(Un)Pleasant Surprise..

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:54 am

hey all, been a couple weeks since I've been around...came home after being away for two day yesterday...had a long day work and came home to a $2500 collections notice from our local hospital...and get this...its from a minor surgery i had FIVE YEARS AGO...we settled it like 4 YEARS AGO...perfect way to start the weekend. this would explain why my credit score has been lower than expected.... no bills no notices, no phone calls for 5 years....friggin lovely.

Post by **mr tibbs** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:02 am

5.9Limited wrote:hey all, been a couple weeks since I've been around...came home after being away for two day yesterday...had a long day work and came home to a $2500 collections notice from our local hospital...and get this...its from a minor surgery i had FIVE YEARS AGO...we settled it like 4 YEARS AGO...perfect way to start the weekend. this would explain why my credit score has been lower than expected.... no bills no notices, no phone calls for 5 years....friggin lovely.

Holy hell, have you moved in the last 5 years? I guess everyone is out for money now a days.

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:25 pm

thats for sure...I just don't get it....A) We settled the debt for far less than that ammount because my insurance covered some of it. and B) where do you get off dissapearing for five years and then popping up demanding your money, now? its perfect considering Im only working 16 hours a week and looking for a PT job till spring...so no matter how you look at it, they aint getting paid

Post by **Wakeup** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:19 pm

Ya you dont have to pay...(well not that you don't) but it won't hurt you to not pay...my sister used to work in the medical system...

Just tell them you settled a long time ago 5yrs etc...And say no.

Post by **Jacampb2** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:51 pm

Whatever you do, make sure that you tell them that it is not your debt, and that you paid it previously. You must respond, and never, ever admit that you owe them any money. In a lot of places, failure to reply is considered as admittance of debt. It may be stated in the notice that you have xx number of days to reply or it will be considered a valid debt and pursued. A lot of collections get sold from company to company for pennies on the dollar, one of which finally decides to try to hit the lotto. Keep in mind also, that even if it is bad debt (really something you defaulted on), that there is always a statute of limitations on collecting that debt. It varies state to state, but a common trick is for a CA to send out a notice if the debt is close to passing the statute, or even is past in some cases, and if you ignore it, it can reset the clock all over again.

I would suggest that you send your reply via certified mail and not make it over the phone. They can say you said anything in a phone call, I have heard horror stories about CA's opening a new account and beginning billing all based on a imaginary phone conversation. Then the debt is on your CR and if you don't pay it, will make your life even worse.

If you send a certified letter, stating in no uncertain terms that it is not your debt, and that you owe them no money, then if anything shady happens, and you end up in court, you have said letter to back up that you never admitted to any debt...

I went through a similar load of shit with "portfolio recovery" CA. Evidently they are one of the worst in the business. They tried to recover a debt that I supposedly owed in y2k or so. The debt was not mine then, and I petitioned the credit bureaus to have it removed from my CR in 2002, which it was. I did have some severe credit problems at that time, but I paid off everything it early 2002. Anyhow, these shit bags have made themselves quite infamous. I googled them and found thousands of stories of shit done that was down right illegal.

Good Luck,
Jason

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:45 pm

thanks Jason!! its good to hear past experiences from folks. And don't worry, I in no way was ever planning on admitting the debt. The bill came from an out of state collections agency that i've never heard of, and last I checked, our local hospital has its own collections dept...I've dealt with them too in the past....but again . Thanks for you help man, its much appreciated!!

Adam

Post by **stipud** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:50 am

*hugs my universal health care tightly* From my cold dead hands.

Man, I really feel sorry for you guys. It's so nice to not have to worry about that stuff. It's not like you CHOOSE to get sick, so why force people into bankruptcy because of it? Ridiculous.

OldSchoolFool · Post by **OldSchoolFool** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:35 am

It's not just medical stuff that gets collected.

If you EVER deal with an organization over BIG bills, no matter who they are- save all the paperwork for 7 years minimum. Especially if your dealings have any hint of collections: you are dealing with special department, you cut deals, etc.

I paid off a credit card when I was 19. It had already gone to their special department, but had not gone to collections. Did 19 year old OSF save any paper, hell no. Decades later they still send me letters.

When they call, I discuss it with them as long as possible. 15 minutes is my record. Then I gently tell the nice collector that his time is worth more than the cut he gets off of $200 in credit card debt. Then I ask him what it feels like when his victims waste HIS time and money. 'click' every time.

GET IT IN WRITING what your deal is, and save the receipts. Use certified letters, the whole meal deal. Basically, lawyer up for your own ass.

Post by **VW337** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 1:02 pm

OSF i love the avatar......

5.9 - little known fact, if you have medical debt and it is not a self imposed bill such as a boob-job or some such, but valid medical expense, the bill can not be used for harmful credit reporting. They may post the total debt as owing, but that is it. As for people pulling your credit an amount owing can not not be used as a fault in any way except debt to income rations.

If it is an out of state company calling you, do yourself a favor and contact the original source of billing, aka hospital, private practitioner, and ask them to fax or mail you your billing history. There may be a small fee involved $35 or so but you will have it on record for the purposes of telling the collections agency where they should begin kissing your rectum.

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:53 pm

thanks VW. The whole situation's a little crazy. here's the lowdown...

My surgery was very minor and is considered cosmetic. You wouldn't be able to tell by looking them, but the webbing on my hands comes up higher than it does on most people. Don't get me wrong its not like Im a duck or something, but on my left hand, the webbing between my ring and middle finger came up high enough that I could only get a ring just past the knuckle, and it was uncomfortable. So I had it cut back about 3/4's of an inch so I could wear my wedding ring. The doc was really cool he lowered the operation expense to from $2500, to $500 as long as I paid in full before the surgery...turns out he had aheart and liked my story.

however he didn't tell me that I'd have to pay the hospital for the general anestesia...a separate 2500 bucks...we settled for less, started payments and then the bills stopped when we got insurance... its all good I'll handle it...again.. thanks for the help and advice though ...great to have.

Adam

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:38 pm

dont u just luv captialism????its like those circular bag turnstiles at walmart, they bag it and spin it, sooo easy to miss your items, then they put it back on the shelf and resale if you forget it( just my theory)

i still think they should of given every us homeowner that 815 billion instead of the aholes who cant even manage it, jmho, goodluck 5.9

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:55 pm

yeah walmarts crazy like that...I felt stupid for leaving bags of stuff like 3 times in a row...till my wife and I were there one day and I was really making sure to get all my stuff... so I turned the bag holder... the cashier stopped it and said "can I help you" I said " I think Im missing a bag or two, just want to make sure to get all my stuff... " she replies sternly, " you have all your items sir" ... I know I don't so i look her dead in the eye and turn it again...and guess what..!!! two bags, with the two most expensive items I was buying..don't tell me she was trained to do that... pissed me right off..

capitalism is ridiculous...and yes...if you want a stimulous that will work...wantme to have money, and spend it? to support local businesses and help others keep their jobs? than give me the money!! not the credit companies and auto companies taht have screwed me for years on end!! forget the greedy bastards that boned their own compaines to the brink of failure. why should my tax dollars bail them out?

don't get me wrong, it sucks when people lose jobs..but If MY boss blows it and I lose my job, can I can the CEO of GM and ask him to bail me out? don't think so. no matter how you look at it, we live in a messed up world... and with the stimulous plan Obama's proposing, and where the moneys going,,,and the ideas he has for it, i think we're in for a long four years.

rlockwood · Post by **rlockwood** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:12 pm

I've got the same deal on two of my toes dude.. webbed up to the knuckle. Its sweet, i can swim so fucking fast..

5.9Limited · Post by **5.9Limited** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:06 pm

tahts funny wood. my second and third toes on both feet are webbed past the knuckle...still hard to notice...i caught a lotta flack for it as a kid but who cares.....watch out michael felps, here I come.

(Un)Pleasant Surprise..

(Un)Pleasant Surprise..

Re: (Un)Pleasant Surprise..