Comments on: Medical Bill Went To Collections Even Though I Never Received it.

By: When We Received a Collections Letter

When We Received a Collections Letter — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:48:58 +0000

[...] It’s surprising how many collections letters are sent out by mistake (at least, the bill hasn’t been received…or it hasn’t been received (again)…or it’s already been paid). Normally [...]

By: david

david — Sat, 03 May 2008 18:04:32 +0000

Thanks for the all the comments guys, it’s good to know that some of us are in the same boat by no fault of our own!

By: Zee

Zee — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:38:35 +0000

I had a similar thing happen too: a bill I’d never received was sent to collections. The only twist was, it went to collections *6 years* after the service was rendered. My credit was fine for years and then I tried to take out a loan for something and the bank called to ask if I knew I had a bill in collections. I didn’t know that since the item wasn’t there when I’d checked my credit report two months earlier! When I called the hospital, they said they’d sent me a bill right after my hospital stay, and then heaven knows what happened for the next 6 years, and suddenly I owed an amount to a collections agency for 4 times what the original bill was.

And, of course, when I called the collections agency they didn’t care I’d not received the original bill: all they knew was that they’d paid for this CURRENT bill and wanted their money. I eventually negotiated a settlement with them for something over the original bill but much less than what they wanted me to pay and it got taken care of, but it was a total nightmare for several weeks there.

By: stngy1

stngy1 — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:20:34 +0000

Happened to us too. One was semi-legit, the other way wrong. I have a theory that hospitals (hey I was a nurse for ages) go after -intensely- people they think will pay up. They do get a lot of deadbeats and uncollectible bills, so they overcharge and enthusiastically go after the rest of us. Rather like a bully.
I’ve learned to go through bills from medical practices, labs, hospitals, etc with a fine tooth comb, AND compare what my insurance EOB says I owe and what I’m charged. There have been real discrepancies. I have sent more than one “strongly worded” letter demanding detailed bills, I’ve disputed charges, threatened to report them to the insurance company, and basically told them to STOP. It’s worked so far, but what a hassle–just when you don’t need it. Our medical expenses typically exceed $4k/year, so I get plenty of practice.
Don’t forget there is a time limit for collecting on a bill, but if you pay even a portion of it (whether you think its a mistake or not), the clock gets reset.

By: Alison @ This Wasn't In The Plan

Alison @ This Wasn't In The Plan — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:53:50 +0000

This happened to me, but not with a hospital bill, with a lab bill. I was at the lab for several days in a row with my newborn for blood draws, but one bill never made it to me because it had the wrong address on it. And, like you, the collections people were very nice about it did not negatively impact my credit.

By: The Friday Gathering For 4/25/2008

The Friday Gathering For 4/25/2008 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:32:10 +0000

[...] My Two Dollars – Medical Bill Went To Collections Even Though I Never Received it. [...]

By: Wade Young

Wade Young — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:42:28 +0000

Make sure to check your credit to make sure it doesn’t show up. Collections people sometimes lie. http://www.annualcreditreport.com — it’s free.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:25:50 +0000

We had a double bill for insurance just recently. We had to pay a retroactive bill and then a proactive (or whatever the opposite of retroactive is) one. When the 2nd arrived, it showed charges for the first as well. Fortunately, I knew what it was right away and there were no problems.

By: Marie

Marie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:08:40 +0000

Unfortuanetly this is fairly common. The hospital was way rude to me. We moved next door apartment wise and they had been sending bills to an address 40 miles away for the past 8 months. They wanted to know my last date of residence 40 miles away. How obvious is it that you don’t move 40 miles back and forth when you are moving next door? It was a nightmare to get it settled. And like you it was just one of the many bills I was getting from the hospital.

By: mjmcinto

mjmcinto — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:43:47 +0000

My only run-in with a collections agency came from an apartment my wife and I lived in shortly after getting married. We moved out at the end of our lease, and bought a house. Within 30 days of the lease ending, we recieved a letter from a collections agency! Yes, you heard that right, they never sent us a bill, just direct to collections. How that’s legal is beyond me (I contacted the attorney general’s office b/c I was PISSED, and the wouldn’t do anything). I called the collections agency and was trying to figure out what the charge was for, they couldn’t tell me, and it was like pulling teeth to get the complex to tell me. After a long time, they (the complex) finally provided me w/an itemized bill (which the lease stated I’d receive w/in 45 days of moving out, so why did I get a letter from collections in less the 30???).

The charges were crap, and didn’t follow the lease. Complete crap, and my wife’s credit rating took a hit (luckily it was already great, so it got knocked down to ok).