Hi all! I received a notice to file suit letter on a hospital bill for $230.00. I was planning on starting communication for payment arrangements next month, but I'm unsure of what to do about it. The letter stated that they will file suit on Sept. 25th unless full payment is made (which I'm not sure if I can), and had an attorney name on it. Can anyone give me some advice on what I need to do about this? Thanks! Eric
RE: Notice to File Suit..Help Call the Lawyer and make payment arangements, They will rather take $25.00 a month than spend $2000.00 going to court after a $230.00 debt
RE: Notice to File Suit..Help Was the law offices representing the hospital or a collection agency? I would suggest calling the hospital's accounts receivables dept. and seeking a payment plan with them, and have them call off the dogs. Find if this account is being reported to the credit reporting agencies. If so, make repayment in return for removal a part of your willingness to pay this bill. (They don't always agree to this, but you must try) It's amazing the lack of compassion in the health industry. Peace, BarryN
RE: Notice to File Suit..Help Here's some advice - pay the bill! Do you really want to ruin your credit over $230. This amount is so small and frivolous, it seems absurd that you can't get the money together to pay this bill. Do you work!
RE: Notice to File Suit..Help datadad, maybe you should get your data straight. He said he was planning on making arrangements to pay the money, He doesn't want to ruin his credit. He just doesn't have the full amount. This amount may be "small and frivolous" to you, but for many people, it is not. next time read the message, and don't attack those who post for help!
Thanks Me! Thanks me! Sometimes people can be so rude. I'm planning on paying it...that wasn't the problem. I just got this in the mail and was unsure of how to handle it. Thanks again Eric
RE: Thanks Me! I am sure that you had good intentions on paying the debt, however, noone can sue you unless they have attempted to collect the debt and you didn't pay in the past. The best thing to do when you receive the first notice is to contact the agency and make payment arrangements. (I used to work in hospital collections and have accepted $10.00 monthly payments from people who had bills in the thousands of dollars.) As long as you show some kind of good faith payment every month then most agencies will work with you. However, when you ignore the notices, you will usually be sued. Even if you have every intention of paying the debt, the agency doesn't know this because there is no communication from you. As for the cost of suing you, when a judgment is placed against you, you are responsible for the court costs and interest will begin to accrue on the debt also. I urge you to contact the attorney to see what arrangements can be made before you end up paying 3x what you owe, or have your wages garnished. Or worse yet, if you own any property, the hospital can choose to place a lien on the property for the amount of the judgement. (If that happens and you don't pay, when you go to sell the property or refinance, you will be forced to pay the debt and costs incurred, even if it is 20 years later)
RE: Thanks Me! No, I haven't heard of the STATUE of limitations, but I have heard of the STATUTE of limitations. That will mainly apply to the length of time in which a creditor has to file suit. Once you obtain a judgement and place a lien against property, that will remain indefinately.
RE: Notice to File Suit..Help This is indeed a very small amount. There will come a day when Eric will want to buy a car (presume $20,000+), a house ($150,000+), and various other "big ticket" items. How will he ever manage these larger debts, if he can't figure out what to do with a $230 hospital bill. I'm curious to know if you have past credit problems?
RE: Thanks Me! In addition to placing liens on property (real estate, cars, boats, etc) a company will immediately begin to garnish wages. This is really something you want to avoid because depending on what line of business you are in, the employer may terminate the employee. Also, depending on the state, spouses are equally responsible for the hospital bill unless it is for mental health services. This means that if you are married, then your spouse will usually be named a defendant in the suit as well. If they own any property, then it can be liened. If they are employed, their wages can be garnished. In most states, they have about 8-10 years to find your employer and garnish wages. If the person refuses to give any employment information, then the creditor will pull a credit report and begin contacting the companies on the report to do a skiptrace. If the companies participate in skiptracing, then they will release any information such as address, place of employment, etc. If all of these fail, then the creditor can petition the court for what is called an interrogatory. This means that the person has to appear before the court and answer why they have not paid the debt and ask them for their employment information. (This is usually only done in extreme cases for large debts). I cannot stress enough how important it is to contact a collection agency as soon as you recieve a notice. If they are a fair company, then they will have no problem working out a reasonable payment arrangement. Communication is so important becuase if you do not contact them, they will assume you are not going to pay and will be forced to pursue legal action. I know there are plenty of collectors out there who are out for blood, but any respectable company will work with you as long as their is an understanding that the debt is owed and needs to be paid.
RE: Thanks Me! I agree that the $230.00 Hospital bill must be paid however what you are saying in previous post is very extreme to collect a debt of that amount. Anyone would agree that If you get a bill for let say $100.00 any of this will probably not happen. The Creditor, Hospital or anything else would have to be hard up to spend tons of money to go after $100.00. Also I want to note that you previously did this for a living this is not to attack you but I hope you are now doing something else with your life what you do in life reflects your personal character and you owe it to yourself to have more of a respectable occupation.
RE: Thanks Me! This is where a lot of people are wrong and end up getting sued. While you may think it is extreme to file suit for $230.00, it actually is not. You don't have to have a lawyer to sue in civil court, just a representative from your company. (usually one of the collectors or a supervisor) It costs about $50-$100 to file suit. And remember, the creditor doesn't have to pay that, they will recover it from the debtor. Also, once a judgement is rendered in the company's favor, they can begin to charge interest on a daily basis. So actually, the hospital is making money, even on a $100.00 judgement. The company I worked for filed suit on anything that was over $50.00. It is a good strategy when you think about it. Most people have your mindsight-that they won't be sued for such a small amount. Since most people are not going to ruin their credit over a small debt, when they get that warrant in debt for that $100.00 hospital bill, they are more than likely going to run to the hospital and pay ASAP. The hospital is not losing any money because since you let it go that far and you signed an agreement before recvg treatment, you are now responsible for the court cousts. The hospital loses no money, and if paid before the court date, the warrant is dismissed so no judgement against the consumer. As for my career, yes, I am doing something different. I work in management at a major credit card call center. (Some of you of course may consider that worse than being a collector! haha). Anyway, I am not ashamed of being a collector, because I was very fair and never deceptive. Odd as it was, I received several compliments from my debtors because I was human and not ruthless. A lot of the people were on fixed incomes and I accepted what they could afford (even $5-$10 monthly pymnts) I let the debtor make the choice as to what would happen next. People have to remember that hospitals need to make money or they cannot operate. I don't agree with the rising cost of health care, but if you owe someone money for treating you during an illness, it is only fair to pay up. After all, whether you are an auto mechanic or a doctor, you go to work with the expectation that your customers will pay your company's fees so you can get your paycheck. How is this any different?
