i have been making payments on what i can and when i can on a hospital bill and was reported to a collection agency within 3 months of not making a payment, yes i know my fault but when i called the other day and tried to set up a payment plan they wanted more than i could afford and basically told me if i cant pay the obligation then send what i can but they will still report me. I asked if they would rather not get any money at all and she said "that is not what i said" but basically it was. Why would i pay and they still report me as dilinquent? Can they do this? and i was making an effort to pay them?
2006-12-13 08:54:07 · 6 answers · asked by already_the_one 1 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Other - General Health Care
State laws vary on this. Some things to be aware of. Many credtors don't look at medical collections as harshly as some other kinds of debts. Also any collector, especially a collection Agency will pay hardball with you. Therefore you must play hardball with them. Generally any attempt to make a payment on a debt cannot and will not be refused, because in some states and cases the debt becomes uncollectable if they do not accept your payment. With that said, try to call back and talk with a supervisor and sset up a payment plan. You will have to sign something and don't miss a payment or if you must CALL them before it is due. IN no case should you agree to make more then you can, ever. If you cannot get them to be at all reasonable, report them to your state's agency which handles this, or your state Attonrey Generals office. You can aslo tell them not to ever call you again as you are paying what you can. In many states they must comply. Some states are more collecotr friendly and others are more cosumer friendly. A lot of BLUE states protect consumers better than many of the RED states. Odd huh? Not really. This is not an absolute, because TX is generally good about protecting the consumer and it is BRIGHT CHERRY RED CONSERVATIVE.
In any case there are laws that keep them from harrassing you and in most states they cannot garnish your wages for med bills.
Collection Agencies can be terrible and many skirt or break collection laws, if they push, push back. Do what you can all you can and then relax.
Also if they put it on your credit file and it is otherwise OK, no biggie really. You can aslo have a statement put in your file that you are paying them and they reported you anyway. You are allowed to do that.
With all that said. You should pay what you can and pay it off, you do owe it.
Best of luck!
2006-12-13 09:13:23 · answer #1 · answered by rumbler_12 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am pretty sure it affects your credit score in some way. If all you can do is send $5.00 a month, go ahead and send it. At least trying to pay something on it every month will look better on your credit report. I suggest looking into taking the Finanical Peace University class by Dave Ramsey. He shows you how to get out of debit and build wealth.
2016-05-23 20:41:26 · answer #2 · answered by Dorothy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most places will work with you, as to why the hospital will not, I am not sure. I would suggest that you call again and ask to speak with a supervisor and explain your situation. If you are sending some amount of money a month, to me, that is better than just ignoring the bill and not paying it. You have to understand the hospitals position though, they probably get hundreds of calls a month telling them exactly what you are telling them.
2006-12-13 09:05:43 · answer #3 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The previous answers are right. If you send them a check every month, even if it's only for $10, your still making a good faith effort.
But, never, never give them your bank account information for an "automatic payment." They can take more than you told them to, and it's still legal because it's a valid debt. That can really mess up your checking account balance.
2006-12-13 09:16:15 · answer #4 · answered by Emmy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes they can, though often if you contact them, you can work out a payment plan. I did that when I had my gall bladder out. The bill came to about $700 even WITH insurance, so I called them up and asked if I could split it into 4 payments, and they said that was fine.
2006-12-13 08:56:19 · answer #5 · answered by ndtaya 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
skipping months at a time in making a payment is not considered a good faith effort to pay, that is why they can report you. Even if you only send them twenty dollars a month, if you do it without fail every single month, then you are making a good faith effort to pay and they cannot report you as delinquent.
2006-12-13 09:08:03 · answer #6 · answered by essentiallysolo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋