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.
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5 comments:
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!
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!
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?
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.
I'm so sorry. I really hope you get this worked out soon.
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