I believe the comments from 2012 misidentify this agency. The medical debt collector in Worcester is known as MBROI. An older name was Medical Bureau of Economics. Its parent or umbrella is "The ROI Companies", with footprints in three other states. That acronym expands to Receivables Outsourcing, Inc, but they may not use that anymore.

Medical debt collection is full of cheap hoods, sloppy procedures, and illegal scare tactics. The history of comments shows that this agency has upheld those standards. Don't be afraid to raise disputes and refuse to pay even if a valid bill is at issue. It's still illegal to lie to you, distort the truth, and jerk you around for your money.

FTC and CFPB material on US federal collection law:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/search ... debt-collection

related MBROI threads:
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-877-435-4009
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-653-6085
http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-800-234-1357

Prior comments and the cheap excuse to keep calling lean this toward "debt collector".

A provision of the FDCPA is often abused to exceed what should be the single "communication" allowed with a non-debtor. The agency must "reasonably believe" that your response was inadequate and that you can help locate the target after all. I have long argued that because collectors get to make that determination, they are motivated to always claim both points are true.

Clearly you will never have fresh "location information" for a stranger, so the two-part test fails. I can just see their house counsel argue that because you won't supply your own number, that counts as an "incomplete" response. That to me is a stretch of the rule's meaning. Almost certainly your number is in the agency's autodialer and can be referenced even if individual agents can't see it. It's not up to you to help them with their filing.

To halt the misfired skip trace calls, laying a paper trail is far more effective than verbal denials. My advice for "not me" cases is found here:
http://800notes.com/forum/ta-34af6a034ba34b6/unending-collection-calls

Telemarketer or debt collector. They don't give their company name so I have no idea what it is. They call my number every week for a woman named Debra. I've told them to remove the number as there's no Debra here. Then they said they can't unless I tell them my number. I told them they're the ones who called me so they must know my number. They just cut me off.

Update-
 This is a medical collection agency. I grabbed the only medical bill I have out of the drawer and turned it over to check the address and phone number, same thing. St. Joseph health services of RI uses them. (lab work etc)

This number has called me twice. Both times they ask for me using my full name (a recorded voice) and says if this is "insert full name here" to call back this number to hear an important message.

BLOODSUCKER

The FDCPA states that we cannot discuss the details or purpose of our call unless we are able to verify that we are speaking with the person responsible for the debt. With MBROI, they are medical debts and therefore we are required to adhere to the HIPAA laws protecting medical privacy. I understand it is frustrating but we are required to verify date of birth and at least the  last 4 of the social security number on file. MBROI does in fact send letters sometimes 3-4 but like most people you most likely threw them away or disregarded them as junk mail. Hopefully this helps those that are willing to use the internet to post complaints but not to enlighten themselves or perhaps. "pay there bills"

Caller said they were attempting to collect a debt. Wouldn't ID themselves by personal or company name or what debt they were trying to collect. Kept asking me to provide personal information to verify my identity before they would release any info. - I refused saying I don't owe anyone and if they were legit, then they had my info already, and I again asked what debt they were trying to collect.  -- I was told they needed to verify that I was (so & so).. Told them I was and asked what they wanted (again).. When asked to provide my D.O.B. & SS#, I hung up. -- they've called back and left several messages. - When calling back, I get the message.. "TY for calling the business office"..but it doesn't say who's business office.

Linda summers is now using 1-877-788-2683  x 105.
She left  phone number and name obviously but no business affiliation. Te telephone number does not exist in directory info either.  Be advised

Wants to know who is handeling my mothers affairs.

Got a call they asked to confirm my birthdate, address, and SSN by me telling them what the information was. They said they were related to some hospital.

What a joke!

I have no idea why they called.

I called them and spoke with Zack at ext. 5215 and he cut the bill by 35%. He had to go to the "manager" 3 times but

MBROI---called my cell phone this morning and requested all sorts of personal information---dob,ss#,address----would not provide any information regarding the alleged debt. I was told that MBROI coud not divulge any information regarding the nature of their call under Federal law until I provided all my personal information over the phone. I requested something in writing. The caller provided me with the 800  number suggesting that I could call that number to verify the company and the reason for calling......

Yesterday (2/7/12) I received a 2nd call/message from a Rich Cole of MBROR of Worcester, MA.  He said he was calling about a confidential business matter and if I'm that person (Linda Summers) to call him back to confirm I was her and to hear the confidential message.   I did call him back after 6pm EST yesterday, and he asked me if I were Linda ....  I said no and i told him to stop calling my home.    

Previously I spoke to a good friend of mine who is a bill collector out of an attorney's office, and he said it is a SCAM - do not give any caller/company your information out to anyone who wants your birth date, last 4 digits of your SS#, address, etc.  It is a SCAM.  I hope someone here in this group who complains about this 800-289-4526 number to please report it to the right Consumer Business source in their state.  I am from MA.  And please warn your elderly parents or elderly friends of yours to let any 800 numbers go into the answering machine.  Have them get a caller ID machine at Walmart - its very cheap and worth it.

Good luck to all of you and please beware of this number 800-289-5426.  That Rich Cole's voice sounded muffled like it was being filtered over the phone - probably so no one to detect his voice from a voice recognition machine.

Linda Summers
Boston, MA

Warning to Everyone Who Gets A Call from:  800-289-5426   IT'S A SCAM!

I want to report a call from (800) 289-5426 that I received today (1/23/12).  I found out it was a scam to steal your identity,  from a good friend of mine who is a Collections Manager.  He said to report this number on-line so others won't become a victim of stolen identity.  This company called themselves, MBROR from Worcester, MA.  The guy stated his name was Rick and would not give me his last name.  He wanted to verify my birth date and home address and would not give me any information why he was calling without me first giving him my info.  I got very suspicious and felt very uneasy.  My gut told me to stop talking to him right away.  I told him I was going to contact my attorney now and have my attorney call him back.  There was silence on the phone.  Then I hung up.

My Collections friend advised me to never give out your address, date of birth, and/or last 4 digits of your social security number.  A stranger can do so much with just your date of birth and your address so please be careful everyone.

they are debt collectors, called me wanting info on my 15 year old daughter..she has no debt! Wouldnt talk to me unless I gave them her ssn...I am her mother, I am responsible for her medical bills! No way in hell am I giving my daughters information to a stranger who will not tell me what they are calling for! Refused to talk to me unless I gave them her info..needless to say, I hung up!

Oh, also came up with this (their name) found on a job site:

Medical Bureau of Economics (MBROI)  -  Worcester, MA
Due to company growth, exciting opportunity for customer service representatives to work in our office located in Worcester, MA. Representatives confer with patients by phone to assist in resolving unpaid healthcare accounts (first and third party) - identifying reason for non payment. Responsibilities may include verifying insurance information with patient, adding/revising demographics, assistin...

I am getting Voicemails as well. I googled "Worcester, MA  MBROI" and came up with a bunch of jobs they posted online:

"MBROI, a progressive healthcare revenue cycle management company, has an immediate full time opening..." etc


Sounds like collections to me but "progressive healthcare revenue cycle management" has a nicer ring to it I guess :D

Also, if they are totally legit - why don't they have a website and why would they not provide information when asked? Very odd. I won't be giving them my information.

They called my house this morning saying they couldnt give me information in regards about what they were calling about until i gave them my date of birth and other b.s. and that the call was recorded. They said there company was called mbroi and i dont see the number that came up on my caller id that the same for there number listed.

They are debt collectors out of Worcester, MA I asked them what did MBROI stand for.  He said that is the name of the company,I also asked if he was a debt collector.  He would not  give any information.  
Hope this helps.  His name was Lewis.

Yeap, they called my house several times leaving messages for sombody I do not know. It seems to be debt collectors out of Worcester, MA - MBROI is the name of their company (could not get from them what it stands for). Also, they would not answer any of my questions regarding the nature of their business...  that is a BIG RED flag. Well, it must be one of those businesses you do not want to deal with especially over the phone. For your own good do not provide them with any personal information of any kind. They do not seem to have anything to offer to help anyone except themselves.

keep getting voicemails, who are they?

Caller left message about a "personal business matter"...said it was not a marketing or sales call. Called back after 6 PM and got a tape for "The Business Office." No other company name. Can't find company or number anywhere.

Unknown ph. number