I just found out that I am the winner of a default judgment for a medical collection. However, I was not served and discovered the issue when I checked the state's court database for something unrelated.
It's related to surgery in 2011 when I was on COBRA and was unemployed with no benefits. Later in the year I had a high risk pregnancy that was covered under my work policy as well as Medicaid with both policies being the same company as the insurance company that I had the COBRA coverage with. Billing was a nightmare for even the most routine items and this one obviously fell through the cracks.
I spoke to the court who told me that since I was not served properly-I have since moved and mail forwarding has expired. Additionally, the hospital has my new address on file and has for almost a year. The clerk told me that I could file a motion to vacate the default judgment and provided me a download link to the forms which seem pretty straightforward.
I called the hospital billing office and they were able to find the debt ($4,200) but said that since it's not in good standing they cannot make a payment arrangement and I would have to call the CA to see if they would work with me. I've never received any billing from the CA that has the debt........but it is valid and I know it is mine. It is not showing up on my credit report at all so far.
Thoughts on how to handle this since I cannot afford to pay in full or really anything more than $50 a month right now?
Current Score: TU: 674 | EQ: 722 | EX: 717 | Last Inq. 2/16/15...Locked Up in The Garden