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Collections Law/collection on medical service 5 years ago

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Expert: Creditwrench - 8/19/2009


Question
In early 2005, I saw a chiropractor in Utah approximately three times. The office was to make a claim with my insurance co. (the provider was in-network). I never received a bill or any other kind of statement from the provider. In March of 2009 a new billing clerk performed an audit and found me to owe $135.00 as part of my deductible. All out of pocket expenses are paid through a medical flex account which requires all payments be requested and payed out in the year the service is provided. Obviously, any charges at this point are not eligible. Now this amount has gone to collections and talking with both the provider and the collection agency has gotten me nowhere. Isn't there some responsibility on the part of the provider to issue a bill in a timely manner? The provider doesn't think so. Am I really responsible for paying a bill that is 4 years late? I appreciate any advice you could give me.

Answer
Utah statute of limitations is 4 years so I would just play along with them demanding validation and stalling in any way you can think of without making any promises and they may very well let it slide until the SOL is out and then you could easily defend against any lawsuit. One thing you need to watch for is making sure you have all the documentation in place including proof of when the last payment was made to the chiropractor. I'd just sit back and play it as cool as possible.

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Creditwrench

Expertise

Debt Collections law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), federal law, how to properly answer court summons for collection cases, how to prepare federal cases against debt collectors, how to deal with debt collection phone calls.

Experience

I've been an active consumer advocate for more than 40 years and have helped hundreds of people win cases against debt collectors as well as helping them defeat demands for summary judgment lodged against them by banks, debt collectors and defeat mortgage foreclosures and keep their homes.

Education/Credentials
Paralegal courses for the most part.
I have been teaching people how to deal with judgments, mortgage foreclosures and other such problems both on and off the internet for many, many years. I am a Richard Cornforth information provider ever since 2000 and worked with many other organizations and causes since 1980. I was Oklahoma State Chairman for the nationwide drive to defeat the Constitutional Convention which was proposed by various factions within our federal government such as the Council of State Governments and the National Organization of State Governors who were working hard to organize a Constitutional Convention to be held in 1995 for the purpose of rewriting our American Constitution to be more acceptable to the United Nations. I worked with Senator Charles Duke of Colorado and Senator Don Rogers of California and many others across the nation to keep them from getting the number of delegate states required to lawfully hold a Con-Con and we were successful. I have worked with many other legislative issues in Oklahoma and have always been very successful.

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