Bill in my name, not my bill, can I do anything?

[Anonymous]

Okay, the deal is this, I make the appointments for my kids to go to the dentist, but my husband has brought them every time. If anyone has ever had to sign for anything (I don't know because I've never even been to the business), he has done it. He doesn't recall if he has signed anything, but I am sure he had to at some point. The insurance is in his name as well.

ANYWAY, because they were waiting for our insurance to come through and see what we owed, by the time they sent a bill, it was over $1k. Not something that I can just pull out of my pocket and pay, in other words. So two days ago I got a bill in the mail in my name for $1200+ for the kids dentist bill and it says that it's past due (I'm sure it is because the appointments were long ago and we thought insurance was covering it then got a phone call saying that we had an outstanding balance due to things they performed that insurance did not cover (laughing gas being one and veneers on our 5yr old dd, iirc.). ANYWAY so now I am getting a bill saying that I owe this money and it's 90+days overdue.

I have no problem paying this bill no matter whose name it is in and will over time (will have to make payments). My main issue is that now it's going to show a baddie on my credit.

Since I have never been and I've never signed anything and DH has, shouldn't it be in his name? Is this a fight that I can rightfully fight and get them to put it in his name? (His credit is laughable, anyway so a 90+ day late won't have any effect on his. I currently have no negatives on for late bills and I don't want this to be on there!)

[Booner72]

Hi Asher.  I doubt it highly based on my personal experience.  There are medical bills/collections that led up to a judgment for my son's surgeries and my husband's knee surgery.  So nope, You're stuck.  Hopefully you can get this paid before it hits your credit reports.  Call and make a payment arrangement with them and stick to it.  It sounds like they're being nice by giving you 90 days. 

[Anonymous]

I just don't see how they can put it in my name when I've not only never even walked in the door, but never even signed anything for treatment, etc. taking responsibility for the bills and treatment. He did. I just don't understand how that's possible.

[p-]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Okay, the deal is this, I make the appointments for my kids to go to the dentist, but my husband has brought them every time. If anyone has ever had to sign for anything (I don't know because I've never even been to the business), he has done it. He doesn't recall if he has signed anything, but I am sure he had to at some point. The insurance is in his name as well.

ANYWAY, because they were waiting for our insurance to come through and see what we owed, by the time they sent a bill, it was over $1k. Not something that I can just pull out of my pocket and pay, in other words. So two days ago I got a bill in the mail in my name for $1200+ for the kids dentist bill and it says that it's past due (I'm sure it is because the appointments were long ago and we thought insurance was covering it then got a phone call saying that we had an outstanding balance due to things they performed that insurance did not cover (laughing gas being one and veneers on our 5yr old dd, iirc.). ANYWAY so now I am getting a bill saying that I owe this money and it's 90+days overdue.

Since I have never been and I've never signed anything and DH has, shouldn't it be in his name? Is this a fight that I can rightfully fight and get them to put it in his name? (His credit is laughable, anyway so a 90+ day late won't have any effect on his. I currently have no negatives on for late bills and I don't want this to be on there!)

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You put veneers on a five year old?  I don't know of any dental insurance that covers elective cosmetic on baby teeth.

My dentist's office always figures out what is covered by insurance first, so I know how much money I am committed to before proceeding.  One you get the service, you owe the money.  Those dude's don't work for free.  Your husband must have authorized something.  And depending on the state, his authorization could commit you to owing, with community property rules.  Depends where you live.

I bet if you went in and talked to them they might give you a discount and let you make payments or something.

[Booner72]

I agree with P -They don't work for free and all dentists I've ever gone to give you an up-front cost estimate before they touch anything! 

aren't veneers on kids when they put the protective coating on their molars to prevent cavities?

Digging your heals in and saying Its Not Mine is not how this is going to go away.  You have to work with the dentist office.  WE as parents ARE responsible for our children's healthcare bills.  There is no way around that.  I don't care who the insurer is.  Plus it's the right thing to do.

I wish my hubby would take care of all the stuff your hubby does!  Wow, what a nice guy.

[Anonymous]

Okay, not veneers then if that is something elective. It definitely wasn't something elective. It might have been a white crown or filling for a tooth near the front. I honestly don't remember atm and I do not have the bill right here telling the specifics.

I have no problem paying it. Did I say that we didn't intend to pay it? I don't think so! I will begin making payments (b/c I cannot pay it all off at once), but no, they did not give us any estimate before doing the work. We thought it was covered by insurance and were never told you can do this and insurance will cover it or do this and your out of payment would be X. Truth be told, I will be paying it, regardless of whose name it is in, but I still do not believe that it should be in my name. Especially the way that it was handled since we went from not knowing we owed anything to being told that we were behind in payments.

I am absolutely glad that my husband takes the kids to the dentist since I have a big fear of dentists and I would not want the kids to sense my stress. It's one of the few things that he does like that and I am grateful that he does.

Didn't intend to post this to get a character judgement, but thanks for those that have given advice about the actual bill situation.

[GregB]

"Married" is the key word here. That means the debt belongs to both of you. That means a collection would likely appear on either/both of you.

I don't think this will be a problem that will get to that point. You can call and work out a payment programs with them. They aren't likely to report anything to a CRA. That would only be likely if it went to collection.

There are two different dental procedures that use the word "veneer". One is cosmetic and certainly elective. Another is a new procedure designed to avoid cavities for kids. If I recall, it is used for temporary teeth.

[Anonymous]

Really? I have never had any of his old debt show on my credit report. I guess I have been lucky so far!

[GregB]

A loan that is in his name wouldn't just appear on your credit report. However, once a creditor starts looking to collect they can look to a spouse or the parents of a minor child pretty easily. If he has old debt, any collection can get to your credit report.

[RobertEG]

If the insurance is only in his name, he is of course the responsible party.   The account should only be showing on his CR, not yours.  If the creditor is not reporting you as a joint account holder, they cant report delinquencies to your credit file until they report you as an account holder. 

I would suspect, being medical, that they are probably not now reporting to either of your CRs?  Often they dont report until a derog occurs.  I would suspect that, if and when reported, it would only show on his credit report.

Being husband and wife does not merge personal credit files.  If they report to your credit file, I would dispute the accuracy of any reporting of the account itself on the basis that you are not a cosignee to their agreement with your husband.  Any reporting of a delinquency would be a secondary issue.

The issue of community property indebetness for the debt itself is separate from the ability to report it to your CR.  That would be a legal determination in court.