my husband has been self-employed for almost 8 years now we are a family of 5 with no health insurance,we try to pay as we go.i live in New York State and have doctor bills, only a couple from 1995 to 1999.they totel up to 924.29. they are all in collection.well tonight some guy came to my door and handed me a summomes.its not to appear in court but only to reply to this collection's attorney within 10 days or then there will be a judgment ,so it says. my question to somebody since all you guys give such good advice is call my attorney? call this attorney? whats my sol in my state? i'm not trying to run from this but i dont have this kind of money in 10 days, and i do pay for all dr. expences when they come up,for all 5 of us but it gets expensive,and some of them got left behind.oh and one more thing,if it matters,all of this is from our local hospital.the bills in this.i would really appreciate the advice ,please help us figure this out !!!thy!
well.. how do you think this place is going to find out where you work? they can't take from you unless they know where you work
Contact your attorney and show him the paper that you were handed at the door. No one can get a judgment against you unless you are first served with a legitimate summons to appear in court. This sounds deceptive and wrong. You may end up having a case against them.
I think failure to respond (not necessarily by paying money) could lead to some sort of default judgment.
thanks but one more question if i may, one of these drs has his own office this is back in 95. doesnt he need to give this collection ag.permission to do this or can i call this one dr my self ?? thanks again!!
Is the summons a Warrant in Debt? If so, than it a perfectly legal document and if you don't show up or pay by the court date then you will receive a judgement. Even if you do show up, you will get a judgement unless you pay it in full. If your husband is self-employed, his wages won't be garnished, but if you own any property, then the collection agency can lien that property and that will stay until you either sell or refinance. then you will have to pay the debt plus court costs and interest (which will begin to accrue from the date of the judgement) As for the Dr., if he has turned the account over to collections, he has given them permission to do what is necessary to collect the debt. Hope this helps.
