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Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's


@Anonymous wrote:
...

 

2) Attacking my credit without any knowledge.  This is the criminal part.  How is it even legally possible for a CA to attack my personal credit, to put negative items on my credit report and shot my credit score down by 100 points for something I had no knowledge of and was never notified about?  I don't care WHAT the reason, this is wrong and must be stopped.  Even if I was still required to pay something, or it was actually my responsibility to pay for something, I was never given the opportunity to pay for it, to resolve the issues and prevent it from appearing on my record.  THIS is the issue I am concerned with.

 

Whether I am liable for a portion of or all of the expenses, I will still argue it should not have appeared on my records.  I will still fight this and take them to small claims if it is not removed from my report.  Will it ever get paid... don't know, but I'll wait for a court to tell me it's going to stay on my credit report.

 


 

It should be criminal, but it isn't and it probably never will be.  Good luck tilting at windmills.

 

No creditor has the obligation to determine your entire family history before providing services or goods -- especially medical providers.  That your wife failed somehow to inform you is of no concern to a creditor.  Further, a creditor is under no obligation whatsoever in hiring a PI to track you down and tell you of an overdue debt.  Heck, they do not even have to send you a letter if they did know exactly where you lived.

 

Now, you may be able to bully the CA / OC into removing the tradelines, but if you are dealing with one who actually knows the law and doesn't cave in easily, in the end you'll still be the proud owner of a derogatory and be out your legal fees and theirs. 

 

The best short term solution would be to offer a PFD.  Long term, however, I'd find a solution for the real problem.  If your wife is going to repeat medical visits and not inform you, I guarantee you'll end up with more derogatories than the North Pole has snow.

Message 11 of 23
GregB
Valued Contributor

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

I would add a few items to the excellent advise you have received.

 

Small Claims only deals with DIRECT DAMAGES. That means if your ex didn't pay $50 for a medical bill and they came after you for the money, you could sue her for $50. If you win, you would get a judgement and then possibly spend more money to collect it. It could damage her credit with the judgement. I don't know how Small Claims might work with an ex but that could be an issue.

 

I think you might be better off paying the debt to the OC and explain that you were never billed. This won't be the first time that an ex has caused a problem and they may very likely be helpful. That sounds like it would get the collection off your CR and that is the big problem, at least THIS time.

 

If either spouse is sticking a kid in the middle of a divorce or even saying something negative about the other spouse to the child, that seems like the biggest problem of all. I understand that when the legal separation was filed that you thought you were free of her but with a child together, your are never completely free. Stinks, doesn't it?

Message 12 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

It all sucks and this isn't the first time she's done something like this.   Unfortunately this is the first time it has had a severe impact on my insurance and ultimately that's what I'm frustrated about. 

 

From what I know it was just an office visit, a regular check up that should have been fully covered by insurance.  I sent a DV to the CA.  I'll wait for that and then from there figure out a way for them to delete it if I pay.  i guess that's my best option.  Just need to get enough proof to show I was never notified.

 

I would argue though that no CA should be allowed to put something on a person's credit report without proper notification first.  I look at it like court summons.  A person comes up to you, ask if you who you are, and then hands you the court papers.  Granted you can claim you aren't that person they are looking to serve papers to, but I think the concept translates over well.  Notify me, allow me to understand the scope of the situation before you attack my credit score.

Message 13 of 23
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

I do hear you, but there's being in the right, and then there's winning. Smiley Wink  IMO, go for the win for now, and deal with the fairness stuff later.

 

Find out about PFD (pay for delete), plus contact the original creditors (hospital/ doctors) and work something out, with the end goal being cleaning up your credit report.

 

I do think that you have a decent chance of getting this off your records.

 

Can you tell if the bills were ever submitted to your insurance? If so, that would be another step --call your insurance company, let them know what's going on, and have them looking out for you as well.

 

And in the end, of course, the one who truly comes out losing is your child. I hope that some sanity will eventually return.

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 14 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

Unfortunately my ex will always use the children against me.  I do not see this ending any time soon, or until the children turn 18 and they can think on their own without being manipulated by their mother.

 

As for contacting insurance, I've done this already.  They confirmed with me on the phone that they paid for their portion of the claim and they will be sending me the details of both transactions.  Again, I just don't know what the other amount that the CA claims I owe them actually is. 

 

You realize this could actually be something as stupid as "you have 24 hours to cancel your appointment and if you don't contact us we have the right to charge you."  It's very feasible that my ex made an oppointment, didn't go and the OC charged her $50 for a no show.

 

It's also possible that this amount was for a bounced check or overdraft on our account.  It's very possible that the amount of money they say I owe is not directly related to a medical expense but is being generated from a medical facility. 

 

This is the information I need before I can really understand exactly what I'm being asked to pay or how to approach asking for the item to be deleted.

Message 15 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's


@Anonymous wrote:

It all sucks and this isn't the first time she's done something like this.   Unfortunately this is the first time it has had a severe impact on my insurance and ultimately that's what I'm frustrated about. 

 

From what I know it was just an office visit, a regular check up that should have been fully covered by insurance.  I sent a DV to the CA.  I'll wait for that and then from there figure out a way for them to delete it if I pay.  i guess that's my best option.  Just need to get enough proof to show I was never notified.

 

I would argue though that no CA should be allowed to put something on a person's credit report without proper notification first.  I look at it like court summons.  A person comes up to you, ask if you who you are, and then hands you the court papers.  Granted you can claim you aren't that person they are looking to serve papers to, but I think the concept translates over well.  Notify me, allow me to understand the scope of the situation before you attack my credit score.


 

Of course it sucks.  And I would challenge the sanity of anybody who says a sneak attack by a CA is fair or should be allowed.  But other than writing a few nasty letters to my Congresscritter and, perhaps, even the CA, I know from vast experience that in cases such as these it's far more effective to focus on an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure.

 

I'm not sure how your support agreement is structured, but I would go into Family Court, document what has recently occurred and seek to modify the agreement such that the court orders that the one parent notify the other -- under sanction -- within, say, 74 hours of any medical expense.  There are also several other possibilities when it comes to structuring a child support order.  Although not foolproof, it should reduce the chances of this happening again considerably.  A few hundred dollars invested in a good attorney skilled in these matters may even be worth it considering the consequences should your credit report get peppered with CAs. 

Message 16 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

This is a nasty situation, all around. Hope this is turning out okay for you. 

Message 17 of 23
sassymomof2
Frequent Contributor

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

I know this post died down a while ago. But I have the insurance company send me the EOB (explanation of benefits) for every claim submitted. This is how I found out my estranged husband was taking trips to the ER with the kids insurance card. I repo'd his card when we went to court but he wanted to try his luck since he doesn't have any insurance of his own. So if your ex is not going to cooperate with you and you carry the insurance -this is how you keep track of those doctor visits and prevent surprise collections.

Starting Fico Feb 2011 EQ 570 TU 580 EX ?
May 2014 EQ 709 EX 684 TU discover 665

Closed on first home April 26, 2012!
Last app August 2, 2014. Gardening indefinitely!!!
Message 18 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

Well to follow up.  I ultimately obtained a copy of the insurance records, the medical records and the CA report through a DV letter.  I noticed several discrepancies but from everything I read regarding medical bills, I figured I was going to have to pay it one way or another.  So I followed up with a Pay for Delete request.  Everything was communicated back and forth through certified mail.  I finally received a confirmation from the CA to remove the accounts from my credit report as well as except a payment less than what I owed.  So I paid and part of the agreement was that they had 15 days to remove the record.

 

It has been 13 days as of today and the record still has not even been updated that it's been paid let alone removed from my record.  Considering today is the 4th, I will wait until tomorrow, which will bring it to 14 days and do another check of my credit report.  If the record is not removed by tomorrow, I will send them a new letter stating the issue and that they have another 5 days to resolve or I will take them to small claims.  I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but after 14 days, it should have been removed by now.

Message 19 of 23
GregB
Valued Contributor

Re: Collection Agency for medical debt that is my Ex's

I suggest you keep working with the CA to update.

 

There are lots of problems trying to use Small Claims court to help. You would have to determine the jurisdiction. It is unlikely that the CA is local. You would probably have to go to their location to use Small Claims. Even if you were successful in getting a local court to hear your case, most will not force any defendant to travel more than 100-200 miles to defend a case. Small Claims usually will only hear cases for direct damages.

 

Does the agreement say 15 days or 15 business days? Don't forget that the CRAs take time to update. EX is the fastest.

 

I suggest you start by asking the CA if they have updated. I know it is frustrating but hang in there.

Message 20 of 23
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