Pay a collection agency?

[turbojimmy]

I got a bill today from a collection agency. It's apparently related to when I had to bring my son to the ER on Xmas eve in 2007. I got lots of bills from that trip to the hospital and paid them all. At $98, this one is a pittance compared to the rest. I'm not great with record keeping, but when I get bills, I pay them. That's how I am. In checking with my bank, however, there's no record of a cashed check in that amount for all of 2008.

I'm extremely pissed off that these people would send my account to a collection agency without calling me or making any other attempt to contact me regarding the outstanding balance.

The same doctor worked on my wife a few months later when she had an emergency appendectomy. I distinctly remember sending a check for that bill but when I checked with my bank for a list of cashed checks that one does not appear either. I'm thinking they suck at book keeping.

In any event, I plan to call the doctor tomorrow and ask them WTF their problem is. You don't just send the account to a collection agency without some sort of due process.

But now I'm wondering what the implications are of just paying the bill from the collection agency? As a matter of principle I don't want to pay those blood-sucking vultures, but in reality it's not going to cost me any more money. The doctor loses because he has to turn over a portion of what they collect. I am concerned, however, that if I pay the collection agency that it's some sort of admission that I ignored the debt and that it will somehow affect my credit rating. I'd rather pay the doctor directly and have them call off the collection agency if that makes the credit rating situation any better.

Anyone know how this works and has any advice?

TIA,
Jim

 

[70Mach1]

The same thing happened to me about 8 weeks after visiting the ER one time. I explained to the collection agency that I had never received a bill. Of course the rude and ignorant person on the line all but called me a liar. Double checked the address it was sent to and they had it wrong, which when your wreathing in pain and they ask silly questions, that can happen.

End result, the person on the other end offered a 20% discount. Most of these agencies do not report to credit bureaus on such small amounts. If it is so little, get rid of it.

 

[RobsIron]

Ream out the doc and pay his office direct.

 

[salvageV6]

I wouldn't pay either of them.

Not without firm proof of the bill and what it was for.

Sounds like they both suck at record keeping.

It will all go off your record anyway in 5 years or so.

I doubt it will be resolved properly if you pay one and the other doesn't get notified, which will probably happen.

I'd also want an apology from the doctors office.

 

[Grimster]

Ask for proof of the bill, then call the doctor/whoever it is you originally owe (when you get the proof), ream them out and make arrangements to pay them.

Also tell the collection agency you will only deal with them via the mail in writing and they are not to contact you in any way other than IN WRITING and that you demand PROOF of this bill.

This happens ALL THE DAMNED TIME when we go to the ER or doctors/etc because they keep trying to bill our OLD address, not just the address we had 5 years ago, oh no, the address we had 12 years ago! And then they try to bill the insurance we used to have, varying from the insurance we had 6 or 7 years ago or the insurance from 12 years ago! It's just damned MADDENING how they do this.

I got a collection letter JUST THIS week, from a May ER visit where they did just this. When you go in you give them your ID, your INS car, yet they STILL bill insurance we haven't had in a DECADE and when that fails they MAIL ME at an address we haven't lived at in 12 YEARS.

These are the people who have your health in their hands.

I've even jokingly asked my lawyer can you sue them for BILLING malpractice? Because if there is such a thing I know our local ER is GUILTY of it, badly.

I pay my bills, I make good money, it just pisses me off to get a call from a collection agency when I have NO FREAKING CLUE about the bill.

Now here's a question, if the "emergency physicians group" can't get my address and phone right, WHY CAN THE COLLECTION AGENCY?

 

[excobraguy]

Hospitals/doctor offices, because of insurance being involved, can not report bad debt to credit bureaus unless they first take you to court and win a judgement. At least in Missouri.........

 

[turbojimmy]

These are the people who have your health in their hands.

The doctor who treated my son exposed him to the radiation of an x-ray TWICE because she was too dumb to recognize the classic signs of pneumonia on the first x-ray. She thought the round spot on his lung was something from the printed image on his shirt so she made him do it again. After the x-ray technician pulled her aside she sheepishly admitted that it was indeed pneumonia. My son's pediatrician was horrified and called the chief of staff at the hospital to have her removed. When I rushed my wife to the hospital a few months later with the appendix problem, guess who was on call? At least she got that one right.

Now here's a question, if the "emergency physicians group" can't get my address and phone right, WHY CAN THE COLLECTION AGENCY?

That's what I find amazing. It was pretty easy for the collection agency to find me. I'm reasonably sure I didn't get any bills from this doctor for my son's care, though I do recall the bills for my wife.

I'm going to call the doctor today and try to straighten it out.

Thanks for all the replies!

Jim

 

[gnxtc2]

I would pay $1.00 a month until paid off on mere principle that they screwed up.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[Junior Samples]

I would pay $1.00 a month until paid off on mere principle that they screwed up.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

ive done that, also i owed ameritech one dollar 26 cents... no lie, they must have spent 10 bucks in postage trying to collect

 

[klrv6]

53 bank tried to collect like $63 on my sentra that had been paid off for over five years. They called and demanded that I pay or it would go to collections. I told them I have had the title in my name with no lien on it for five years. They said it would get turned over to collections if I didn't pay. My response was that the car is very well taken care of and could draw a fair amount at an auction, if they felt I had some financial responsibility to pay them, it would be better for them to repo the thing. I just made them aware that it is in fact my property that would be stolen and I wouldn't hesitate to press charges against whoever steals my car.

Never heard from them again.

If I were you, I would have the doctors office take care of this immediately, let the collections agency go after you and hold the doctor liable for damaging your credit or you could just pay the fee and take it up with the doctor.

 

[87GNSteve]

Just go to the hospital and pretend you cant speak English.
"Undocumented workers" get free medical care donchya know?

 

[turbojimmy]

I talked to the doctor's office. Their advice was to just pay the collection agency and it won't affect my credit. They can't 'take it back' once it gets referred to the agency.

Here's what I think happened, though. They said that they were negotiating with my insurance carrier until April of 2008. Once they squeezed them for all they could, they sent me a bill in April of 2008. At the same time, my wife had the appendectomy and was treated by the same group of physicians. This time they sent me a bill right away - in April. The amounts of the bills were exactly the same since the doctors charge a fixed amount for ER visits and the insurance company covers a fixed amount for ER visits. I probably received two bills from the same doctor for the same amount and assumed they were the same when in reality one was for my wife and the other was for my son. I paid one and discarded the other thinking it was a duplicate. Evidently you only get one notice from them. If you don't pay it, it goes straight to collections without any follow-up (it's not their 'policy' to follow-up, she said).

So, I guess it was just bad timing. I still think they could have provided better customer service by letting me know that I still owed them money, but I guess they're used to doing business with people that don't pay.

Jim

 

[SGRIM]

I was going to say. Once they sale it to a recievable to a company you have to pay the new company... Some doc's office are to lazy or scared to bill you for bs. So they create a bill and sale it to a private firm for usally .10 cent on the dollar....

 

[turbojimmy]

I was going to say. Once they sale it to a recievable to a company you have to pay the new company... Some doc's office are to lazy or scared to bill you for bs. So they create a bill and sale it to a private firm for usally .10 cent on the dollar....

For the $98 I didn't even bother questioning the bill. I know the doctor treated my son. Insurance didn't cover any of it since they only cover what they are legally obligated to cover and ER visits don't fall under that category. I'm not sure of all the puts and takes, but they do pay the hospital for some stuff but not the individual physician. Anyway, I just paid the $98 to make it go away.

I had a situation about 8 years ago with my wife's company where they sent us to a collection agency. I made them take it back - there was no way I was going to deal with a collection agency on that matter. It was tens-of-thousands of dollars that would certainly have impacted my credit. Long story short, they took it back from the collection agency and I paid them directly. What had happened was that my wife left the company voluntarily. 8 months later they changed payroll systems and she started getting paid again. It was direct deposit to an account that we don't use so it took a while to realize it. I just left the money there and tried to get them to stop paying her. It was a gigantic telephone company and the red tape was unbelievable. No one knew how to stop it. Once they did stop it, no one could tell me how to repay them or where to send the money. Next thing I know I get a letter from a collection agency

Jim

 

[NCTyphoon]

I am on a managed healthcare policy from United Healthcare. They negotiate fees with doctors, hospitals, etc. It says plainly on my statements "we have applied the contracted fee. The patient is not responsible for the difference between the amount charged by the physician or health care professional and the amount allowed by the contract, except in situations where there is an annual benefit maximum for this service."
There have been several times when I have gotten bills for the remainder of what was not a negotiated fee. I have always contacted my insurance and they have "reminded" the doctor's offices of the contract.
Ask the collection agency for the exact date, billing code and amount, and what was applied by insurance. Then check your insurance comapny and see what they paid, and if it was a negotaited fee. If it was, I wouldn't pay it, tell the collection agency to take up the matter with your insurance co

 

[scot w.]

Okay I just have to post! Iv'e been following this since it was started.

In 2004 I had a horrific motorcycle accident that left me with a severed RT foot, 5-broken ribs, several deep lacerations, broken colar bone and a blood clot in my lung. Well after 1mo in the hospital and 3mo of being bed ridden at home and having 10 surgery's later.. ($146,000 total) or more, I lost track! Hospitals seem to send out the first bill to me & my insurance co. I think trying to get me to pay something on the first bill, BUT it is supposed to go to the insurance co. first so they can pay there portion THEN the bill is supposed to come to me showing what the insurance co. paid and what my portion is. BUT NO, I get billed over & over. They are tricky! You have to be smart and highlight the case# on the bill because you will be billed SEVERAL TIMES for the same case!! I have several bills that went to collections because all I did was miss ONE payment and BAM! Sent to collections.. NOW the collections people are pure a*sholes!!! They like to TELL you what they are willing to take for a payment!! That is a joke! I love it when they tell me "Sir the least we can accept is $50 a mo." LOL I tell them "Yeah sure! I'm on disability, I lost my job! Wife works part time and we own a house and we have two sons. You will get paid what I can afford and thats that! And if you don't like that feel free to take me to court! I'm possitive a judge would look at my predicament and understand!" THAT CRAP KILLS ME!!

We have recently called every single bill and asked if they have a (Hardship) program. Almost everyone did, Then you send in your earnings and they see if you qualify for "hardship" If so, then the bill is wiped clean!! I had several bills in eccess of Thousands of dollars wiped totally clean just by taking the time and sitting down and filling out paperwork.
I could keep going but it just gets me mad what these collectors do!

Scot W.

 

[whitehot84]

Collection agencies are just speculators in the long run. They buy these past due bills and try to collect what they can. If they buy them for 10 or 15 cents on the dollar and collect the full amount or something short of that they make money.
Their only recourse is to turn it into a credit bureau. Medical bills as small as this one are looked upon as trivial if the rest of your credit is good.

 

[Bweavy]

Collection agency SCAMS

There is a new scam going around. I was tipped off by one of my customers yesterday. There is a fake collection agency that is charging under $100.00 to your old bills stating it was never paid. 99.99% of us just pay it to keep the credit straight.
He is very good about keeping records but paid it. It was bothering him. The fact that he is pretty well to do & has perfect credit made him suspicous.He checked out the collection agency & found out it was a scam.
He didn't tell me how they were able to effect his credit but he was notified when his credit went down.
I'll call him Tuesday & see if I can find out the name of the company that was doing this.
If you think about the amount of $ they are or were making by doing this they are probablly millionaires in a matter of months.