BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Thousands of patients at a Kern County health clinic have been warned their personal information could have been stolen.

A break-in happened at the Sagebrush Medical Plaza in July, and Kern Medical Center officials have notified 31,000 patients to take precautions against possible identity theft.

But some patients complain the warning came nearly two months after the information could have been compromised, and they're not getting help the county promised.

"I had some negative credit reporting on my credit report," Marvin Brown said. He recently got a letter from a company in a small Idaho town saying he owes them money. "I've never been to Idaho," he said.

It could be misinformation from some other source, but he's worried -- after he got the warning letter from Sagebrush that his patient information could have been among papers in a storage unit that was broken into.

The letters to patients are dated Sept. 2.

"One or more unknown individuals broke into a locked storage area that contained confidential patient information," reads the letter from Kern Medical Center. Sagebrush is part of KMC, and chief financial officer Fred Plane said they have no idea why anyone would take the paperwork.

KMC officials notified the California Department of Health Care Services about the incident. Plane said the state sent out an investigator who looked over what happened, and what security measures the clinic has taken. He said the state will issue a report, but it's not clear when that will happen. KMC could then face reprimands or fines.

Plane said all patient information has now been moved to a location inside the clinic building. It's located on Columbus Street in northeast Bakersfield.

Plane said the records had been stored in a large, locked metal trailer behind the clinic. He said the papers were patient billing information, not medical records. But, "several boxes" were found overturned The storage unit was in a fenced and gated area. "It had several layers of security," Plane said.

When the break-in was discovered, Plane said it was impossible to determine exactly whose records might have been stolen. That's why every patient who might have been affected was sent a letter.

But as a patient, Brown wonders why he got the letter in early September, when the break-in happened in mid-July. "They could have warned us, they could have told us," he said.

Plane said KMC did their best. "We met the legal requirements of how long we had to report that. But because of county processes it took longer than we would have liked."

The letter to patients says the warning is only as a precaution. "We have no evidence at this time that the break-in was for the purpose of stealing any confidential information or identity theft," it reads. "However, we are making you aware of the incident in case you want to take steps to protect yourself against that possibility."

That's exactly what worries Trisha Villa. "I have three kids there," she said on Tuesday afternoon. "And you're worried about fraud, and all that -- identity theft."

The letter has advice for affected patients. "To protect yourself form the possibility of identity theft, we recommend that you place a fraud alert on your credit files. This is a free service."

But, Brown said he contacted one of the credit bureaus listed on the letter, and he couldn't get a free fraud alert. "I talked to the lady finally from Equifax, and she said that it would cost me to have a credit report."

One of Brown's neighbors is also a Sagebrush patient. She called Experian, and says she was told the credit report would be free -- but she would have to pay for the fraud alert. Neither patient is satisfied.

And, both said they had a hard time reaching the KMC Privacy Officer listed as a resource on the letter. Plane said that office had been flooded with questions, and the officer had "several hundred" calls left in her voice mail.

Plane promised KMC will help the patients, and answer their questions. "If they have concerns -- give us a call," he said. "And be confident we'll get back to them. We're taking down everyone's name and number, and getting back to them, because that's our obligation."