~Debt Collectors Think Your Dumb~

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

Valdosta, Georgia

January 29, 2016 1:37pm CST

We got a bill in the mail from a debt collector for a hospital bill in my husband's name. I called the company with his Medicaid information and told them it should have been sent to them not us. She said well the bill is from August 17th and his Medicaid didn't start until November 1st. I said yes, Medicaid pays unpaid bills from 3 months prior. She said, oh okay well we will send the bill to them then. Apparently she didn't think I knew that information. Too bad for her I am more intelligent than she realized! Lol. She seemed thrown off when I mentioned that. The bill was for $3,000 and honestly we don't need this on our credit report! Have you ever outsmarted a debt collector?

25 people like this

24 responses

@Hatley (163776)

• Garden Grove, California

29 Jan 16

odd that se is nt up on her o wn comp any that hired her to be an i ntelligent wo rker you are the smart one.

3 people like this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

29 Jan 16

@Hatley I think that is something she should be aware of since they probably deal with insurance companies every day.

I was surprised she didn't seem to know.

1 person likes this

Margaret Mwangi

@Missmwngi (12915)

• Nairobi, Kenya

29 Jan 16

Thats is so smart of you. Maybe she did not even know that detail lol

2 people like this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

29 Jan 16

@Missmwngi Yeah I don't think she did but she tried to make me look like the idiot at first. Didn't work.

3 people like this

Margaret Mwangi

@Missmwngi (12915)

• Nairobi, Kenya

29 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies Too bad for her if she wanted to get something out of you

2 people like this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

29 Jan 16

@Marty1 You would think since it is her job to know that she would know but I am glad I knew anyway.

1 person likes this

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@Marcyaz (35316)

• United States

29 Jan 16

Yes when I was in the hospital I received a bill that my secondary hadn't paid and when I called they said " we didn't know you had a seconday insurance." my reply was somebody should have as I signed all your stupid paperwork and it is on there. Goodbye

2 people like this

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@Marcyaz (35316)

• United States

30 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies You always have to check everything so they don't get away with anything like that.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

29 Jan 16

@Marcyaz Yeah, sometimes they try to get away with making us pay I swear. They hope we wont catch on.

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@jaboUK (64354)

• United Kingdom

30 Jan 16

I've had nothing to do with them fortunately. It's a good job that you knew more than she did.

2 people like this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@jaboUK You are very lucky. I am glad I knew my facts before calling.

1 person likes this

Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317089)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

30 Jan 16

No, but I'd like to. I'm glad you were able to.

2 people like this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@just4him Thanks, I am just glad we don't have to pay that bill!

1 person likes this

Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (317089)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

30 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies I'm sure you are. I had one from when I was in the nursing home a couple months ago. They did a chest X-ray because I was coughing so bad, and the company didn't have my medicaid info. That bill was huge. I called them and gave them my info and haven't seen a bill since.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (340200)

• Rockingham, Australia

30 Jan 16

And if you hadn't known that I guess she would have just billed you! Lucky escape I'd say - not so much lucky as well done for knowing the facts.

2 people like this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@JudyEv Yeah that is what I was thinking as well. She was planning on sending me the bill before I said about Medicaid.

1 person likes this

@kevin1877uk (36988)

•

30 Jan 16

It pays to be on your feet with them, glad you were.

1 person likes this

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@kevin1877uk (36988)

•

30 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies Well done, it's always good to be on top of things when something like that happens.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@kevin1877uk Thanks, I was glad too. We could not afford that bill.

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Anne Marie Guyer

@LeaPea2417 (37355)

• Toccoa, Georgia

30 Jan 16

What got me ticked off once was I was paying on a medical bill with at payment plan and it was like one day late and they sent the whole payment to a debt collector! I ended up paying it but it was just the fact that being one day late, they should have charged me a late fee instead of sending it to a debt collector!

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@LeaPea2417 One day late is insane for them to send it to a collection agency! They usually give more time than that.

1 person likes this

@AbbyGreenhill (45494)

• United States

30 Jan 16

In all my years I have never had any contact with a debt collector and I'm glad you had the answer ready for that person...good for you.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@AbbyGreenHill Your very lucky that you never had to deal with them. I am glad too because we don't have the money for that kind of bill.

@AbbyGreenhill (45494)

• United States

30 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies Not with moving and that new baby coming you sure don't.

@CookieMonster46 (13454)

• United States

30 Jan 16

Did you ever send the bill to Medicaid yourself? If you did they should have take care of it long ago for you.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@CookieMonster46 This was the first bill we got from them actually. Which was strange because it was already from a debt collector!

1 person likes this

@CookieMonster46 (13454)

• United States

30 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies Happened to my dad too, he went to the ER by ambulance, 4 months later he gets a bill from collections saying he owes $200, his insurance doesn't pay for the ride, He was upset because he never received the bill or he would have paid it.

@softbabe44 (5816)

• Vancouver, Washington

30 Jan 16

Some are like that thinking others may be dumb.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@softbabe44 Yeah she got the wrong person. Lol

1 person likes this

@softbabe44 (5816)

• Vancouver, Washington

31 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies I bet it took her a while to figure that one out for sure.

@mom210 (9117)

• United States

30 Jan 16

Nope, they should have paid bills from when our twins were born but never would. We ended paying it just so we would not have it on the credit.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@mom210 I hate stuff like that, it is really unfair. We couldn't afford that bill and he has insurance so there was no way we were paying it.

1 person likes this

@paigea (36317)

• Canada

30 Jan 16

It's good you knew the rules. I am glad we don't get medical bills to deal with. Seems an extra insult to deal with after being sick.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@paigea Yeah, I could not afford a bill like that! I am just glad I knew and they will send the bill to his insurance.

1 person likes this

@fishtiger58 (29820)

• Momence, Illinois

30 Jan 16

I know what I owe and no one is getting more from me. Once I had to take my kid to the emergency room. My insurance paid for a visit and I paid the rest. A few months later I got a bill from the emergency room doc for 600 bucks. I guess they thought I was going to pay it. Not part of my insurance. Apparently the hospital hires docs when they are short of docs in the emergency room. I didn't pay, my insurance told me not to. Took 6 months before I stopped getting those doc bills. No was was I going to pay that.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@fishtiger58 They do stuff like that all the time and that's why I wasn't allowing them to get away with it. I was glad I knew that fact.

1 person likes this

@fishtiger58 (29820)

• Momence, Illinois

30 Jan 16

@LovingMyBabies No doubt because they would have taken your money, and you would never get it back.

1 person likes this

@carlaabt (3504)

• United States

29 Jan 16

I had something similar happen to me once. When we were on vacation, my husband stepped on a nail at his dad's house. We made all the proper calls before we even went to urgent care. A couple of months later we got a letter saying we needed to pay it. When I called, they said his insurance had expired. He's active duty military and had been for about 6 years at the time. I explained to them that our insurance had certainly not expired. I called tricare and they had already paid the part they pay!

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

I hate when companies don't know what their talking about. It is really annoying. I'm glad his insurance did cover the part they should have.

@celticeagle (167015)

• Boise, Idaho

30 Jan 16

Down through the years I have a few times. I told one that I needed the original information on this debt to be sure it is mine before I make any decisions on payment. I never heard from them again.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@celticeagle Lol, it doesn't surprise me that you never heard from them again. Sometimes they think their slick.

@scheng1 (24649)

• Singapore

30 Jan 16

That debt collector is probably a temp staff on a minimum wage. These people are usually not given much training or information. Their bosses just ask them to follow the procedure and follow the script when someone calls.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@scheng1 That very well could be but at first she tried to argue with me-but I told her I knew Medicaid covers 3 months prior.

@jstory07 (139742)

• Roseburg, Oregon

29 Jan 16

Maybe she thought you would be dumb enough to pay it.`

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

29 Jan 16

@Jstory07 Maybe she did but she got the wrong customer on the phone. Lol.

@amadeo (111938)

• United States

29 Jan 16

No I have not.Yes,I believe that they think that you are not too smart.I hate the word dumb.But never had any problem and no need to.

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

29 Jan 16

@amadeo I think she thought I was just going to pay the bill-not happening.

@Dena91 (16634)

• United States

30 Jan 16

Perhaps she was hoping you wouldn't know that information and pay the bill, then also bill medicare and get double payments for the same bill. I know it happens all the time. Glad you knew that information. Have a blessed day

1 person likes this

@LovingMyBabies (85288)

• Valdosta, Georgia

30 Jan 16

@Dena91 That is exactly what I think! She was trying to get double payment but I am not that dumb.