Page 18 October 6, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD Medical Debt from page 6 lawsuit against one of the nation’s largest billcollection companies for harassing consumers with repeated phone calls and refusing to follow state law. The Riverside, San Diego and Santa Clara county district attorneys joined the suit, which followed consumer complaints to the California Attorney General, Federal Trade Commission, the Better Business Bureau, and Lacey’s office. The civil complaint filed last month in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that debt-collection giant iQor of Delaware and Allied Interstate LLC of Minneapolis violated state and federal laws, and consumers’ right to privacy. The lawsuit was filed jointly by district attorneys in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Clara counties. Even when consumers told debt collectors from iQor or Allied they had called the wrong number, the phone calls persisted, according to the civil complaint. The companies also called people before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. and tried to collect debts that had been discharged in bankruptcy. There is no state law that limits the number of calls an agency may make to you. Repeated calls over a short period, which may be annoying or harassing, are not allowed. Allied has a history of harassing consumers by phone, and the Federal Trade Commission sued the company for similar allegations of harassment and ignoring federal debt-collection law. The company settled with the FTC for $1.75 million and agreed to stop the illegal practices. The new complaint seeks civil penalties for the violations. Any amount from a judgment would be used for future public consumer protection work. Consumers who have been victims of repeated unwarranted calls from these companies are asked to call a hotline, 619-531-3115, and provide their information. John Oliver, the host of Comedy Central’s “Last Week Tonight,” exposed medical-debt collection practices recently when he forgave $15 million in uncollected doctor bills during a show. He spent $60,000 to buy the medical K.E. Shaughnessy 10.0 debts of 9,000 people from a Mississippi company in the business. The debt portfolio was too old to collect under state law. Oliver highlighted the unregulated nature of medical-bill collection. Individuals in many states can buy and collect debts without a license or any connection to the treating physician or even the medical profession, he told his audience. The collectors often pay doctors a fraction of the bill amount, then demand the full amount from the patients and their families. Oliver said that old medical bills become the property of the most unscrupulous collectors, who threaten lawsuits and violence, in extreme cases. 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