DMIL came back from the grave...

[tazdev3225]

My MIL died 7 years ago. Today I received a dr's bill for $275.00 for services rendered. When I called their billing department I was told it was for a consult while she was hospitalized in May of this year. They wanted her insurance information. I told them she was dead so I was pretty sure she didn't have any. I am waiting for the hospital bill now. DH and I are also going to have to do a credit check as well. We're going to have to get copies of her death certificate because DSIL lost it. We think somebody at the nursing home she was in until her death stole her identity. DH is also going to contact the DA's office to see if they will be able to do anything about the identity theft. What a nightmare.
Then to top off my day somebody hit my car while it was parked. Fortunately the damage was minor but that is one more thing I have to take care of now. I hope tomorrow is better. Thanks for reading I just needed to vent a little.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

I'm sorry. I'm still amazed at the terrible things people will do. I hope you can get it all taken care of quickly and as painlessly as possible.

 

[robinb]

Oh my goodness! What a shock. I hope tomorrow is better for you {{hugs}}.

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

How upsetting.

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[CPT Tripss]

Don't panic. You aren't responsible for her bills.

If the bills are addressed to "Mom," mark them "not at this address, deceased" and put them back in the mail.

Ignore them and don't worry.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

 

[tazdev3225]

Don't panic. You aren't responsible for her bills.

If the bills are addressed to "Mom," mark them "not at this address, deceased" and put them back in the mail.

Ignore them and don't worry.

I would love to do this but the person who is using her identity knew enough to have the bills sent in my husband's name as the guarantor. We are pretty sure that this information had to be stolen from the nursing home because that is the only place where he was listed as the contact person. Of course we found this out late friday afternoon so I can't do anything until monday. I babysit my grandkids during the day amd my DD doesn't have a phone. We are concerned about finding out if there are credit cards and any other debts now. It is a huge mess.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

That stinks. I hope you are able to get this resolved quickly. Make sure you let all 3 credit reporting agencies know about this. That way they can flag her SSN as deceased tho help keep this from happening again.

 

[Buckalew11]

Well, hopefully her identity was not stolen. It does seem odd for 7 years to go by w/o them using it before this, doesn't it? Or maybe not. I am not familiar with this type thing.

Mom got a bill from my dad's doctor after he'd been dead almost 2 years. She called the office and at first they were not cooperating and then the lady called and said, "Do not pay that bill. We've had a computer glitch in our system and all types of bills were sent out wrongly.

 

[daisax]

My mother got bills for procedures on my father for months after his death -- it was just a computer error as somebody in the same practice had a SS# peculiarly close to his. No identity theft, thank God.

Hopefully yours is the same, or that they can straighten it out swiftly if it's not.

 

[Evil Genius]

It's possible that her identity has not been stolen but that the doctor billed the incorrect patient. Mistakes do happen

 

[MinnieMe87]

It's possible that her identity has not been stolen but that the doctor billed the incorrect patient. Mistakes do happen

This does happen. We've had it happen a few times in our office when we were given wrong insurance information from the hospital. I hope you get this resolved OP.

 

[chell]

It's possible that her identity has not been stolen but that the doctor billed the incorrect patient. Mistakes do happen

That is what I was going to say. The name may have been similar and they may have selected the wrong patient when entering the billing information. I hope this is all that has happened. If your husband's information was already set up in their system as the responsible party that would make sense. They may not have archived their info in a very long time.

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[tazdev3225]

Well, hopefully her identity was not stolen. It does seem odd for 7 years to go by w/o them using it before this, doesn't it? Or maybe not. I am not familiar with this type thing.

Mom got a bill from my dad's doctor after he'd been dead almost 2 years. She called the office and at first they were not cooperating and then the lady called and said, "Do not pay that bill. We've had a computer glitch in our system and all types of bills were sent out wrongly.

That is what I was going to say. The name may have been similar and they may have selected the wrong patient when entering the billing information. I hope this is all that has happened. If your husband's information was already set up in their system as the responsible party that would make sense. They may not have archived their info in a very long time.

I don't think this is the case. We have an unusual last name and my MIL was never in this hospital when she was alive. It was to far from her home and the nursing home. It was also in an area she would never have gone to. We live in Philadelphia so there are quite a few hospitals here. All of her drs were affiliated with the 2 closest to her home. My SIL was always the contact then because she lived with her. When she went in the nursing home my DH was made the only contact because we were the closest to it and as I had very flexible hours so I could always get there in an emergency. We filed a police report today and they believe that the nursing home had a breach of security. They also think this is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Thank you all for the words of encouragement and sympathy though.

 

[horseshowmom]

Good luck with sorting this out. I would think that presenting a copy of the death certificate would be sufficient to resolve any issues, but I'm probably assuming too much common sense here on the part of others.

 

[olena]

The police report is an important step. I hope the culprit is apprehended. ID theft is bad enough, but stealing IDs of the elderly is just disgusting.

Please keep us updated. This is something that everyone should hear about and beware of with themselves or their own aging/deceased loved ones.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Don't send a copy of any death certificate, or any such thing, to ANYONE. It is soooooo easy to set up some kind of a 'front'.
That's how identity theft works... It is not always somebody simply charging something to somebody else... People collect this identity info and sell it for big bucks to people who set up fronts in order to make bogus charges, insurance claims, etc...

It would be interesting to see if the phone number and mailing address on that bill are an EXACT match for the billing office of this medical facility.

To me, I think that this could be bogus (and NOT some strange mistake).
What medical facility provides services without a copy of the card, all insurance information??? Sometimes they even call to pre-verify.
To me, some strange person asking for insurance information over the phone is just as suspect as somebody asking for social security numbers or other personal information over the phone. It does not sound legit, at all.

If there is a hospital that made a strange mistake, that is their problem to figure out. Not yours.

Forward all info to the authorities, and do not send anybody anything, do not speak with anybody on the phone. You are under NO obligation to cooperate with whomever these people are. Give them NO information, send all correspondence back 'return' to sender. Do not take phone calls. " I am sorry, I do not know who you are, you must have the wrong number... click-buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Of course, it is good to check with your credit records, insurance companies, etc... But, you do not need to have any contact with these people. You have no obligation to pay anything or to give any information.

 

[C.Ann]

It could be nothing more than a computer error or it could be identity theft.. I would check it out further..

Hope you get it straightened out soon.. Sorry about your car too..