OK, here we go, I have lurked around here for quite a while and finally pulled my credit report with the intentions to pay that puppy off.... Here is my first problem I am hoping you guys can help me with! I have a medical bill that is giving me trouble. Here is the scoop... About 2 years ago someone called an ambulance (against my wishes, i had NO reason to go to the hospital but the business I was at did it to avoid liablily..long story) SO I was carted off to the hospital and came home with a 2K medical bill for what was nothing more than ibuprofen and a ride in an ambulance. I was between jobs so the insurance wasn't there yet (no COBRA either) We this bill has come back to haunt me as they have given it over to the Credit Bereau on Shreveport (collections division). So, I get a call at WORK one day and its a guy from the "collections division" telling me I have to pay it now or they are gonna file a judgment and take my stuff....blah. I tell him I don't have to pay him a dime and I only have to pay the hospital, he say "well I don't know about that but you have to pay" then goes back into threats of a judgment. I then tell him FINE, send me a bill that details what I owe and that once it is paid it will go off my credit. He say no he isn't gonna do that. FISHY Then a week later a get a bill for 2K from the collection agency. Here is my question. Where do I stand here. I am MORE than willing to pay off the HOSPITAL but not this guy. He won't even send me a statement so I REFUSE to send him a DIME as I feel it will be wasted. I would rather pay the hospital off. What kind of letter can I send here? What can I do? Can he really file a judgment or is he trying to scare me. I am still angry he called me at work. Suggestions? I am open to anything here. Oh yes and I liv ein TEXAS and the collection/hospital is in Shreveport LA...if that makes a difference.
No one can force you to do anything...you could have gone "RMA" - refused medical assistance If the CA owns the debt then you must pay them not the hospital Do not talk to them, insist everything be in writing Request validation in writing, send your request by certified mail, return receipt once it is paid, AND 7 years has passed, then it will go off your report They can report adverse information for 7 years, he is within his rights here Call the hospital and see if they will accept your payment, but as stated above, if they no longer own the debt you will be forced to deal with the CA you need to send the validation letter. you also need to include a "limited cease and desist" request that you only be contacted by mail, no phone calls at home or work! If this CA is typical of his ilk, he will commit violations of the FDCPA (and since medical bills are involved violations of the HIPAA statutes as well) If you document everything and build up a paper trail, you can nail them on these violations to the tune of $1000 per. This will result in it costing them more money to pay you than they stand to collect from you. ** Note - these are somewhat "hardball" tactics, and you cannot start plan of attack without a thorough understanding of the laws. You need to ask questions here before you do anything, and may need to contact a lawyer. Depending on how many assets you own they may or may not go through the trouble to sue you and get their judgment. If you own little, they can't collect anything, although your salary could be garnished!. Not sure about TX, I think their consumer laws favor the debtor, which is good for you, bad for them
Without a statement tieing the CA bill with the original hospital bill, you have no way of knowing if the CA is collecting the amount they are due, or whether they have just added additional charges. Nor do you have any documentation to show what obligation you have paid off if you do pay it off. Some other CA might even try later to collect on the same obligation. Request validation.
Is this a bill from the hospital, or from an abulance service? They would likely be 2 separate bills from two separate entities.
Good point, PLUS. I don't see any entry on my credit report for this. Nothing close. I do have a few small medical entries, possibly stemming from this. My goal here is to avoid the "judgment". I plan to send a validation letter frist to see what comes back(certified/return recipt) Also, I pulled my credit report and want to PAY off alot of the entries as they are small and pointless as they bring down my score, but, on the report (i got a 3 report online) there is no address as to where to contact teh people making the entries on my report. How do I get that information? I do have to write Equifax, TU...... to get the details???
Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP This is good, now if they do make an entry after they have received your request for validation you will catch them in their first FDCPA violation. You can use this as "leverage" in case you need it later on. It is good to want to pay things off, but you want to negotiate the best deal possible - mainly try to get them to remove their entry on your CR in exchange for payment. Remeber a paid collection looks just as bad as an upaid one, and won't raise your scores that much, only time and a good recent history will. You can call or write to the CRA's for the addresses you need
Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP Also note that hospital visits often result in separate bills for the hospital, any physicians, radiology, lab work, etc.
Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP Is there a letter (sample letter) that falls into that catagory? One to get the ball rolling on the smaller items on my report I want deal with to improve my credit score??? So basically I'm stuck with the negative lines on my reports even If I pay them off? I don't want to sound stupid but what motivation does a person have to pay them if it won't help? I want to improve my credit but I don't want to throw money away if it could be better used to improve my credit. I am all about paying off a debt if possible, but I am not going to bend over backwards to pay off an old charged off credit card that has been tossed between multiple collectors. I'd rather focus on improving my score.
Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP On the mutiple bills from the hospital, thats one of my fears. I would rather pay off the people on my report than send some lump some to a person who refuses to send me a bill to breakout what they say i OWE.
Re: Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP Many mortgage lenders require any charge offs to be paid. You want to negotiate and get them to agree to delete their entry if you pay
Re: Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP Until you get validation, the debt does not exist as far as you are concerned. Make that known to them
Re: Re: Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP And there is the MOTIVATION!! What kind of letter would be used when contacting them to negotiate a "deal"?
Re: Re: Re: Re: This sounds FISHY to me...HELP If you make a payment to the CA, and specify what bill you are paying, they must apply it to that bill, not just to whatever bill they may think you owe. You should find this in FDCPA. You can pay one bill while disputing another. The CA cannot just apply your payment to the one you are disputing, and claim you accepted it. Without a bill or statement from them, how can you specify which one you are paying? You should be able to get a full list of the legitimate billers for a hospital visit from the hospital. They know who they forwarded your billing information to.
