Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bill

Collection ended up on credit report--help please!

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:24:39 -0800

Through no fault of my own (in brief: I was unconscious, but may have been unwarrantedly credulous later), a collection agency's action has become visible on my credit reports. How can I remove these? Here's the story: About a year ago, I was transported to a local hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, I pulled through well, and was discharged within hours with no sequelae.

The ambulance company ("Company A") took my particulars en route. I was in no condition to give my address, so they copied it off my driver's license. However, they failed to notice that I had updated the address on that document, and did not read the back of the card, where the update was. (I live in California, where this incident occurred, and there's a space on the back of my driver's license for just this purpose.)

It has been some time since my first California driver's license was issued, and so the forwarding service from my initial address had long since expired. Therefore, I never received any bill that they sent. Furthermore, as I was unconscious until I reached the hospital, I did not note the ambulance company's name and address (or, for that matter, anything else about the journey).

Fast forward to autumn 2009. I receive a letter from a collection service, stating that I have an unpaid bill to Company A, for emergency medical transportation! I had never received a bill for this, and having been incapacitated, wouldn't have known who to pay. I called the collection agency and told them about this, and they said I should send payment to the ambulance company, and gave me a "trip number" to mention. They also said that if I did so, there would be no complaint on my credit report. I sent payment and heard nothing more of it.

Fast forward once again to the present day. I have recently requested my credit reports, and have seen that all three have collection activity posted owing to this episode.

I am nuclear-pissed about this. While I am considering getting ACAB tattooed on my knuckles and telling people it means All Collectors Are Bastards, I'd readily settle for getting all mention of this out of all of my credit files.

I know I've done some stupid things here (admitting the debt, dealing with the collection agency via non-written means, not following up, maybe even more things), but can I fix this going forward, and if so, how?

Argument against Bill O'Reilly?

grammalvsu — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:18:15 -0800

My uncle loves "The O'Reilly Factor" and relies on it for much of his news consumption. He sees Bill O'Reilly as a "straight-shooter". I'm trying to convince him of the folly of his ways. What evidence can I point to? thank you!

Mitigating credit impact of collection agency letter

cider — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:24:45 -0800

I received a letter yesterday from a collection agency: I was late in paying a bill for a $10 copay. I actually did put a check in the mail for what I think is this same bill last week, but it looks like it was too late and they've turned it over to this agency. It's only $10, so I'm not worried about paying it (or even paying it twice). What I am worried about is my credit score. The letter says "This account will be reported to the credit bureau in 45 days if not paid in full." Does that mean that if I pay the bill quickly, it won't affect my credit score? Or will paying the $10 somehow be admitting that I deserved to have it turned over to a collection agency? Would it would be better to call the original company and ask them if they received my check and whether they can call off the dogs? Basically, what I want to know is: Is there any downside to paying this $10 bill? And is there anything else that I should be doing to make sure that my credit is affected as little as possible? Note: I realize I was dumb to let the bill sit for as long as I did, and I have no excuse. I won't do it again!

Verizon Lying

leftfooter — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:38:32 -0800

Are Verizon lying to my face? What is the best strategy to adopt in order to defend myself? I recently changed service providers for my cell phone account from Verizon to AT&T due to the purchase of an iPhone. I had been with Verizon since 1998.
Iniatially, to open the account, they required a $200 deposit which I paid. The balance on my account is around $200 and I instructed them to apply my deposit towards that.
The first person I spoke to 2 months ago told me they had no record of my deposit. I spoke to another CSR yesterday & they've now informed me that they credited my account back in 2002, but are unwilling or unable to provide me with documentation to prove this. I know I never received any documentation regarding the return of this deposit.
I really want to fight this but am I wasting my time?? They're threatening me with sending my account to a collection agency if I don't pay. I have yet to speak to a supervisor & was wondering what is the best strategy to adopt in order to defend myself?

All input truly welcome!

Companies that bargain down your medical bills for you?

El Curioso — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:09:20 -0800

Have you ever used one of those companies that bargain down your medical bills, then take part of what they saved you as payment? I'm wondering if it's a legit service, and if so what kind of results you can expect.

How much should I charge for consulting work?

hellodonna — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:11:04 -0800

I will be doing some consulting work. Basically I will be strategizing with a very small company on optimizing their presence on the web and helping them with social networking. Here's my problem-- I have no idea what to charge for my time. I will spend two hours driving to them and probably an hour or two consulting. What do you think I should charge? I don't want to be too low but I am also scared that I might be too high. What do you think would be a good rate? I am located in the Philadelphia area if that makes any difference.

I want to be informed before I engage in healthcare debate

Foam Pants — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:41:54 -0800

I would like to find a copy of the proposed healthcare reform bill with some non-partisan translation of some of the legal-ese. Does this exist? I am looking for the whole bill, if possible.

I really want to pay my bill, I just don't know how much or who to give the money to

theichibun — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:16:59 -0800

The wife got a bill in the mail (then lost the bill) from either Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina or the South Carolina State Department of Education. She can't remember which, but does remember that it's a health insurance bill (which for some reason the state department of education has sent to them before, possibly due to the mother in law being a teacher in South Carolina) for roughly $500-600.

To make things more interesting the mother in law is keeping the wife on her health insurance until the wife gets her own or is covered by mine. However, the bill is in the wife's name.

Obviously we don't want to just ignore it until they send another one with late fees.

I've looked on both websites. State Department of Education has contact numbers for general information, the superintendent, office of communications, and education certification. Blue Cross/Blue Shield has numbers for buying insurance, getting information, reporting fraud, and looking for a job. None of which seems like it's the right number to call.

What can we do to both find out where the bill was from in the first place, and then convince the right people to send us another one so we can actually pay it (and possibly get an extension on the payment date if sending stuff through the mail would make it difficult to have the payment get there on time)? However, at this point we'd also settle for just learning the amount and paying the bill online.

Fake bills and what to do about them

jinjo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:17:48 -0800

I have in my hand a "Past Due Notice" for my stay in-- and I quote-- "the hospital." It claims to be from Texas Medicine Resources, which is a real company, but the address they want me to mail my $250 to is of course different from the one Google gives me, and besides that there is not a lick of specific information anywhere that would convince me they have any connection to my medical history. Assuming I'm right that justice needs to be served, how can I help that happen? Now: I did go to the emergency room somewhat recently, because nothing else was open at the time and I was scared of malignant ear tumors or whatever I was imagining I had. They said there was nothing wrong with me, and I could have them check harder, for money, or go home for free. I chose the latter. Does some scammer know about that event? Was it a lucky guess that I might have had a hospital visit in my recent past? Is the whole thing in fact legit?

All I have done so far is open it, squint at it, and run to y'all. There is a number, but I haven't called it in case of advice like "WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T LET THEM GET YOUR PHONE NUMBER" or something. So, again, the question here is not just "Is this a scam?" (unless it isn't, in which case tell me that), but "What do I do about this now, assuming it is?" Thanks, folks, you're wonderful~

Lower my monthly bill...

likeapen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:49:37 -0800

I plan on upgrading to a Blackberry Curve with Verizon and going on their emailing and messaging plan (450 min unlimited). On their website it comes to $99.99 an month. I'm an avid texter, want voice, be able to email, go online and use vzn navigator. I want to lower that monthly bill... What can I disable (that I'll be charged for) on the Blackberry so I won't have to pay $100 a month?

Is there redemption after data-roaming?

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:40:11 -0800

I made a terrible mistake and racked up a big cell phone bill while roaming internationally (iphone - data roaming!). What should I do? Can I negotiate this down somehow? I have an iphone. I keep international data roaming turned off by default. HOwever, while travelling to the US I have occasionally turned it on for a few minutes to check my email (i.e. just text). This has never resulted in anything truly disastrous, basically it's an extra $100 on my bill.

So last month while travelling in Europe, I also turned on the data roaming for a few minutes at a time. Some email checking, one google maps lookup, and one picture (from iphone cam, so low-res I assume) upload.

I started to worry a few days ago after seeing this question: http://ask.metafilter.com/123922/30000-per-gig-Really Sure enough, I just got my bill.My bill is ~$500 and I'm pretty freaked out.

I would like to call, apologize profusely and try to get them to lower the bill. Is this possible? What are my chances of success. Have you done it? What's my best bet for strategies?

Additional details:

1) I'm in Canada. My provider is Fido.
2) I'm set to auto-pay by credit card in 2 weeks. So I assume if they say no, they're just going to bill me.
3) I've been a customer for about 5 years, and always paid on time.
4) There is a data-roaming plan (which I don't have) which would have made this cheaper. Could I maybe say "Can I pay what I would have paid with that plan"? Would that work?
5) I do understand that this is completely my fault. I don't intend to do this again and keep negotiating it down. Believe me, this is that last time my iphone leaves the country!
6) I would be happy to talk this down to $150ish.
7) If I absolutely can't talk it down, I would like to have them distribute the costs over 4 months or something. Possible?

Anon because I don't want my friends to know I'm a total idiot who doesn't have the good sense to take their advice and leave the data roaming off.

Real Time with Bill Maher Tickets

shortbooks — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:25:15 -0800

How do I get tickets to be in the audience for Real Time with Bill Maher?

$2100 in overage charges on my cellphone bill

Dragonness — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:33:27 -0800

Outrageous cellphone bill, my fault entirely. Any recourse? I have $2100 in overage charges on my cellphone bill, accumulated over the course of four months, while I was working on an unusually communication-intense project. I never noticed it because I’ve had Auto Pay for two years, and usually have about 2000 rollover minutes to spare.

I work remotely and we didn’t have a landline at home until recently, so I use my cellphone for work.

My usual bill is in the range of $117-$127. Last month I discovered that since I started this project the phone bills were $677, $907, $590, $410 (I was on vacation much of December). All this added up to $2100 in overage charges.

My husband and I never noticed the deductions because we were doing construction on our new place at the time and money was continuously going out of our bank account, in the hundreds and thousands, to pay for the work.

When we finally found out, I immediately switched over to a higher minute plan. AT&T credited me back $680 for the last two months, but wouldn’t go beyond that, after several phone calls. They said they usually never go beyond one month, so they went out of their way by crediting me two months’ overage.

I can’t bill this to the customer because they never signed up for it, and my manager has said as much. I choose to work from home, and whether I use a cellphone or landline my company is not responsible for it.

It’s entirely my fault.

I’m wondering if the Auto Pay/trust angle gives me some options legally. AT&T’s line is “Stop worrying about paying bills and sign up for Auto Pay!”. They’re telling me I don’t need to worry if I have Auto Pay.

I also learned that they do notify customers of high usage but only for international calls.

Can anything be done? Is it true that AT&T can’t credit me overage beyond the past two months?

Does grandma need an electric submeter?

letahl — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:49:52 -0800

Help my grandma lower her utility bill by installing a submeter for the downstairs tenants. My 77-year-old grandmother unplugs her appliances to eliminate ghost loads, doesn't keep bulbs in all the lights, and keeps the heat at 68. But she keeps getting ever-increasing electricity bills. This month her bill was $540. Meanwhile, her friend lives in the same townhouse complex, across the parking lot, in a bigger house, with her husband, and they keep the heat high, leave all the lights on, and run a full-fledged office out of the basement (5 computers, which she never turns off). Her bill for the same time period? $360. It's like this every month, with my grandma's bill around 1/3 higher, with no obvious reason why.

The only explanation that I can think of is that Grandma has a couple living in the basement apartment. They do have a range top and refrigerator, a tv and computer, bathroom with heat lamp, but that's it. No space heater, so they say, and it appears from her occasional impromptu visits downstairs that this is true.

Grandma's in the suburbs of DC, and electricity is running about a dime a KWH. She had her heating system checked out and the tech said it was fine. I bought her a Kill-a-Watt last year and she goes around testing everything trying to figure out what is wrong. I am trying to convince her to get a submeter for the tenants downstairs. Maybe its NOT them, but I feel the more variables you remove, the more progress you are making.

So, here are my questions. I see that submeters run around $250 online, but how much is it on top of that to get one installed? Also, given the facts as I've described them, is there any other course of action you would recommend? These bills are really hurting her.

Thanks, Mefites.

Dine and Punishment

fucker — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:34:28 -0800

What happens if you eat at a restaurant and then can't pay the bill? I'm looking for experienced answers from people that know better, not conjectures. Let's say you're at a restaurant, and eat a big meal, but when the time comes you realize you forgot your wallet. In what ways will the restaurant respond to this? Will they call the police? Will they trust you to leave and "bring the money back", with zero real assurances you will return? Will they make you wash dishes?

This seems like it would be a common occurrence, but some friends and I were stumped about what would happen. The restaurant seems to be at the mercy of the patron.

Having the police come and escort away a patron seems like it would really have a negative effect on the image of the restaurant to other diners, especially in higher end restaurants that would incur enough of a loss from the meal cost to warrant such measures. On the other hand it seems strange to me to think that they would just let someone leave on the honor system for $50-$150. And what if the patron says that they just can't afford to pay?

MeFites with restaurant experience please share with me how you dealt with these situations, or were supposed to deal with them. In what circumstances did you ever rely on the police? (e.g. only when people intentionally try and exit the door without paying, or even if they tell you they are unable to pay)

Patrons are encouraged to share their stories too. How did they deal with you when the bill came, and you couldn't cut it?

How long 'til the bill collectors go away? It's been more than 10 years for a $50 debt...

giddygirlie — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:23:43 -0800

How long 'til the bill collectors go away? It's been more than 10 years for a $50 debt... Over 10 years ago I had a credit card that had a $100 balance on it. I sent in a payment for $50 and it got posted late to my account (company's explanation was that they don't consider it 'received' until the check clears or some such nonsense) so I incurred a $38 late fee, plus my APR went up to 22%. Shortly after, I lost my job and even though I never used the card again, I got behind on my payments (now $88 + fees), which caused me to rack up another $38 per month plus penalty fees and such.

When I called to close my account officially, I was told that I owed something like $400 to close it, which I couldn't afford. The account was immediately sent to collections and I was harrassed by bill collectors for a long time. The company was sold several times over in the following years and each time it changed hands, my 'debt' would be re-sold and I'd get calls again.

Even though I now had a blemish on my credit record, I thought I was ok. Flash forward 10 years and now a debt collector is calling me about this same debt only now they are asking $1700 to settle it and get it off my record. I explained how the "debt" was actually only $50 and that the rest was their own "fees" and the person essentially said Too Bad, So Sad because they'd acquired the debt at a certain price and needed to reclaim it at that price.

This seems completely contrary to everything I have ever heard about debts. Usually the company that the debt is owed to writes off the debt on their taxes, but then tries to collect for a certain period of time and if unsuccessful, they sell it to a debt collector for a lower cost (and that's how they can make you deals for "pennies on the dollar"). But these folks insist that they cannot bring the cost down below $1700 and so I have just been ignoring their calls.

Is there any real worry about ignoring this? I already acknowledge the note on my credit file, but other that that, are there any consequences? I thought after a certain number of years (7?) that a debt is considered void? I don't want to pay $1700 on principle. Yes, I made a debt mistake when I was young, but that's a heck of an inflation rate on $50! Now that I am in a better career position and make more money, I'm concerned that somehow they will try and come after my assets or garnish my wages. Am I being too neurotic? Or do I need to get aggressive and try to negotiate some kind of payment plan with them? It pains me to think of paying $1700 for this, especially in this economy, but I also don't want it to be in my personnel file at work that I have a wage garnishment.

My own personal financial secretary....

aetg — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:39:45 -0800

I am looking for a bank with a sophisticated online banking system. Specifically, I would like a bank that has an online bill pay that will recognize what day I am getting paid and not take money out of the account before that day.

I have several repeating payments that I unfortunately have to check monthly as my pay date changes because the site invariably decides to take out the money one day before I get paid.

One of the biggest problems is that the time frame for the automatic payments is so long. Many of my payments take up to 5 days to process because they are printing out and cutting checks.

A For Example: I am paying my internet bill. The bill is set up to reoccur monthly. The bill takes 4 days to process. I have the bill set up on the 20th of the month so that the money comes out of my check on the 16th, the day after I got paid. If the 20th is a Sunday then the bank pulls money out of my account on the 14th.

I know that I can change the date I pay bills and pay them later in the month so this won't be such an issue. However, I want a automatic banking system that I don't have to babysit every month. A bank that processes checks quickly would also be a plus.

Please hope me, President Obama

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:03:56 -0800

NoInsuranceFilter: I awoke New Years Day in the hospital. My clothes had been cut off, I had a catheter in and a wrist restraint on my left wrist. I had five stitches in my eyebrow. The bill has arrived. Out with a friend, drinking and apparently got ahead of myself. Said friend was concerned with other things and claims to have not noticed my state. He says that he recalls seeing someone steal my shoulder bag off my prone body after I was struck and fell to the sidewalk head first but claims to have been more concerned with the blood coming from my head. I lost a digital camera and my passport along with numerous objects and papers gathered during years living abroad. Despite his claim at having been concerned with my safety, I awoke six hours later alone in the hospital. He wasn't so concerned to have even gone to the hospital with me. I called him and asked him to please pick me up when the hospital indicated it was time for me to go and he called back and asked if I could find anyone else to get me.

Now, the bill has arrived.

Blood bank - $137.00
Emergency - $18,637.50
Pharmacy - $218.00
IV Solutions - $116.00
Pulm Func - $86.00
Drug/Detail Code - $682.00
CT Scan - $24,379.00
Speech Therapy - $307.00
Radiology - $1015.50
IV Therapy - $636.00
Clinical Labs - $2700.50
Clinic - $25.00
Total: $48,940

I was in the emergency room from ~0230 until ~1130. The UC hospital even sent a small blue envelope so I could send my remittance.

I've contacted the county and asked for assistance. I'm a late-30's full-time community college student preparing to transfer. I receive financial aid and pick up occasional daily work as a consultant. On paper, I don't have a job.

I meet with the California county tomorrow and wonder what they will be looking for on my bank statement? The depression I felt after taking a beating, losing personal and valuable possessions along with losing a friend was beat back a bit with the purchase of an LCD TV made before the bill arrived. While I spent less than $500 should I be concerned with the county representative line-itemizing my most recent expenses? I haven't made any withdrawals and am not hiding monies. Should I hide expenses? My checking and savings are less than $600, combined. I just received a $1000 financial aid check but it won't be on my current statement. It is earmarked for the next two months rent.

I own a car but it is registered non-op. My possessions worth noting are the car, my bike, a bed, the tv and my laptop.

Finally, a professor suggested writing to my representatives both locally and nationally regarding the ridiculousness of this bill. Should I bother?

If I've left anything relevant out, I can be emailed at fortyeightnineforty@gmail.com

Any free/simple billing websites available?

olddogeyes — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:18:02 -0800

Is there a free website/service that allows simple billing? I pay for my daughters cell phone bill monthly but she has to pay $10 towards it. I'd like to "bill her" via email automatically every month to get her introduced to the responsibility of paying bills on time. Ideally this "billing service" would be free, would allow me to enter her email and sms and keep a running tab of what she owes. Has anyone built this yet? If not, any other suggestions?

Cheap calls please

djgh — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:52:36 -0800

UK Mobile phone monthly contract recommendations? My current contract with T-Mobile is up next month, and it's costing me way too much.

I need roughly 3 hours and 300 texts a month, but I also need to be able to make short calls and send texts to abroad relatively frequently.

I also travel to Europe and North America around three or four times a year, so ideally roaming would be somehow included or cheap.

Currently I'm also charged for calling Voicemail, so if that would be included, great.

I pay around £45 a month at the moment, but bills have gone up to £70 with roaming. I'd ideally like to reduce my payments.

So, on the basis of that, what can you recommend? I stopped into the Carphone Warehouse, and the guy basically said O2 was pretty good, but didn't really develop anything beyond that.

Bill Joy is awesome, and I want to meet him.

masymas — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:41:05 -0800

Can I meet Bill Joy? I live in Denver, and ski in the Aspen area from time to time. Bill Joy lives there, and I dream of a day when I could have lunch with him and talk about technology, business ventures, and the future. His piece 'Why the future doesn't need us' really struck me when I read it back in 2000 as a sophomore in college. Further, we have similar interests, as we've both read Kruzweil and Drexler (and perhaps others), so I think we might have some good things to discuss. And although I consider myself to be a mere mortal relative to Mr Joy in the programming world, we would also have a common basis for conversation in that realm as well. So, even thought this is a long shot, maybe someone here knows someone who knows someone? Please pass it on that I'd be happy to buy lunch anywhere between Denver and Aspen for the great chance to chat with Mr Joy. Thanks!

How to find the real dirt on how a bill actually becomes a law

croutonsupafreak — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:56:54 -0800

How can I research how a particular act of the U.S. Congress came into existence - with as much detail as is possible about how it changed from proposal to final act and how it was influenced along the way? I don't just want the language of the law, the bill's House and Senate sponsors and the breakdown of how everyone voted. I'd like to know what committees it went through, any available minutes/transcripts from those committees, how it was amended as it worked its way through consideration, and who is responsible making the amendments to the bill.

And beyond the specific act that I'm interested in (from 2003), I'd like to know how to research this stuff in general. It need not all exist on the public Internet. I'm not averse to subscribing to databases (within financial limits) or heading to the library.

Points of Light?

melangell — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:56:41 -0800

In past seasons of "Real Time with Bill Maher" what did the points of light on the map represent? I once sent this question into the show's email address, but, sadly, never got a response. Since the set has changed this season, I am hoping that the hive mind may answer this quandary or else I guess I may never know.

Is Scott McCLellan a patriot or a weasel?

minkll — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:30:52 -0800

Who spins for the White House? As O'Reilly berated Scott McCLellan he made him admit that he wasn't getting talking points from the White House. Who are the "pundits and commentators" who do get these talking points. I've heard Rush Limbaugh, the O'man mentioned Chris Matthews. Who else? Michael Gordon? Roger Ailes?

How do I properly run Jello Wrestling?

Blandanomics — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:34:17 -0800

Jello Wrestling for dummies? Because I live in a house with 24 people where two are graduating and two have birthdays in the same week, we have decided to throw a party that involves Jello Wrestling.

Our plan was to get a kids pool and fill it up with lots of this stuff.

If you have run this type of event before: Any advice or battle stories? Materials recommended?

And if you have attended this kind of thing: what made it awesome (or not so awesome)?

Where not a frat house but everyone is of college age and we have a spacious back deck where we will be hosting this.