How to talk to a hard nose about finances
March 9, 2015 10:54 AM   Subscribe

So I'm sorting through my bills from my recent hospitalization, and found one for $700+ from Visiting Nurses Association (this is a valid bill). The hard nose I spoke to on the phone said 90 days or 15 percent off if I pay by Friday.

Folks, I was off work for almost two months and I'm only back to work 6 hours/day after several weeks of 4 hours/day (Half days=half paychecks.) I asked her if she would take $25/month (like the hospital agreed to) and she said, "We can't guarantee it would stay in house." So: two questions: Is it a myth that if you pay so much, no matter how little, that they won't send to collections and 2)any thoughts on convincing her, going up the ladder, etc. If so, who would be the best person to talk to? There is no one to borrow the money from, and although I am running a crowdfunder for medical expenses, that will not happen overnight. I prefer not to go to collections. Thanks.
posted by intrepid_simpleton to Work & Money (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Ask for a supervisor or team manager. Lay it out: "I know that if you send this bill to collections, you will only get a percentage of what they recover. I have $25/month to pay you, because I was extremely sick and wasn't pulling in a paycheck for a while. Now I am, and I can pay $25 every month until it's paid off, but if you send it to collections, you are going to get a fraction of it. Can we agree that I can pay you $25/month, and you get the whole thing, just a little slower?"
posted by juniperesque at 11:04 AM on March 9, 2015 [3 favorites]


Is it a myth that if you pay so much, no matter how little, that they won't send to collections

It totally depends on how they run their office. Some billing systems are set up in a way that stuff automatically goes to collections after a certain amount of time, even if there are recent payments on the account. It's stupid but there it is. I would definitely ask if you can speak to a manager and see if you can suss out what exactly is meant by "we can't guarantee it would stay in house". Maybe someone could flag it so that it won't go out as long as you're making regular payments. Or maybe you'll decide to take your chances. I personally might try to make $25 a month for as long as I can and see what happens. Ask the manager you speak to if the collections agencies they use report to credit agencies. Not all of them do. If it's not going to affect your credit score, who cares if it goes to collections? That's just my opinion, YMMV.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:06 AM on March 9, 2015 [2 favorites]


Payment plans aren't a myth - they just might not be a reality at this place. I'd definitely ask to talk to a manager.
posted by radioamy at 11:21 AM on March 9, 2015


Response by poster: No, not a myth. The hospital was most compliant.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 2:55 PM on March 9, 2015


If it's not going to affect your credit score, who cares if it goes to collections?

I'm not sure why it woudn't affect your credit score, but if it wouldn't then you're better off letting it go to collections. Collections will settle with you for less than the full amount of the debt. If it's not going to ding your credit score, why not pay less?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:08 PM on March 9, 2015


Response by poster: It was a different provider--a hospital--but I have sure had medical debt show up on my credit report (after going to collections). Thanks for the good ideas, all.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 7:07 PM on March 9, 2015


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