costly nuts

October 26, 2006 2:15 PM

I have a question about bill collectors!

(Testicularly-sqeamish people advised to look away.)

Six years ago I had a vasectomy at Planned Parenthood. I'm of the opinion that it was partially botched, since the woman doing it admitted she was unsure about the procedure, it was very bloody, and the healing process took many months.

About three weeks after the vasectomy, a hard nodule, rather large, appeared in my scrotum. I called Planned Parenthood, who told me it was "probably testicular cancer", a by-product of the vasectomy. They said they could not take any responsibility for this as I had signed some paper before the operation. They referred me to a radiology place for cancer screenings.

As you may imagine, I was a rather freaked out at being told I had cancer (and from a botched operation, at that). I was (and remain) uninsured, so I was nervous about costs. But I went to the radiology place where they lubed me up in a dark room and after a while told me not to worry about it and that Planned Parenthood were screwballs who didn't know what they were talking about.

Sigh of relief well & truly breathed.

Now six years later I get a letter in the mail from a collections agency saying I owe them $400 ($250 + $150 interest) for a cancer test in 2000. I was under the impression I paid six years ago, but it was six years ago and I don't recall, to be honest.

I'd never heard from these bill collectors in the past six years: you'd think I'd have been asked to pay, if I hadn't, by, say, the radiology place at some point previously. Which I wasn't-- I've heard nothing until this, six years down the line.

My question is: do I have any options? $400 is a rather large chunk of money for a working-class fellow like myself.

posted by baklavabaklava to work & money (13 comments total)

Did you pay by cash? If you didn't, you can get your bank to give you a record of transactions from the month in question, if it's a check, see if you have the duplicate sitting somewhere.

If you can prove that you've paid, then send a copy my certified mail (so they have to show proof they'd received it) of the record of payment and call to make sure they've got it.
posted by parmanparman at 2:20 PM on October 26, 2006

Write a letter contesting the charge and asking for more details. You can say you believe you paid them originally or that you don't recall, and so you need more information.

Depending on the charge and the agency, sometimes they will just let it go if it's contested, especially over something that old. But they will require you to send something in writing via snail mail. Mail it certified or in a way that you have documentation and keep a copy in a folder somewhere.

If they don't drop it, at least you will get (hopefully) more information and feel better about having to cough up the cash.
posted by routergirl at 2:21 PM on October 26, 2006

Ooh yes, and what parmanparman said. Check with your bank!
posted by routergirl at 2:23 PM on October 26, 2006

christ, I'd have zipped up and run out the door at "unsure!"

If I were in your shoes, I'd get a copy of my credit report and see if this cancer test bill actually appears in your report. If not -- and that is frequently the case -- I wouldn't worry about it. There's not much that they could cost-effectively do beyond ding your credit.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 2:54 PM on October 26, 2006

What's the statute of limitations in your state? 6 years is an old debt. You may be off the hook, legally speaking, even if you haven't paid.
posted by jaysus chris at 2:56 PM on October 26, 2006

It might also be near the end of the statute of limitations. Either the Original Creditor or if it was sold to a Junk Debt Buyer, the JDB is looking to get you before the SOL runs out.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 2:59 PM on October 26, 2006

The wife and I are facing something similar, though in our case it's an alleged $12 bill from the power company years ago. We only found out about it when we requested our credit reports and found a company we had never heard of (collection agency) reporting that we were overdue on a debt!

1. Don't talk to them on the phone under any circumstances. They will try to trick you into admitting certain things that they can later use against you. If they call you, firmly state that you want all further correspondence from them by mail only. They have to comply under federal law.

2. Go to creditboards.com, register for an account, and start reading up. You can learn your rights there and plenty of info on how you should proceed.

3. Fire off a validation letter to the collection agency by certified mail with return receipt, you can get sampleletters from creditboards.com. This is a formal request for the agency to validate that you actually owe what they say you owe. By law they have to stop all collections activity and negative reporting to credit bureaus for 30 days while they get this info.

4. Get your credit reports right now to see what has or hasn't been reported.

Good luck!
posted by TungstenChef at 3:27 PM on October 26, 2006 [1 favorite]

In defense of Planned Parenthood, I had similar problems. Not with Planned Parenthood, but with the chief of urology with a major health care provider in Northern California. I had severe bruising, bleeding, and could barely walk for a week. I was absolutely miserable for a couple weeks. I saw a second doctor who informed me that yes, what I was experiencing isn't unusual.

Now for your problem: have you gone by the place that did the tests? Ask them for a copy of your bill. If they cannot produce it, it's unlikely that this creditor will be able to either.
posted by drstein at 4:44 PM on October 26, 2006

If the supposed debt that you think you may have already paid is 6 years old, don't worry about it. After 7 years it'll be past the Statute of Limitations and they can't collect. Once that happens, get a copy of your credit report from each bureau and make sure they've not reported to any of them. If they have, make them prove they had the right to do so. Be sure to wait until the SOL expires, though, so they can't get a judgement against you. Not that they likely would, but just to be sure. There's info on this at creditboards.

Most likely, if they never sent you a bill and it's 6 years old, it's some kind of scam anyways.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 5:58 PM on October 26, 2006

The usual reminder as to comments like Mr. Gunn's: What he says may be true in his state, but it is not necessarily true in your state. Your mileage WILL vary, when it comes to stuff like this.
posted by megatherium at 6:42 PM on October 26, 2006

Use the FDCPA - write a letter and demand verification. It's very likely for a debt this old that this junky company has no real records but just your name on a line entry, which is not enough to verify a debt.
posted by meehawl at 11:14 AM on October 27, 2006

Oh yeah, here's a sample verification letter. If a debt collector continues to hassle you after you demand verification and without providing verification then you can sue them for monetary damages under the FDCPA.
posted by meehawl at 11:17 AM on October 27, 2006

By the way, what's the name of the creditor? I seem to be getting hit with junk debt buyers too...
posted by drstein at 11:02 PM on November 4, 2006