I posted a few days ago regarding a surgery (11K) that is in collections that I wasn't sure how to handle. Now it seems the hospital has decided for me.....I received this letter in the mail yesterday, and boy am I scared/pissed. Dear X- Re: 11K owed to General Hospital Service Provided to: X (me) Invoices: (specific numbers listed) Dates of Service: 7/31/1, 6/18/1, 9/21/1 General Hospital's business records show that you owe 11K. This letter tells you how to pay and what General Hospital will do next if you do not pay. Make your check or money order for 11K payable to General Hospital at the following address. Delivery will be delayed if your payment is mailed to any other address. If you do not pay this amount within 30 days, General Hospital will file a court case against you. The case will not be dropped if you make monthly payments because this debt is seriously overdue. (Then they have the paragraph about them assuming debt is valid unless rec'd within 30 days after receipt of letter.....I should add this was sent regular mail.....then it states they will obtain debt verification should I dispute, and then the little line about "attempt to collect a debt, etc". Letter is signed by the general counsel of the hospital, F.C. Dickweed Jr, Atty-at-law. I did a quick check and verified his creds. They're valid. What in the world do I do now? Is there any way going to court can be avoided? A judgment would be the kiss of death right now, as I'm trying to rebuild. I should add that this case has been in collections for about 1.5 years. I initially made a payment agreement with them when they first contacted me, but then got overwhelmed with debt and that surgery was the least important thing my paychecks were going for. As I said in my other post.......I want to pay this bill, but I'm just now (after 3 years of piss poor management) getting my finances squared away. I have not had the money prior to this. Please help!
Make them an offer over a period of time which you can afford, and politely explain that if they do not wish to accept this you will be filing bankruptcy instead. This generally receives a favorable response. Good luck.
Go talk to them about a payment plan and work it in your budget. You are limited on your choices. Talking to them is always the best before it gets to a CA or a lawyer files.
Jen, I agree with someone up above. You need to make two things plain to them...1) You're judgment-proof and prepared to file BK and 2) The best they can hope for is a meaningful payment toward the debt. I would file BK before I let them get a judgment against me and garnish my wages.
If they are attempting to collect a debt, they would be classified as "debt collectors" and should fall under the FDCPA regulations. Read FDCPA 805 - 809 to see if something helps. Request a debt validation, at least to get some more time, until you figure out what to do. JMHO
This would be the logical thing to do, but sometimes creditors would rather cut off their nose to spite their face. (meaning they actually push you into bk, rather than accept a reasonable payment plan) So don't be surprised if they don't go for it.
Doesn't apply if it's the hospital (the OC) who's trying to collect. Most hospitals are pretty lenient in their collection arrangements. Talk with a Patient Advocate at the hospiital and see what can be worked out.
I'm actually gnashing my teeth and wearing sackcloth trying to decide whether or not to file bankruptcy. I'm consulting with two different attorneys this week (both friends) that work with bankruptcy on a consistent basis to see what they think after looking at my file...... I just have so many negatives on my CR I find it hard to believe that I could EVER dig out without bankruptcy. It seems like it will take YEARS to get everything off, if anything, and in the interim I just could've filed and started rebuilding. I contacted a friend of mine at the hospital today and she says this attorney is a total fiend who will stop at nothing to make you pay AND is notorious for getting you in court as well. I'm starting to really think I need a lawyer as it is......any feedback?
I think you should consult a lawyer. It sounds like you have some friends that are lawyers, so lay it all out for them and see what they say.
I think the best thing to do is to nicely contact the OC's billing dept, tell them your just now getting back on your feet financially and would like to try to make some sort of payment agreement to stop the lawsuit. Let them know that if they don't agree to somethign, the only thing they will be gettign from you in the future is BK papers...
