Can a collection agency force you to pay a medical bill in full when you have been making monthly payments?

Question

Our hospital sold my wifes medical bill to a collection agency that sold it to another collection agency who is now demanding we pay in full right now. We have made payments on this bill every month since the beginning. Can they report to collections & garnish wages

Answer 1

No , they can not , and never have an authorization to ask you to pay in full.

Good Luck!

QL

Answer 2

no they can't. most collection agencies employees are trained to make threats or scare tactics so you'll pay sooner.  

Answer 3

Depends on the laws in your state on collection...

Being that you've been paying, they shouldn't do that... but try to reason with them and tell them if they put it on your credit why pay it.. You want to pay but you can only afford x amount... Technically they are not suppose to reject payment arrangements.

These collection agencies are getting out of control and desperate.

Answer 4

I recently read somewhere that in certain states, hospitals and physician offices have sold unpaid medical debts to collection agencies in return for payment in full on the medical bills.  This is not legal in every state, however.  Once the collection agency or credit agency has the bill, it is no longer a medical bill...it becomes property of the credit/collection agency to pursue however they see fit.  The hospital has been paid.  You may want to check with your state's department of insurance for further information.

Answer 5

I'm pretty sure they cannot.  Medical bills are treated much differently than other sorts of bills.  My understanding is that as long as you are making a good-faith effort to pay medical bills, they cannot take legal action against you.  I think they aren't even allowed to report you to the credit bureaus, but that may depend upon the state.

They are probably just trying to scare you.  Remember that before they can garnish wages, they would have to go to court and get a judgment against you.  That takes money.  As long as you are making regular payments, it isn't to their advantage.

If you are worried, I would talk to someone at the agency.  Get their name, ask if they are a lawyer.  Write down everything they say.  Then ask them specific questions, and get them to commit to the answers.  Ask things like "Can you sue, given that it is a medical bill?".  Also "does the law allow you to report this to the credit bureaus when I am making regular payments?"  Also ask "are you saying that you are planning on getting a judgment against me?"  If the person isn't a lawyer, or if they know there is no such plan, I'm pretty sure it is illegal for them to say yes.

If the bill is pretty high, it might be worth your while to go talk to a lawyer.  Spend a hundred bucks for one counseling session, if you can afford it.  Don't go to one of those "free" debt counselors.  They are a scam, they work with the collection agencies.

Answer 6

Thats a scare tactic. Keep paying them every month.

Answer 7

NO, they can not.  They are just trying to scare you.  As long as you are making an honest effort to pay down the bill, there is nothing that they can do.  Although, if you stop paying all together, the debtor can sue you in court.

Answer 8

As long as you have paid on time as agreed to in the original payment agreement with the creditor, then they (the new collection agency) has no right to demand full payment even if they purchased the note from the previous creditor.

You might want to check out this web site to see if these people are listed here as junk debt buyers and those that do not abide by the FDCPA.

http://www.budhibbs.com/drowning_in_debt...

http://www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp

They can not change any contractual agreements you made with the original creditor unless you have breached that contract.

Check you states statute of limitations to see if they can seek civil damages in court.  Use this link to find your states SOL

http://www.bcsalliance.com/statute_of_li...

If the debt is time barred  they can not garnish anything or take you to court.  

Hope this answers your question

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The advice contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as Legal Counsel nor Legal Advice.