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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mean Debt Collectors

There is one debt collector that has always been very mean to me. She is rude and tells me "I know you can pay this bill!" Or when I set up a payment arrangement she declares "that's NOT enough!"

Listen. I got very sick. I saw a specialist for my pregnancy, a specialist for my cancer, a regular OB, and my regular oncologist. I saw radiologists for xrays, scans, etc. I had test after test and spent DAYS in the hospital. I was in ICU. One night in ICU was well over $14,000. Yes I have insurance but the costs still remaining were HUGE.

For some reason this woman thinks we are rich. Or perhaps she thinks she's the ONLY bill I have to pay. Surprise, it is not. We are paying a little to every single medical bill I have including TWO trips on Life Flight. One of those is $15,000. What it boils down to is we have been making a monthly payment to this collection agency. It's not a ton of money but it has always felt good to me to see this bill going down a little bit at a time.

Until today that is. We were served papers saying we've refused to pay. They are suing us for over $4000. We are supposed to go to court. There is absolutely no way number one that we can pay that bill. No way. A little at a time is hard, much less all at once. The second thing is I have class. No it may not seem huge to some of you. Call in, or something you might think. It's not that easy. It's the night before clinical which means I have to go to the hospital, meet my patient, gather my assignment and get all the info I need to deal with the patient the following day. I cannot do that if I am not there can I? We can miss just 1 1/2 days of Clinical and then we fail. I cannot imagine missing. I need this experience!!! I am learning. Besides we have indeed been paying this whole time. I don't know how they can sue us?

I really don't know the answer to this one but now I am pretty stressed out. This is just one debt collector. One hospital. Insanity.

5 comments:

Quadmama said...

I am so so sorry you are going through this. I can't even imagine the stress involved. When I was pregnant I was on bed rest for 23 weeks... as the "bread winner" it really hurt us to have my salary cut to 2/3 because I had to go on disability. Insurance covered our medical expenses, but everything else went on credit cards. I'm not talking luxuries, I'm talking food, car insurance payments, doctor co-pays. We're still digging ourselves out and it hurts. So many people think that if you have debt you must be a deadbeat. That's simply not the case. Having said all this, here's the most important thing: good luck with clinicals!

Unknown said...

Honestly I would concider contacting a lawyer and getting their opinion on this. If you have proof (bank statements or cancelled checks) proving that you have indeed been paying them, then I don't see how they can possibly sue you for refusal to pay. Is it possible for your husband to go to the court in your place? I really hope this works out for you!

Alison said...

Wow that is horrible. :( I can't believe they served you with papers! I mean we had over a 4k bill with the birth of my first son, which wasn't even paid off till after my second son was born. So over 2 years later. We never got a thing from them even though we paid a little at a time.

Is there a way you can ask to talk to a supervisor over the lady you always talk too?

Melissa said...

I had this happen to me, when I had my son. I must tell you if you do not go to court, they will win the case, get a judgement and garnish your wages, and even your husbands. Go to court, show what you can pay, even if it is fifty dollars a month, and the judge will order you to pay that. The judge will not make you pay a monthly amount you can not afford. The collectors are psycho, not the judges. The worst thing you can do is not show up, trust me on that.

MaryAnne said...

I'm so sorry. I really hope you get this worked out soon.