I live in South Carolina, my credit is nearly ruined from medical bills from me and my 2 kids. I've just recently in the last year or so been able to start paying on them, so i have quite a few on my credit. My friend says they can't do that and its illegal, that she got a lawyer and he told her the same thing and force the company to remove it from her credit. So any help here, websites anything?
2007-10-10 15:58:18 · 9 answers · asked by babygurl 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
I was accepting the fact they were on there, i have so many right now its not even funny, me and my son didn't have insurance for about a year, then i got a job and insurance. Then we decide to have another child, and little did i know the hospital wouldn't accept my insurance, since every little thing they do is a different bill, i'm drowned by them now. I had some i forgot about so they're on my credit, i'm trying to get the ones not on my credit yet paid first then i'll work on my credit its only 3 i think but the bank is killing me with interest on our house and car loan because of it, i mention to my friend from a different state and she told me it was illegal, i figured it wouldn't hurt to see for sure
2007-10-10 16:11:04 · update #1
ad really, Medical bills are out of control. But a necessity. Yes they do count against your credit score. You are allowed to have a certain amount on your credit report. that do not affect you as badly as if it were credit card debt.
If the collectors are hounding you then cease and desist them. If you pay the collectors make sure they offer you a deal you should end up paying less then 100%. DO NOT pay any tacked on fee. If you are paying the original creditor then you will just make payment arraingements on the entire amount.
Best to settle the medical debt or make arrangements to pay.
Since they are already reporting as unpaid and being sold to collectors then it will just keep tearing up your credit report.... until the statue of limitaions has run out. Anytime you comunicate with them it restarts the statue of limitations.
You live in a non garnishment state so as far as consumer protection , thier is not a lot they can do to you so they do try to work with you a little more.... of course the collectors can be a bit more aggrisive ...
Kourtnie Donihoo
Prosperity Financial
2007-10-11 03:23:23 · answer #1 · answered by Kourtnie D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hospital bills do show up on your credit, but sometimes people don't seem to mind them. What affects your credit more is when you have a maxed out credit card. It's good to not owe more then 30% on each of your credit cards available credit limit. When it's over 50% it brings down your credit score even if your paying the minimum balance monthly. Oweing more then 30-40% shows you need a credit card for support. I hope this helpes you...
2016-05-21 02:48:38 · answer #2 · answered by cherish 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you signed those forms saying you would be responsible for payment of those medical bills, then you are responsible for them. If the go to collections, it will show on your credit report. This is perfectly legal in all states and it will adversely affect your credit score just like any debt non-payment.
If it were not your responsibility or be past the 7 year reporting period, you would have some recourse. The only thing you can do now is pay them off.
You may try negotiating settlement for less than full payment. You may be able to settle them for 75% to 50%. Lump sum payment gets better deals. Payment arrangements will have to be short term. Get any settlement arrangement in writing, even if you're paying in full. Don't give collectors access to your bank account.
2007-10-10 16:18:02 · answer #3 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they send the bills to a debt collector, and you still refuse to pay, then that will most definitely go on your credit report. I'm not all too sure about how it works, but I know it goes on the report. I'm not sure about the legality of it all, but I can't really see why it wouldn't be legal as a bill is a bill - you're still owing someone money. (Although trust me, I know how obnoxious medical bills and insurance companies are and how hard it is to get it all paid!)
As an example, a co-worker of mine was going back to school and was unable to get a loan for tuition because she had a $200 medical bill that she didn't even know about because her insurance was supposed to cover it and they didn't.
2007-10-10 16:08:09 · answer #4 · answered by meercat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on the hopsital and the the age of these bills you may be able to get rid of them. In SC the follwing applies to debt:
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS)
Open Acct.: 3
Written Contract: 3
Domestic Judgment: 10
Foreign Judgment: 10
If the hospital was a private hospital then they have 3 years from the date you went default on monies owed to them to haul you into court for a judgement. If this 3 year period has tolled then you have a STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (SOL) defense to avoid judgement. You need to be very sure that there has been 3 years between the time you went delinquent and have had no payments in that time. You can use this to get rid of the Collection agencies.
The hospital can turn you over to a collection agency. The collection agency can report this to the CRAs. If you take time to learn your rights you can take this on and get this cleared up for the cost of certified mail and time. Each creditor you apply with for new credit will view this own their own terms. Either way these collections on your report will drive your score down which in turn will cause you to qualify for higher interest rates.
-Ted
Realtor
Simi Valley, CA
2007-10-10 17:55:03 · answer #5 · answered by Ted 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could write a letter to the credit bureaus asking for an explanation of what is going on with your credit scores & such. Each state has got slightly different rules reg. credit reporting ways.
Please make sure that you keep a copy of the letters, and record the date you had mailed them. If you don't hear from them in a few weeks, write a letter to your local newspaper and TV stations, which will highlight the problem. Hope you get out of the credit mess soooooon.
2007-10-10 16:08:18 · answer #6 · answered by Sreenu 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They can absolutely hold it against your credit. In fact, the Govt has recently made it illegal to file for bankruptcy because of hospital bills. The first step is getting a copy of your credit report and seeing what you have against you. Then just do a google search on how to fix your credit. Good luck
2007-10-10 16:14:42 · answer #7 · answered by jake_in_iowa 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know in IL they do place it on your credit report, but it cannot keep you from getting a loan. When my husband and I went to purchase our house, we had to write a statement stating the fact that some of our collection bills were medical bills from the kids and such. Although they are still on our credit history they did not keep us from getting the loan for our house.
2007-10-10 16:04:19 · answer #8 · answered by ddkmom3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try this site, it helped me repair my credit for real cheap: www.creditrepair101site.com Good luck!
2007-10-11 02:50:52 · answer #9 · answered by Nicki W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have some that are affecting my credit as well.
2007-10-10 16:05:56 · answer #10 · answered by nursekuba 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋