Collection account - how to handle?

[Anonymous]

Forgive me for not using acronyms, I'm still trying to decipher as I go! I have been reading a lot but even so, I'm still unsure of how to handle this.

In 2014 I had a medical debt go to collections for $306. It's a local collections company, they tried for awhile to get me to pay up but I couldn't. It's on my report as Balance: $306 and High Balance: $372. I'm assuming the high balance reflects interest they've attached? My report also says charge off/collections account.

My husband and I then checked his report and it's on his, as well. Which makes sense, since our health insurance is through him. Only for his it says the high balance is $373, one dollar more than what it shows on mine. Maybe this isn't a big deal or helpful, but maybe it is, so I wanted to mention it.

I know we're not allowed to talk about the HIPAA letter here, and honestly, that process confuses me no matter what I read. What should I do? I have the ability to pay it, but from what I'm seeing, getting them to agree to a PFD is slim? If this collection agent (CA?) has it, should I even try contacting the medical office to see if they'd still accept payment? Or is that a waste of time?

I'm feeling overwhelmed from reading the mountains of advice for similar situations, so I appreciate any help!

[RobertEG]

The first consideration in any collection is whether you accept that the debt is legit.

If you dont accept the debt as legit, most consumers will challenge the debt without any consideration of paying.

If you accept the debt as legit, then whether to pay becomes more one of impact if you dont than one of challenging the debt.

Next considerations should be whether you can be sued on the debt, which involves consideration of whether the SOL on the debt has expired in your state, and how long it will be before the collection must be excluded from your credit report, and thus will no longer affect your scoring.

What is the SOL for your state, and what is the date of your first delinquency with the creditor ("DOFD")?

If you have decided to pay, you should know whether the debt collector has purchased the debt.  You cannot pay the original creditor if they no longer own the debt.

As for chances of their acceptance of a PFD, I would not let the experiences of others deter from making the offer.

Give it a shot, and see if they accept.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for you reply. It's definitely a legit debt, I don't question that. The difference in amounts between my report and my husband's had me curious, but the $306 is definitely my debt.

I'm in Oregon, so from what I've read our SOL for a breach of contract is 6 years. The report shows opened date as of Nov 19, 2014 and then last reported a few days ago, of course. I'll have to poke around to see if there's a PFD template when asking them to remove it from two people's reports? For now I'm waiting to see if the OC will reply to me to see if they still own it or sold it off.

[rmduhon]

I'd double check the account on your husband's report. I live in a different state which might make a difference but even our insurance is through my husband I'm responsible for my medical debt, not him.

[Anonymous]

It's the exact same account info, from what I can tell, other than that one dollar difference in high balance listed. I know he didn't have any other medical bills that went to collections either. But technically he's the one listed as guarantor on the insurance, so I figured that's why they got him for it, too. Though the letters the CA has sent only ever came to me that I can recall.

[Anonymous]

OC replied, said it's no longer theirs to take payment for, so I'd have to pay CA. Now I wonder, should I have my husband dispute the report on his anyway? It's not his debt, it even lists the debt as individual, yet he technically assumes responsibility for our insurance since it's through his employer, right?