My adult son was unable to work for several months following his illness and hospital stay. He required extensive care from home health for about 3 months. He finally went to work and started making payments on his hospital bill each month. The hospital has turned his balance over to a collection agency. They are now calling and offering a reduced amount to settle or asking him to agree to pay a monthly amount that is more than he can afford. He has a 7 year old son to support as well as trying to save enough money to move out of my home. I would appreciate any help in answering this issue. Thank you.
2006-07-12 03:45:34 · 6 answers · asked by cooncreek 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
It really sounds like you need legitemate legal advice. i highly recommend this service. It is inexpensive and you can get advice on any legal matter. A bunch of other benefits too that I can't mention due to time. Good luck.
2006-07-19 00:51:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your son is not telling you the whole truth!
Your scenario does not make sense- the hospital would never turn over the account to an agency if they were accepting payments from him each month. A more likely scenario is that the account was given to a collection agency because he made no payments to the hospital.
Your son has two routes:
1. He can call the hospital and ask that they reclaim the account from the agency so he can pay (and perhaps ask for an agreeable amount to settle upon). This is unlikely to occur.
2. Negotiate a payoff amount with the collection agency or continue to pay off on a monthly basis with the agency.
And the short answer to your question about legal action: YES, they can take action. Your son is a debtor and legally liable for the debt, HOWEVER, no one really wants to do this, especially the collection agency. They would much rather receive either a lumpsum or monthly payments and will work with your son to do so (in order to earn a profit on the account).
Good luck.
2006-07-12 03:52:57 · answer #2 · answered by cigarnation 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as your son is paying a previously agreed upon amount they cannot take legal action. If the hospital chooses to sell his account to a collection agency, the agency is not allowed to arbitrarily change the terms. It is very important that your son not begin to send more money because he will be agreeing to their terms by performance, and thus can then be bound to the new terms.
Hope this helps!
2006-07-12 04:56:02 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The hospital was evidently not satisfied with the payments it was receiving from your son. That is why they turned the account over to an agency.
Have your son submit a budget to the agency showing his ability to pay and ask them to set up a payment schedule that he can afford and will maintain. Then, when he gets his next income tax refund, he can make settlement arrangements.
2006-07-12 03:53:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. As long as they are getting money, they can't take legal action. Good luck.
2006-07-12 03:50:28 · answer #5 · answered by Jessie P 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
man thats a good one, I need to know the answer 'cause I have some med bills that are pressing!!
2006-07-12 03:49:46 · answer #6 · answered by george 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋