A Washington collection agency will provide at least $1.5 million in debt relief and pay $1 million to the state to resolve allegations it failed to disclose key consumer rights tied to medical debt, closing the loop on a case centered on more than 400,000 collection notices sent over a five-year period.
The consent decree settles claims that Renton Collections did not properly inform consumers of their right to request detailed information about their medical debts, as required under Washington law. At the core of the case: disclosures that must be included in the first written notice when collecting medical debt. According to the Attorney General’s Office, those disclosures were missing or incomplete across hundreds of thousands of letters sent to Washington consumers between 2019 and 2024.
Under the agreement, the collection agency must:
- Provide at least $1.5 million in debt relief to impacted consumers
- Pay $1 million to the state, covering costs, fees, and future enforcement efforts
- Stop collecting any interest, fees, or costs on the affected medical debt accounts
- Limit recovery to the original principal balance only on those accounts
- Update all future collection letters to fully comply with Washington disclosure requirements
The debt relief is expected to come through a mix of forgiven balances, waived fees, and eliminated charges above the original principal.
What disclosures were at issue
Washington law requires that consumers receiving a first notice on medical debt be told they can request, free of charge:
- The original account number (or a redacted version)
- The date of the last payment
- A detailed, itemized statement of the debt
That itemized statement must include specifics such as:
- Dates of service
- Description of healthcare services provided
- Principal balance
- Adjustments, including insurance discounts
- Payments received
- Interest and fees
- Whether the consumer qualified for charity care or other reductions
According to the lawsuit, the agency used multiple letter templates that either omitted these disclosures entirely or included only partial language—such as referencing an itemized statement without explaining the full scope of what consumers were entitled to request.
The consent decree resolves the state’s claims without an admission of wrongdoing by the company, which expressly denied the allegations as part of the agreement. Going forward, the company is permanently required to include a standardized disclosure in its medical debt collection notices that clearly outlines each of these consumer rights.
