I have a dentist bill for $600. I even have the check made out to pay it when I go back to my home state where the dentist is. (I leave tomorrow) Unfortunately, the day before I am to leave i get a letter from an Attorney trying to collect the 600 plus 200 attorney fee and 31 interest. Just my luck. First question, do I have to pay Attorney fee on a dental bill collection? What are the odds of offering payment for deletion being successful? And oh yeah, in the letter, they state "to insure prompt credit, payment must be made to the attorney and not his client." Sounds like BS in order to collect attorney fee. Cant I just pay the dentist office this weekend as planned and not have any negative reporting on CR? thanks for any advice.
If you plan on paying the dentist the $600 on your return home, you can request that the collection account be recalled. With full payment, the dentist may be willing to do that for you, but get a letter or statement from the dental office. All they'd need to do is give you a receipt for the $600 payment and include a statement that they'll "recall" the account from their collection attorney. The office could add two sentences to your receipt in just a few minutes. Sounds like the attorney is trying to make an easy $200. I'd pay the OC in full. If you've been with this particular dentist for a long time, they'll be interested in keeping your good will especially if they're approached in a diplomatic but forthright manner.
thanks for the advice. I tried to pay OC but it didnt work. My wife who is a dental assistant talked to the lady in the office that handles billing. She told my wife that once it was sent to the attorney, they couldnt do anything about. (which I believe is BS) Can the attorney charge the 200+interest of $35 legally? Seems like they could only charge that if they were to sue. What should my next step be? Demand validation?which I am sure they can get since the debt is mine. It may be worth it to pay the extra 200 in xchange for not reporting to CRA (which they havent done as of yet).
It is BS. Talk to the dentist directly, especially if you've been a long time patient and bring the $600 payment with you. You know your dentist, goodwill can work. There are a lot of health professionals, like dentists, who've accepted barter for their services from handmade quilts to furniture. The attorney is acting in the capacity of collector, his fee plus interest is dependent on your state law *but* any collection account can be recalled. This is why it'd be in your interest to speak directly to the dentist. Dentists have to live too, they've got expenses but it's not unknown for a dentist to be flexible epecially if he/she knows you. It's a difficult economy for people, energy costs are rising, healthcare covers less, and dentists know this too. Be forthright, be diplomatic, and go in and talk directly to the dentist. If you've been encountering some life issues that didn't give you the opportunity to make timely payment, tell them if the reason was job loss of a few months or whatever. Be honest. Goodwill matters on all sides of the equation and the dentist will appreciate that $200 can buy a lot of groceries for someone who may have had a temporary job loss. Explain what happened and ask him/her to recall the account. Talking to the billing person is like talking to the front-line CSR individual at the other end of the line at a corporate call center. They're not necessarily motivated to take up your issue; they just want you to go away. Sometimes you go "up the ladder" because the dentist can overrule the billing employee. Or if you want to explore another route, mail a $600 certified check from a bank with a restricted endorsement on it " For deposit only to the account of Dr. GoodGuy, DDS for account in the name of I Appreciate My Dentist". I doubt the dentist's office would refuse to accept payment in full or return the check to you.
