Anyone have experience dealing with a debt collector? I was hit with a fraudulent charge by a doctor more than 5 years ago and now I am being harassed by a debt collector.
I cannot afford to pay this charge (almost 1,000 dollars) nor do I feel like I should have to pay (because it is fraudulent). I tried fighting it but the doctor refuses.
What should I do? I don't want it to hit my credit score. Since it's not a high amount, will they just forgive it eventually?
Good chance they'll forgive it. See if they'll take a much lower amount like $100. That's worth not potentially taking a hit to your credit score if you need a loan soon.
Google "pay for delete".
For an amount as low as this, it's not worth paying for an attorney to try to legally challenge it, you are better off talking to the collection agency directly and attempting to negotiate a lower amount. This will NOT go away. A couple years ago I woke up in the morning to an "account balance below minimum" email to find that I had had several thousand dollars taken from my checking account by a judgment against me that I was totally unaware of stemming from a credit card from college. Even though it was no longer on my credit report, it was still valid in court. It's not worth it, just face it and deal with it. Even if you cannot pay it at once, they'll set up a payment schedule for you.
When you make a deal to play a lesser amount, like your $100 on $1000, they may very well take it...and then sell that $900 debt you didn't pay to someone else, at which point that agency will deal with you, and then sell the balance.
If you go down that path, you better get it in writing that the "gap amount" will not be sold for further collections. They are usually packaged together and sold in blocks of collections for pennies on the dollar.
Five years without hearing anything is a bit odd though. Go find a credit cleanup forum, they probably have much more specific advice.
I claimed bankruptcy in the '90s and that is how I learned about some of this stuff (very irresponsible as an early 20 year old).
I imagine it would cost more for them to hire attorneys to collect it than the charge amount is for. Is that how it works?
Medical debt sometimes goes on your credit report, sometimes not. Right now most of it isn’t because of the CARES act.
I can’t imagine any scenario where a collections agency would use a lawyer and try to collect on something under $1000. If you didn’t pay it the likely scenario would be it eventually hits your credit report and then it goes away in 7 years. Collections agencies buy the debt for pennies on the dollar, knowing they won’t be collecting a large chunk of it. That is how their business practice works.
Eventually it hits your credit report and they stop calling you. And one ding won’t ruin your credit score. I had 2 medical bills reported on mine and it’s still over 700.
Check your statute of limitations. Some jurisdictions on debts over certain amount of time old in which there was no effort on the creditor to collect become void. HOWEVER if by any chance it is "resurrected" (for lack of a better term) by you acknowledging it after a new collection effort begins, the debt becomes valid again. Check out your state law and see what it says.
Good luck!
Check the statute of limitations for breach of contract in your state. If the debt is stale due to the statute of limitations running, the debt collector is violating the Fair Debt Collection Act. Also, study up on the FDCA. Debtors have a lot of rights to be free of harassing debt collection practices.
Medical providers generally do not report to credit bureaus. But if they sell the debt to a collection agency, the debt will more than likely be reported. Once it is reported, it is very difficult to dispute it with the bureau and get it taken off. The bureaus are pretty reluctant to take action based on a consumer complaint. They bureaus make most of their money from businesses that report to them. They do not like to bite the hand that feeds them. But there are remedies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for consumers who believe that the negative reporting is not accurate. Study up on that one too.
Finally, you need to be careful that you do not get sued. If you get sued and lose, the debt collector, depending on your jurisdiction, may be able to get attorney's fees awarded and may be able to garnish your wages.
doctorj wrote:
Check your statute of limitations. Some jurisdictions on debts over certain amount of time old in which there was no effort on the creditor to collect become void. HOWEVER if by any chance it is "resurrected" (for lack of a better term) by you acknowledging it after a new collection effort begins, the debt becomes valid again. Check out your state law and see what it says.
Good luck!
If it's past the statute of limitations, then what do I do? You said if I acknowledge it then it becomes valid again. Do I just ignore it and they can't do anything about it?
Are there rules they have to abide by before it hits my credit score? Like do they need to send me 3 letters before they can escalate?
it's five years old. ignore it for another two years and it will go away. If it's medical chances are they can't report it due to HIPPA anyway.
I was a debt collector in another life. First, as suggested, check the statute of limitations (SOL) in your state - they can still ask you for the money, but if they try to start legal action you claim SOL and it will be dismissed. Any decent firm would shut the case once they see you are outside the SOL. Be warned, if you make any sort of payment, this restarts the clock, even $1. I would also recommend sending a letter stating you dispute this debt and you want to see proof. You can also ask they don't contact you (but they can then go right to legal proceedings or report on credit if they wish). Also as suggested, especially if this debt has been sold, a lot of times they will negotiate for a lower amount. Make sure if you do this you get a letter stating the account has been settled in full in case the account for some reason is sold down the line. Also be warned when you settle, then can send you a tax form and the IRS will look at the amount they "forgave" as income, so it can hurt you at tax time.
olddebtcollector wrote:
I was a debt collector in another life. First, as suggested, check the statute of limitations (SOL) in your state - they can still ask you for the money, but if they try to start legal action you claim SOL and it will be dismissed. Any decent firm would shut the case once they see you are outside the SOL. Be warned, if you make any sort of payment, this restarts the clock, even $1. I would also recommend sending a letter stating you dispute this debt and you want to see proof. You can also ask they don't contact you (but they can then go right to legal proceedings or report on credit if they wish). Also as suggested, especially if this debt has been sold, a lot of times they will negotiate for a lower amount. Make sure if you do this you get a letter stating the account has been settled in full in case the account for some reason is sold down the line. Also be warned when you settle, then can send you a tax form and the IRS will look at the amount they "forgave" as income, so it can hurt you at tax time.
Statue of limitations is 6 years and I'm at 5 years and 3 months. Very close.
Someone above mentioned if I acknowledge the debt my statute of limitations starts over, is that right? Does that mean if I call the debt collector and talk with them it will reset the clock?
feel the bern wrote:
Anyone have experience dealing with a debt collector? I was hit with a fraudulent charge by a doctor more than 5 years ago and now I am being harassed by a debt collector.
I cannot afford to pay this charge (almost 1,000 dollars) nor do I feel like I should have to pay (because it is fraudulent). I tried fighting it but the doctor refuses.
What should I do? I don't want it to hit my credit score. Since it's not a high amount, will they just forgive it eventually?
1) The debt collector likely bought the debt for pennies on the dollar. They likely have NO contact with the doctor at all. If you REALLY don't believe you owe this money, tell the collector that you do not owe it and you will NEVER pay it. They will eventually quit bothering you.
2) You should not give a crap about your credit score. A credit score doesn't show how good of a person you are. It ONLY means you can borrow money at lower rate. So what. Plan to not borrow money. Also, if you have revolving credit (credit card) that you pay regularly and other loans like student loans or a car loan, this $1,000 won't do much.
So how does it even work? If I want to pay the amount, do I pay the doctor or do I pay the debt collector?
If the debt collector bought the debt, then I can't pay the doctor, right?
feel the bern wrote:
Anyone have experience dealing with a debt collector? I was hit with a fraudulent charge by a doctor more than 5 years ago and now I am being harassed by a debt collector.
I cannot afford to pay this charge (almost 1,000 dollars) nor do I feel like I should have to pay (because it is fraudulent). I tried fighting it but the doctor refuses.
File complaints in every way against the doctor quack.
Keep filing them and complaining until everything has been corrected and made right.
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Do not pay for anything you didn't agree to and don't owe.
If they call to harass you, hang up immediately and continue to file more complaints.
feel the bern wrote:
I imagine it would cost more for them to hire attorneys to collect it than the charge amount is for. Is that how it works?
They file dozens of cases at once which makes it worth it. In most cases the defendant never shows up and they get a default judgement. If you actually show up in court and ask to see proof that you actually owe the claimed amount, they will dismiss the case. Because the debt collectors don't actually have any proof, all they have is a spreadsheet with names, contact info, and amounts supposedly owed.
Don’t worry about it. Answer the phone. Give them no information whatsoever. When they finish talking tell them to never call this number again then hang up. Block the number on your cell and get back to life.
Bum. wrote:
Don’t worry about it. Answer the phone. Give them no information whatsoever. When they finish talking tell them to never call this number again then hang up. Block the number on your cell and get back to life.
Is this legitimate advice or are you just trying to get me in trouble?
I want to do what you say, as long as it doesn't screw over my finances.
Bum. wrote:
Don’t worry about it. Answer the phone. Give them no information whatsoever. When they finish talking tell them to never call this number again then hang up. Block the number on your cell and get back to life.
Don't do this.
Or do. And wait until they go to court without you to get a judgment against you. Then you can pay the 1000 + interest + court fees. Enjoy.