60 replies to this topic

[joeynox]

Hello heres my situation. in dec 2005 i was in the hospital and applied for emergency medicaid which i thought i was approved for. in 2010 i received a letter from a CA OIS/POM RECOVERIES I in new york
stating i owed $11700 because of this hospital dept . i contacted the hospital and they informed me i did owe the debt and blah blah blah. Around that time my dad had a heart attack and my grandma passed so it was a very bad few months and i forgot about this bill. I recently now as of wednesday 8/4/11 i was contacted again and when i called the hospital about the bill i said i would pay $125 per mo but the manager of recovery at the hospital turned down that plan and wanted $300 per mo. he sent the account back to OIS/POM RECOVERIES I and i was contacted on friday by a very BITCHY Penny Casey of OIS/POM RECOVERIES I " legal division" who said i owe this and she is will to take $250 per mo. i said i cant do that then she said if i pay a lump sum she will lower the bill but i cant do that. she didnt want to hear it so she replied with " sir i dont want to go back and fourth with you on this issue just pay your debt" I said i need time to figure all this out which she said i will hold your account open until monday and if i dont hear back from you about a $250-300 per mo plan i will take legal action against you. i checked my credit report and on friday that firm put in an inquiry but the bill isnt on any of my CR's.


my father spoke to the hospital pretending to be me and a woman in the recovery billing dept told him to pay $125 per mo for 94 payments and put her name on the check along with the account number.
I dont understand why she would say pay 125 but the billing dept manager told the woman i spoke to not to do it. So i dont know what to do. I was chatting on another credit board and every was telling me not to pay anything but i dont want to be garnished or have an account frozen. what do I do?????????????????????????????????????

[breeze]

Sounds to me like this debt is beyond the statute of limitations. Don't pay anything, you don't want to re-start it.

I believe doctors and hospitals should be paid, but in this case, how do you even know whether they filed for medicaid.

[joeynox]

in the hospital they said they did and i would have to wait 3 months if i dont hear back file again so i went back to the hospital and filed again and then life went on.

i just don t know what to do. This lady from the CA wants me to call her back monday or she will "take action". she started asking where i work and stuff but i didnt give her me real company and she said if you work off the books eventually someone will find you and garnishments can happen. or account can be frozen. this medical bill isnt on any CRA just an inquiry from the CA was made on friday 8/4/11.

[breeze]

No, when it's beyond the statute of limitations, even if they sue you, you can tell the judge and ask for dismissal. There is a letter you can send that tells them to go away, they have no legal leg to stand on.

However, wait for a few other people to chime in before you decide. Don't let her threats scare you - all it is, is empty threads.

[Why Chat]

Hello heres my situation. in dec 2005 i was in the hospital and applied for emergency medicaid which i thought i was approved for. in 2010 i received a letter from a CA OIS/POM RECOVERIES I in new york
stating i owed $11700 because of this hospital dept . i contacted the hospital and they informed me i did owe the debt and blah blah blah. Around that time my dad had a heart attack and my grandma passed so it was a very bad few months and i forgot about this bill. I recently now as of wednesday 8/4/11 i was contacted again and when i called the hospital about the bill i said i would pay $125 per mo but the manager of recovery at the hospital turned down that plan and wanted $300 per mo. he sent the account back to OIS/POM RECOVERIES I and i was contacted on friday by a very BITCHY Penny Casey of OIS/POM RECOVERIES I " legal division" who said i owe this and she is will to take $250 per mo. i said i cant do that then she said if i pay a lump sum she will lower the bill but i cant do that. she didnt want to hear it so she replied with " sir i dont want to go back and fourth with you on this issue just pay your debt" I said i need time to figure all this out which she said i will hold your account open until monday and if i dont hear back from you about a $250-300 per mo plan i will take legal action against you. i checked my credit report and on friday that firm put in an inquiry but the bill isnt on any of my CR's.


my father spoke to the hospital pretending to be me and a woman in the recovery billing dept told him to pay $125 per mo for 94 payments and put her name on the check along with the account number.
I dont understand why she would say pay 125 but the billing dept manager told the woman i spoke to not to do it. So i dont know what to do. I was chatting on another credit board and every was telling me not to pay anything but i dont want to be garnished or have an account frozen. what do I do?????????????????????????????????????

I think you are being scammed by some illegal and dishonest people. ESPECIALLY whomever told your father ( impersonating you) that a check should be made in her name.

If it is not on your credit reports, and you have nothing in writing from ANYONE then you really do NOT know what the situation is.

Next time you get a call, ask for their name and the name and address of the collection agency and request that all further communication be in writing.

If you do get anything in writing, post back here for further instructions.

As Breeze said, you are beyond the time period (SOL= Statute of limitations) for being sued on a medical debt.

I don't think you have been actually talking to the "billing department" of the hospital, I think you ( and your father) have been communicating with a dishonest collection agency.

Edited by Why Chat, 07 August 2011 - 03:49 PM.

[joeynox]

isnt the sol in ny 6 years? then 6 years isnt up yet. also the lady in the billing dept of the hospital . said make a check in the amount of 125 with my account number and note " in care of her name" on it but pay to the order of the hospital

[breeze]

Medical bills do not fall under the same SOL - they are under the UCC - Uniform Commercial Code. That's 4 years, every state.

I think we all agree the hospital should get paid - but you haven't got enough concrete information to send your account number to someone. How will you feel if you pay this money, and someone else starts calling you, saying you owe them? Or you pay it all, and they still say you owe more? You need something in writing.

They cannot garnish your pay or take your bank account unless they take you to court, sue you and win. They can't win. Trust me, I'm not saying blow the debt off, but you need to protect yourself, these collectors are liars and some of them are crooks.

[joeynox]

ok so if you were me in my situation what would you do? take the $125 per mo for 8 yrs or do nothing?

if the SOL for medical bills ucc is 4 years in nyc and i dont pay and tell the CA to leave me alone or send a C&D what can happen? wont i have to pay this debt? wont it still be owed and it evendually be put on my CR since its from 2005?

[joeynox]

breeze thank you for the advice. im just so confused on what my next move for tomorrow should be. i have to decide what i plan on doing by 9 am tomorrow before work pay the hospital or dont. the reason im asking about the SOL is because everything ive read says medical bills are a written contract in NYC has a 6 yr SOL on written contracts. but you said its not the same. i dunno

[joeynox]

why chat / breeze so i shouldnt send the hippa letter on why chats site? should i send the medical dv/cd letter? also i read a post by why chat that said medical bills dont fall under the ucc so now im all confused

[joeynox]

I just spoke with the CA agent to find out what CA I was dealing with and she told me that she forwarded my account to an attorny. And I should be hearing from
Them this week then hung up on me.she said she was told that i had made an arrangement with the OC to pay this debt. I know she spoke with my parents last night , i dont know if they told her even though i told them not to say anything to this woman or she was in contact with the OC. as for the agreement with the OC that was from friday after the CA contacted me but i wasnt going to go through with it util i spoke with all of you and found out all this info

What do I do now? Should I take my money out of my bank accounts? i know it takes some time for the legal stuff. and i know that breeze and why chat said that the ucc is 4 yrs but if she is for real and i do get a letter from them then what? My brother had he accounts frozen and money deducted without anyone telling
Him over a credit card bill. Help

[breeze]

She was just mad - She broke the law by not telling you the name of the company. I doubt very seriously she was sending anything to an attorney.

So, if you made a deal with the OC, go for it. Can they fax you a copy of the deal? The OC is much safer to deal with. Pay that off, and then we can help you get the whole thing off your credit reports.

[clambert1273]

It is past the SOL.... as you have been told.. they are doing what they do best - scaring you. They have no power over you unless you let them have that power.

They can send it to whomever they like but the fact remains the same - it is far past the SOL for medical and if they TRY to sue you, then you just give an affirmative defense about being past the SOL and it will be dismissed.

Is it still owed? sure - but I can send you a letter tomorrow stating you owe me 11K with them as the original creditor. Would you pony up $250/mo to me just because I said so: Of course not! So don't do it for them! They have to prove it and if they can't well then in my world too bad.

If it lands up on your credit it could only be there until 12/2012 so about a year. I am sure at that time you would be given some strong advice on how to take care of that.


*breeze beat me *

Edited by clambert1273, 10 August 2011 - 10:03 AM.

[joeynox]

so I should start paying the OC the $125 but won't that restart the SOL ? Also it's not on my CR . The debt was from dec 20th 2005

[joeynox]

I know everyone has said the UCC sol I forgot what I wanted to type . Damn I hate when that happens

[clambert1273]

I wouldn't pay anything that old.... that is just me though... they have already written it off..

[joeynox]

i want to thank everyone for their advice with my curent situation. im still not sure what to do regarding the $$ yet but ill figure it out. i know everyone on the board has been saying that ucc 4 yr thing and i sked a friend who works as a agent/biller at a medical agency/collections in NJ and he told me its dependent on the states SOL and has no part in the UCC for being sued? im not trying to say whos wrong or right i just to make sure i have the right info like everyone does.

Edited by joeynox, 13 August 2011 - 02:11 AM.

[bizsheri]

Just take a deep breath and wait for the collection agency to send you in writing, what you owe. They probably wont since they know they cannot sue you. If they do, you tell them to get lost. You've already said that you can't pay this bill even now if I recall.

Hold on a couple weeks and see if anything more transpires. Don't talk to them again. If you do, its to only ask their name and mailing address (where then you send a letter to not contact you except via mail.).


Again, I know your scared and confused, we have all been there. Once you read more on this site about your rights, you will become empowered.

[joeynox]

Hello just an update. Well nothing to really update about the last time I spoke to the CA was 8/8/11 when she said my account was forwarded to an attorney and I should received something soon. I haven't "received" anything yet (hopefully never). I do appreciate everyones input on this and want to apologize for being dazed and confused through this process. I haven't sent anything tithe OC either because I'm not sure if I should. I'm still debating if I should start paying the OC. What do you all think? Should I pay back the 11k (that I shouldn't owe) or not? Can you believe 8k of the 11k was just 2 nights in the hospital bed laying there watching tv and not having anything done to me or pain meds. Amazing isn't it

[joeynox]

the CA did in fact send my account to a attorney. heres the letter i received


Arnold Arpino & Associates P.C.
Attorneys at law

the past due account has been referred to this office for collection.

we are writing to you to give you an opportunity to contact us to make arrangements for payment of this debt if it is undisputed.If you connot pay the full amount , we will extend our full cooperation to arrange for mutually satisfactory installments.

Validation notice*

Unless you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof within 30 days after you receive this notice, we will assume the debt to be valid. if you notify us in writing withing 30 day period that you dispute this debt or any portion thereof we will obtain and mail to you verification of the debt or copy of a judgement, if a judgement has been entered against you. if you notify us in writing within 30 days period we will provide you with the name , address of the original creditor , if different than the current creditor .

this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained shall be used for that purpose. this is a communication from a debt collector.

please make check payable to Arnold A Arpino & Associates noting thereon the file number

[Why Chat]

the CA did in fact send my account to a attorney. heres the letter i received


Arnold Arpino & Associates P.C.
Attorneys at law

the past due account has been referred to this office for collection.

we are writing to you to give you an opportunity to contact us to make arrangements for payment of this debt if it is undisputed.If you connot pay the full amount , we will extend our full cooperation to arrange for mutually satisfactory installments.

Validation notice*

Unless you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof within 30 days after you receive this notice, we will assume the debt to be valid. if you notify us in writing withing 30 day period that you dispute this debt or any portion thereof we will obtain and mail to you verification of the debt or copy of a judgement, if a judgement has been entered against you. if you notify us in writing within 30 days period we will provide you with the name , address of the original creditor , if different than the current creditor .

this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained shall be used for that purpose. this is a communication from a debt collector.

please make check payable to Arnold A Arpino & Associates noting thereon the file number

I suggest you file a complaint against this scum scam CA so called "lawyer" for violations of the FDCPA and your State consumer protection laws and file a copy of the complaint with your State AG office.

[ronnieron]

Something tells me the OP is going to pay this or has already sent some kind of payment resetting the SOL.

[joeynox]

No I haven't paid them nor will I pay a cent to the CA. I'f I was to make a payment it would be to the OC. But as of now I haven't sent anything to anyone.

[joeynox]

Why chat do you have Links to where I should send a complaint to also should I respond to this with a Validation letter or something else?

[joeynox]

heres the actual letter i received. whats my next step? my parents have an attorney on retainer who is working on a lawsuit for them involving a medical thing. they told me i should contact him this week and ask him about this .

Edited by joeynox, 20 August 2011 - 10:31 PM.