Can I sue a collection agency?

I'm being harassed by Access Behavorial Care's collection agency called Montgomery Lynch and Associates. They had claimed 3 weeks ago that I owed over $300. I had stop going to Access 2 years prior. After a few calls with my ins. co. on the phone with them and myself we finally got a representative at the collection agency to agree after receiving all the info that my claims were all paid. But the agency refused to send me a hard copy proving that.

Now 3 weeks later they sent me another collection letter!! Saying I owe over $200 and when I told them of how myself and my ins. co. called them and what the results were they acted like they didn't know anything about it. They also kept saying that they could not speak with me. They hung up on me 2 times and the second time my ins. co. was on the line too.

The prior owner of Access Behavorial Care obviously went under and he/she is trying to collect. I did find out that they are closed and 4000-5000 of their prior patients were sent bogus bills by Montgomery Lynch and Associates.

I'm being constantly harrassed and they are trying to extort money from me. I'm fed up. I have no money to start a lawsuit against either one of them, though I would really like to have one againt the collection agency more than ever for the emotional trauma they are putting me through. BTW, these two places are located in Cleveland Ohio.

Can anyone help me?
Thank You

What to know about collection agencies:

1. As they say in the fine print: Anything verbally said can and will be used against you. What they don’t say is that verbal promises by them will not be enforced because you’ll never be able to prove that they promised you something.
2. Credit Agencies are designed to harass you by phone, mail or by ruining your credit. They are not designed to resolve legitimate disputes or litigate complex issues. They work on volume, knowing that they will collect $XX out of every $100 submitted to them. Be difficult, and they will not know what to do with you.
3. They are federally regulated. That means they put all that small print on their letters saying your rights.
4. You rights include the right to dispute the debt within 30 days of your notice, and to insist that they communicate with you only in writing.
5. The trick is to do it in writing. Dispute the debt, insist that they do not call you, do it in writing by certified, return receipt mail and they have to comply.

Laughtrack, your answer lies in point #5.

Good luck!

Thanks!
Laughtrack