BME Services a debt from an unpaid medical account, you still have legal protections against harassment, deception, and abusive collections tactics. These protections fall under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA requires collectors to provide you with certain information when they first attempt to contact you, and there are limits on how they can try to collect from you.

Whether you believe you owe a debt or you think there’s been a mistake, talking to an FCRA attorney before you do anything else can be the best way to protect your rights and finances and avoid a worsening situation. 

Contact Us for a Free Consultation

If you’re struggling to deal with the Bureau of Medical Economics, our FCRA attorneys can help. Contact us today for a free review of your case with BME Services, so you can get your credit report cleaned up and repair your score while also stopping any phone calls or communications from this debt collector.