Expert: Chris Ebert - 9/29/2009

Question
i had an accident over 4 years ago. the party responsible did not pay my chiropractic bills. i got a small settlement for pain and suffering but it wouldn't cover the bill, it was enough to cover my gas to and from all my appointments. i had treatment from 7-6-05-8-31-05. The total bill was $3,100. i knew the doctor personally. i remember him saying not to worry about. just this july, i received a very aggressive call from a collections agency. basically, the doctor now wants his money. i haven't heard from him till now. they say they sent letters and bills but i have moved 4 times since then. when i finally called them about it, they said they tried to contact me to which i replied, you NEVER once tried calling. i was going to see if we could negotiate, but then after talking to my husband, we decided to not pay them and see if they would try to collect. the collections/law agency has now sent me a letter saying that my silence now means they will pursue being paid and if i don't pay in 5 days, they will pursue further collections activity. i still believe they are past their SOL and think the charges and the additional 1,200 in interest. i don't want to contact the chiropractor and try to settle it with them. i think they deserve nothing. they way overcharged and for 2 months of treatments, i think 3,000+ is excessive. had they contacted me personally, as that is the reason i saw them in the first place-we knew each other as friends at church- i feel no desire to pay them for the lousy way they are going about this now.

Answer
Michele,

Hi!

1) Statute of Limitations -- (http://www.expertlaw.com/library/limitations_by_state/) I am not sure what state you are in but this list gives a good idea of the statute of limitations by state. This is the time period in which they have to sue you and is usually based on last treatment date if there was no payment rendered.

The collection agency can pursue you aggressively until you pay or die. They can not post on your credit report after 7.5 years. If you want to stop them you can send a cease and desist letter to them via certified mail. You can find a sample cease and desist letter at http://www.henleycreditlaw.com/266/