I'll try and keep this short.

I'm in an almost 2-year dispute with my insurance company over a doctor bill. They refused to cover it as they tied it - incorrectly - to an accident I got into at about the same time. This dispute has already been filed with the State board of insurance and is ongoing.

My main issue at this point is that the bill itself has entered collections and we have now been served with a summons. The original $400 bill is now up to over $800 w/ attorney and collection fees. The court date is next Wednesday. I acknowledge that this has dragged out too long. I do, however, dispute the exhorbitant collection and attorney fees. I believe - considering the dispute - them to be far too high.

I have been told to go directly to the doctor's office and pay the original bill and tell the collection agency to screw off. However, I hesitate to take this at face value and, thus, run into future credit report problems w/ an unpaid collection agency fee.

Are the added fees disputable due to the circumstance or am I just better off biting the bullet and paying in full to avoid future credit issues?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Ty