Posted by Snoozin on July 24, 2006, at 21:19:26
In reply to Is a car an asset collections agency can take?, posted by PhoenixGirl on July 24, 2006, at 17:41:53
In general, a collections agency can't take anything but your voluntary payment for a debt. And there are federal laws about how little they are allowed to harass you.
The creditor (hospital) can file a civil suit against you and obtain judgment against you in the amount you owe (sometimes less). Not sure if a collections agency can do this or not. In the case of a civil judgment against you, some states allow the creditor to go after personal or real (land) property.
Generally, it's in the hospital's best interest to set up a payment plan with you, and I believe even if you pay as little as $10 a month, that shows a good faith effort on your part to repay the debt. I'd have to check into that some more.
Hang in there, PG. This is a pain in the ***, but it's a surmountable one.
poster:Snoozin
thread:670102
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060721/msgs/670170.html