Quote:
Originally Posted by HuskyMan
in the instant case, the victim didn't owe the bill.
The problem began when the stupid incompetent billing department turned it over to an even more stupid incompetent collection agency. It all went downhill from there.
It seems that more than a few medical facilities specialize in hiring incompetent out-of-control billers.
In this case, the billing department may have some liability as a result of creating this chaos (credit problems, false imprisonment, etc etc.).
Also, sending false financial statements through the US mails might also be an issue............
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Well, we can't all be as competent as you are and make ZERO mistakes.
I don't know about where you are but over here, when your bill gets sent to a collection agency, you have 30 days, IIRC and it might be longer, to dispute the charge. When you don't dispute the charge, it is assumed to be correct. Remember, the collection agency is NOT an auditing company so they cannot go tearing into each and every record of yours. After several attempts, they will send you to court. You should be served first.
Over here, if you wrote me a bad check, I make attempts to contact you. If I choose to sue you, I can. However, I can't sue you just because you were 1 day over your contract. I have to give you your "right to cure" notice. After which time I can sue you for whatever. So now I have to take the papers to court and send them to a service agency or a sheriff of your county of residence or workplace. You get served and you know when your date of court is. If the sheriff cannot get you, they will leave you notice to call. After which time, if they still cannot serve you, I get an "Affidavit of NON-Service". With that, I can "serve by publication". On the date of court, you can show up or answer by mail and if you do, there is mediation or pre-trial. After which, a judgment is given. There are AMPLE opportunities to deal with the matter so before you go blaming the corp or collection agency, it might do you some good to take a look at yourself and see why you failed to stop the escalation.