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Any sympathy for people who get hounded by creditors?

J

jtvang125

Diamond Member
I do IT work for a medical collection agency so I overhear many of the collector's calls all day long. I have no sympathy for many of the debtors at all. I mean they received a service from the hospital and now they're trying to dodge having to pay for it. I know some of blame can be placed on the skyrocketing cost of health care but that's besides the point. You have a legal obligation, you should take care of it.
 
Depend on the situation since many times you hear horror stories where out of no where a bill for $5 after 20 years is all of a sudden rearing it's head and is now $2,000.
 
not really

I worked in collections/asset recovery at a credit union for a few years. I loved to have cars repo'd.
 
Originally posted by: JS80
I have no sympathy for medical professionals who get stiffed.
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We're used to it. But what about plumbers, electricians, IT consultants, clerks at WalMart, etc...

What if I let someone walk off with a couple of carts of goods from WalMart and then charged you quadruple the value of goods in your cart? That goes on every day, in every emergency room in the U.S.
 
None here. A hospital is morally obligated to provide service to people, even if they can't afford the exorbitant rates. This, of course, depends on the procedures performed.
 
For medical bills? I absolutely have sympathy. Yes, they owe the money. Yes, they should have medical insurance. But a lot of people don't, and medical bills can put you in a world of debt in a hurry.

My wife had a medical procedure that the insurance company said (verbally) THREE DIFFERENT TIMES would be 100% covered. They denied coverage, and we suddenly owed the hospital $10K. We paid the bill, but we're "rich" (according to politicians, not according to reality). If we were in the bottom 50% of income earners, $10K would be a HUGE pill to swallow unexpectedly.
 
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Most collectors are scum.
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I don't deny that but I think most of those type of collectors work for agencies that buy their accounts. All of our accounts are assigned to us by our clients and if the client notifies us that they received any complaints on a collector, he or she will be fired on the spot.
 
Originally posted by: torpid
None here. A hospital is morally obligated to provide service to people, even if they can't afford the exorbitant rates. This, of course, depends on the procedures performed.
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Is the industrial gas company morally obligated to provide oxygen to that hospital? Or should they take a loss when dealing with hospitals because the patients steal oxygen tanks?
 
For medical debts... Yes. CC, Auto, Etc... No. When it comes to medical debt it is basically "Pay this or you're gonna die". Even if you don't have the cash, what other choice do you have? You have to pay what they tell you to pay and there's nothing you can do about it. $200 for a doctor to give me a $10 shot. Assholes.
 
I don't think medical debts can be recorded against your credit rating, at least in Massachusetts.
 
Originally posted by: keird
Originally posted by: torpid
None here. A hospital is morally obligated to provide service to people, even if they can't afford the exorbitant rates. This, of course, depends on the procedures performed.
Click to expand...

Is the industrial gas company morally obligaed to provide oxygen to that hospital? Or should they take a loss when dealing with hospitals because patients steal oxygen tanks?
Click to expand...

The hospital is obligated to pay for the gas the same way as any other business. One of the primary purposes of a hospital is to provide a public health service to the people of the region. Not everyone has health insurance or means of paying exorbitant health care rates. Yet the hospital chooses to remain open to the public and providing this public health service. It sucks for them that they don't get the money, but I have no sympathy for them if they try to get that money from people who can't afford their rates. Similarly, I don't feel terribly bad for my local power company when ordinances prevent them from shutting off heat in the dead of winter for people who can't afford their energy bills.
 
Medical bills for non-elective stuff? Yeah, I do. Medical care is over-the-top expensive...especially in this economy where so many people have lost their jobs and insurance for no fault of their own.


Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Most collectors are scum.
Click to expand...

For the most part, I agree with you on this.
 
Originally posted by: keird
Originally posted by: JS80
I have no sympathy for medical professionals who get stiffed.
Click to expand...

We're used to it. But what about plumbers, electricians, IT consultants, clerks at WalMart, etc...

What if I let someone walk off with a couple of carts of goods from WalMart and then charged you quadruple the value of goods in your cart? That goes on every day, in every emergency room in the U.S.
Click to expand...

ok go cry to your country club buddies and your $400k salary pretending like you went into medicine to help people. and please keep acting like a union with your monopolistic tactics by keeping medicine a very closed field.
 
I've been to more than one physician's office where the billing system is in complete shambles. You know something needs to be simplified when a doctor's visit results in 3 bills from 3 different services to my insurance company. Doubly so, when there is actually a fourth bill that never gets sent to my insurance agency or to me that almost goes into collection some months later when they decide to tell me I owe them money.

The entire system is a joke.
 
Originally posted by: JS80
Originally posted by: keird
Originally posted by: JS80
I have no sympathy for medical professionals who get stiffed.
Click to expand...

We're used to it. But what about plumbers, electricians, IT consultants, clerks at WalMart, etc...

What if I let someone walk off with a couple of carts of goods from WalMart and then charged you quadruple the value of goods in your cart? That goes on every day, in every emergency room in the U.S.
Click to expand...

ok go cry to your country club buddies and your $50k salary pretending like you went into medicine to help people. and please keep acting like a union with your monopolistic tactics by keeping medicine a very closed field.
Click to expand...

fixed. I'm a respiratory therapist.

I think that when insurance became mainstream 30 years ago, it began the cycle of expensive fees. When it was usually fee for service, it was way more affordable. Now people (including myself) usually have insurance to pay for it. The insurer netotiates better rates than an individual, but most hospitals will take 70% and settle.

30 years ago, most people paid their bills as individuals. Now they pay for all the staff used to bill, negotiate, insure and administer health care (if they pay) rather than just the doctor/nurse/secretary and supplies used.
 
Originally posted by: KnightBreed
I've been to more than one physician's office where the billing system is in complete shambles. You know something needs to be simplified when a doctor's visit results in 3 bills from 3 different services to my insurance company. Doubly so, when there is actually a fourth bill that never gets sent to my insurance agency or to me that almost goes into collection some months later when they decide to tell me I owe them money.

The entire system is a joke.
Click to expand...

I dont even want to get started on my story... 1st world country service with 3rd world accounting system.....
 
in all fairness, this country was founded by debtors. The colonies acted as a shelter for those escaping their massive debts and indefinite prison terms in the Old world (actually, murderers got off easier than debtors did back in the era of debtor's prison). declaring independence from Britain was a convenient way of erasing all of those debts at the time.

Basically, debt is in our blood. It's inescapable. Our economy depends on debt.

so, in that sense, I'm able to garner some sympathy for anyone in debt. The amount of sympathy rendered depends on the situation, of course 😉
 
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