I am getting ready to pay two Doctor bills that were validated, they are not much, so I am going to send payment in full. My question is, should I send the A&S letter first, then mail payment 5 to 10 days later, send the letter asking for a signature of agreement with the terms, then send payment, or just send the letter with payment? I live in NC, so A&S is strictly enforced.
I was under the impression that the state that you live in does not determine if the A&S is enforced...rather, the state the the original creditor resides. Please clarify. Sweetnsas formerly known as Shantel
Both myself and the creditor live in NC. I do believe you would have to go by where the creditor is located.
Under normal circumstances, it's not advised to send payment and a letter at the same time. It is also not advised to send payment without having received something from them agreeing to the terms. I think it would be up to you to decide what to do. If you are in a state that enforces A&S, then you might want to do the letter, then 5 to 10 days. You should do a search on this website and find the website that talks about A&S. If you do, make sure you put on the back of the check EXACTLY what the website states. You might want to also state in your letter that the state in which the original creditor is in strictly enforces A&S and a breach of contract would open themselves to costly lawsuits.
SweetnSas, thanks for your help, I'll do that. I was nervous about sending payment with letter anyway, I would like to have proof they agreed.
IMO, the state of the debtor is what matters, since if they creditor had to sue to get their money they would have to do it in the venue of the debtor. So, if they sued the debtor and the debtor had send a A&S payment that they cashed, they would have to deal with another state's A&S laws, then sue in their own state? That's too messy. I could not depend on a judge and/or atty that operates in my state to know the A&S laws of the other 50. I am voting for the state of the debtor. I can't find any legal documentation that states a 'sure' answer. Anyone else find anything?
I live in NC and I had a creditor in NC. Just for the record, as long as the check has a conditional endorsement (I use 3 endorsements on check) and the attached letter explaining, it is valid. My endorsement says that if they endorse, deposit, or cash then they are obligated to the stipulations in the letter. My Dr. had no problem with it. The collection agency is giving me a hard time about removing it.
