Mount Baker Imaging - a good company goes bad and it just did not have to be...
A few months ago, Bellingham based Mount Baker Imaging (MBI) referred a bill that I had paid (last year in full) to their Seattle based collection department. I spent some time digging up the proof of payment and called the collection department to prove that I was not the deadbeat client that they had me out to be. At some point in my discourse with MBI, I was offered the consoling information that medical bills unpaid in this country do not impact your credit rating. That was little comfort and I demanded that MBI acknowledge formally (in writing or email) to me that this issue was now resolved.
But they did not.
Then they did the same thing for my wife's invoice. Again, I have the proof of payment but, seeing as Mount Baker Imaging is struggling on the most basic of administrative tasks, I elected to ignore the invoice; they (MBI) have yet to resubmit the bill.
This week, Mount Baker Imaging sent me an entirely new bill. It has four line items (I have rounded out the numbers) all leading to a total owed and it goes as follows:
$ 140.00 dollars for the invoice that I proved that I had already paid back in 2025
plus $1,270.00 dollars for a new imaging procedure, which I certify did indeed occur
plus $1280.00 adjustment (unexplained but likely from the insurance company and almost certainly a credit but it was not registered in the invoice as such)
minus $ 47.00 from the insurance company
The total of the above equals to $1736.00 but they instead billed me $173.60.
So I called the MBI billing department. Keep in mind that Mount Baker Imaging has what? four offices in Bellingham and no others anywhere else in the world. I called the billing department and spoke to a nice man in the Philippines. Think of that, next time you want to support a local business; MBI outsources it's bean-counting to the Philippines and has no connection or contribution to this community than does Walmart. They just suck up the cash and move on.
Today, this issue is ongoing. I have reasoned that the amount owing to MBI is likely:
cancel the $ 000.00 dollars for the invoice that I proved that I had already paid back in 2025
plus $1,270.00 dollars for a new imaging procedure, which I certify did occur
minus $1280.00 adjustment (unexplained but likely from the insurance company and almost certainly a credit but it was not registered in the invoice as such)
minus $ 47.00 from the insurance company
So I sent them a check for 62 bucks.
And, being a little angry, I signed on to the claim against MBI, if only to have some pay-back for the time that this has all taken.
And finally, we have decided to stop using Mount Baker Imaging and to rely instead on Skagit Imaging.
I am not alone. This is stupidity at it's highest level of practice.