In April of 2003 my wife was transported to the hospital by ambulance. When I got to the hospital I gave them all of my insurance information. I thought all the bills were taken care of since I never received a bill from the hospital or ambulance company. I moved 10 months later and my telephone number remained the same. No one from AMR (ambulance) ever contacted me about an outstandinfg debt than had not been paid by my insurance carrier (Pacificare). I is to late to file a claim with Pacificare since it's been over 1 year since the original debt occured. What are my rights and can the collections company go after me? The original bill was for $850 dollars and they say I now owe them $1100 with interest accumulated.
2007-10-24 04:22:34 · 7 answers · asked by Tomas Mora 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
If this debt is over 4 years ago, chances are it might be too late for them depending on your home states statue of limitations regarding past debt (states vary).
No doubt this collection agcy purchased the old debt and is now trying to collect and there are numerous "junk debt" collection agencies around.
Send them a letter for validation of said debt (certified and return receipt) and follow the guidelines in the link I have provided here.
I invite you to join the following Yahoo group where you may find information to help you with this situation.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/dontgetrippedoff/
2007-10-24 05:22:24 · answer #1 · answered by Sgt Big Red 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact those who are billing you and have them file a claim with your insurance company. Yes, collections can come after you. Speak to someone in charge at AMR, a supervisor for example. Tell them that you never received the bill. If you moved, did you file a change of address at the post office? If you did, tell the supervisor that the bill obviously was not forwarded as instructed. Contact your insurance company and find out what your deductible (if any) is on the $850 and offer to pay or make payments on the amount of the deductible. It's only been a year, so they will probably pay. Be nice and don't use foul language or get angry, that will only make your situation worse. Sometimes companies will waive part or all of the interest in unusual circumstances. Whatever you do, start making payments, even if it's only $5 or $10 a month.
2007-10-24 04:41:13 · answer #2 · answered by Sunny 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would first contact your insurance carrier and tell them of this collection agency that contacted you. Make sure to have all documentation in case you have to fax something to Pacificare. Call your insurance rep and explain to them the situation. As far as the debt collection agency, explain to the person handling the case that you acknowledge the debt, and are working with you insurance company to see if they are going to pay some of the expense. Depending on the state you are in you should have at least 30-days to work with you insurance company before you would have to pay. The collection company may also settle for less than the $1100 that you owe in case the your insurance doesn't pay!
2007-10-24 05:05:39 · answer #3 · answered by studrandall17 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first thing you need to do is send a demand to validate this debt. For starters, they have no right to charge interest, and depending on the contract you should not be paying any other collection fees. They need to send you a copy of the contract/agreement you signed.
Then contact your insurance company. Many do not cover ambulance services, or if they do only cover a certain amount. Ambulance companies are notorious for doing a poor job working with insurance companies. If this was not turned in for a claim you may not be able to recover after 4 years. So you need to find out if you are going to be put on the hook for this.
If you are, call the company up and negotiate a settlement. It should include an agreement not to post this to your credit reports.
I have helped several people with ambulance claims...they are the most unreasonable people I've ever dealt with. Don't know what planet leaperpup comes from...but I don't think you are going to reason with these people.
2007-10-24 11:15:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
You should be able to settle for less than 25%. I suggest starting at about 15%. Send the collection agency a letter. Specifically say in the letter than you are not acknowledging the debt but making the offer to expedite removal from your credit report. Ask that an authorized agent of the collection agency sign and return a copy of the letter indicating acceptance of the offer. When you get the signed copy, send them a money order (never give a collector direct access to your bank account). The collection agency may make a counter offer or they may decline. If you can't get them to accept less than 25%, let the debt sit and stew a few more months and send another pay for delete offer for half of your first offer. Collection agencies are more apt to accept settlement offers at the end of the month. They have quotas to make.
2016-05-25 11:34:05 · answer #5 · answered by angelena 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask them to validate the debt, they have 30 days to supply you the proper paperwork, contract, etc,, if they can't show where the debt occured they can't continue to contact or report to the credit bureau. If they do thet are in violation of the FDCRA.
2007-10-24 05:54:34 · answer #6 · answered by outlawimmortal2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
protest this
2007-10-24 04:49:29 · answer #7 · answered by Michael M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋