big unpaid medical bills and now debt collecting agency fees!

[Anonymous]

Wow did we mess up or what. We've accrued about $1,400 unpaid medical bills for son #1 in the last two years. Insurance wouldn't pay them. We're in denial and didn't follow through. Now a debt collecting agency is after us for that money plus additional $400 in fees!

I guess we'll have to bite the bullet and pay that in full in the next 30 days. But does anyone know if this added fee is negotiable? My guess is not...

Expensive lesson learned. Have none to blame but ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Talk to the collection agency. I had an outstanding tuition bill (I thought my mom paid, didn't and it was years before I found out with a call from a collection agency), and they negotiated the price down for me, as long as I paid with in so many days.

If you are struggling financially check with social services, they may be able to help you. I had several friends that were either with out insurance, or under insured, and they had help from the county.

[Anonymous]

I saw a report on the news to carefully review the hospital bills because some hospitals may charge you twice for some things. Also, the news report went on to explain that some of the charges are frivilous and can easily be negotiated or deleted. Thirdly, I remember the news report said to question each of the charges if they aren't obvious. I wish I could remember the report to give you the website.

I don't know if that helps or not, but it's worth a try.

Good luck with getting that paid off. That really sucks, doesn't it?

[Anonymous]

Definitely ask! The worst they say is no. But, any reduction will likely be conditioned on you paying by X date. Also, as one of the PP said, look at the bills themselves.

[Anonymous]

At this point looking at the bill probably won't help. The Dr/hospital is no longer collecting the bill from you. The way it works is the hospital sells the bill to a collection agency for a very small percentage (probably $500 in your case). The hospital will then write off the difference as a loss. The collection agency will them take ownership then charge you the full amount plus interest/fees. Because they paid such a small fee for your debt, they are more likely to settle for less (sometimes 50%). However, there is a catch 22 with this. The collection company is not as likely to settle when the debt is still new (they know you're more likely to pay in full to avoid it going on your credit if it hasn't already). If the debt is older (1 year+), they will be more likely to settle because the likeliness of you paying the debt goes down every 30 days so if they settle for half ($700) they will still be up $200.

This all sounds illegal, but it's not. The way they take advantage of consumers is just plain wrong. Before you pay the debt, I would suggest checking your credit report to see if the debt is on there (you can do this for free every year w/ all 3 bureaus at www.annualcreditreport.com). If the collection is already on your credit, you'll be in a better bargaining position, but your credit will be dinged. Also, note that the collection agencies do tend to offer settlements around tax season because they expect that people want to pay off debt with tax refunds.

Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

To OP, you should definitely try to negotiate the amount down. The worst that can happen is that you still end up paying the whole thing. My understnading is that debt collectors are most receptive to lower offers if you can pay the lower amount immediately.

Also, I had to respond to PP.

Anonymous wrote:The way they take advantage of consumers is just plain wrong.

From the context, I asume they refers to collection agencies. OP and others who have to deal with debt collectors are in an unfortunate position. However, OP's family went to the doctor, and then didn't pay the bill. I don't see how you can say that a debt collector collecting a valid debt like this one is taking advantage of her or that collecting the debt is somehow wrong. Everyone needs to start taking more financial responsibility for themselves and their families. The tactics used by some debt collectors may be appalling, but if OP received $1400 in medical services and didn't pay, isn't the medical service provider really the one who was taken advantage of?

This little rant is not directed at the OP who herself recognizes that this is a situation of their own making. I really do hope OP can come to a favorable resolution with the collection agency and can think of this an important lesson learned, albeit the hard way.

[Anonymous]

While it is possible that the doctor sold off the bad debt, it is just as possible that (s)he didn't. So, I would call both the doctor to try to negotiate down as well as the debt collection agency.

Two things to think about. Immediate payment is going to get you a better reduction than say money 30 days out. So, when you try to negotiate, you can offer to pay the bill in full immediately on a credit card in exchange for them dropping the $400. Second, check the information you got from the collection agency carefully to see whether they state a date certain by which your payment must be received or you will be reported to the credit bureau - if so, you want to act well before that date.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

If you dispute that you owe any or part of the amount, tell the creditor that you are disputing the charges and ask for an accounting of the charges. By law, they have to stop calling you ("harassing" you) until the dispute is resolved. This will buy you time to figure out what you may or may not owe, and how to pay it. If you believe some of the charges are in error, contact the medical provider. If you believe your insurance company should have paid for some of the charges, contact them.

If you agree that you owe the money, then tell the creditor that you can pay some of the money but need to work out a deal. Let them make the first offer. Tell them you "need to think about it," talk with your DH, whatever. Go back to them with a counteroffer. This negotiation can include both the amount that you'll agree to pay, and the payment schedule. Make sure whatever you agree to is doable based on your budget. Don't go back to the provider - as others have said, they've sold off the debt and no longer are involved.