CA trying to collect medial bill over 10yrs old?

[justbeach03]

My husband received a ltr from CA for a medical bill that should have been paid back in 2001. It was a sports injury (his nose was sliced off) that he received while playing for a semipro team and was fully covered by the league with their team insurance. Fastforward 11 yrs and the team was disbanded and we can't get ahold of their insurance.

The bill is $510 with a settlement of 30%= $357.54. This is the first he has EVER heard of it and we dont feel it should be his responsibility. Should he write a DV letter or is there a statue of limitations and it no longer applies?

[LadyInTheRed]

Didn't you just have a no-asset Chapter 7 discharged? If so, send them a copy of your discharge order and tell them the debt was discharged and that you will consider any further attempts to collect a violation of the Bankruptcy Court's permanent injunction and file a complaint against them.

[justbeach03]

To clarify~ My BK7 discharge was just for me. This is in reguards to a collection of an ER medical bill for my DH. I figure they somehow never collected from the original sports league insurance. The hospital wrote off the bill (11yrs ago), but sold the debt and it has been bought sold a few times since then. He was completely unaware & they are now trying to collect from him. I'm sure there's 11yrs of fees/interest built into it. So, should he ignore it, sent a DV letter, or not even bother since it's beyond the statue of limitations (living in FL now)?

[LadyInTheRed]

They are looking for low lying fruit. I think not responding increases the risk that they will sue in hopes of getting a default judgment in which case your husband would have to file an answer to assert the expiration of the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense. I think your DH should send a DV letter. After receiving a response he should then send a cease and desist letter. See Goingdown's last post in the following thread for the reasoning and sample language: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.ph...n-they-sue-you

[justbroke]

I could be completely wrong, but I thought California was a community property state. As such, I thought it was said that non-filing spouses (known as non-debtor spouses) enjoy a "hypothetical discharge". Of course, there are certain rules and you would need to have been married at the time the debt was created, as far as I know.

LITR is correct though... just send them a copy of the Discharge and a "firm" letter demanding that they stop attempting to collect a discharged debt. I have no clue if it will make them go away. They may actually be entitled to attempt to collect, but the Discharge generally scares off most creditors.

[frogger]

IMO, send them a copy of the discharge and a cease and desist. The bill is 11 years old, past the statute of limitations, and they have no teeth in which to be able to collect the bill.

If you pay them the 30%, most likely they are going to sell the bill to another CA and then you'll have it to do all over again. Stop it now.

[HHM]

I could be completely wrong, but I thought California was a community property state. As such, I thought it was said that non-filing spouses (known as non-debtor spouses) enjoy a "hypothetical discharge". Of course, there are certain rules and you would need to have been married at the time the debt was created, as far as I know.

LITR is correct though... just send them a copy of the Discharge and a "firm" letter demanding that they stop attempting to collect a discharged debt. I have no clue if it will make them go away. They may actually be entitled to attempt to collect, but the Discharge generally scares off most creditors.

I think the "phantom" discharge only applies if you file BK while still in the community property state.

[justbeach03]

I live in florida (LIR lives in Cali), so he cannot use the community property clause. In Fl there is a 4-5 yr SOL. Arkansas where the hospital was has a 5 yr as well.

[justbroke]

Well, it's still worth a try to just send the discharge and a C&D and/or DV letter. Tough choice on which to do.

(Thanks for the clarification on the "phantom" discharge, HHM.)

[GoingDown]

With a debt that old, I would start off with this letter, sent by certified mail...

[the date]

[your name]
[your address]
[your phone number if they are already calling you on it]

TO: [junk debt buyer or collection agency name and address]

I dispute the validity. Please send me written verification.

It is inconvenient for me to receive telephone calls from you at any time and at any location.

I revoke any prior authorization you may have had to call my cell phone and I demand that you never call my cell phone number.

Sincerely,
[your name printed by a computer]

Hopefully, they will respond and list the date when the medical services were rendered and the date the bill was incurred, which you can then use against them if they ever do sue you. It would help prove the debt is beyond the statute of limitations.

This nifty little letter takes away their ability to call you on the phone and if they do still call you, they may be violating the FDCPA and the TCPA, which you could use against them later, if necessary. If they do still call, start recording their phone calls, and inform them that you are recording their calls and will use them as evidence against them later if necessary.

Give them a month to respond (if they don't respond within a month they probably won't send you that information anyways, so it is time to move on to the next step), then send this letter...

[the date]

[your name]
[your address]
[your phone number if they are already calling you on it]

(I leave the account number out of the letter, since junk debt buyers usually use a new account number. You have already given them sufficient information with which to identify the account.)

TO: [junk debt buyer or creditor or collection agency name and address]

Cease and desist from any communication with me.

The [your State's Name here] statute of limitations has expired. If you file a lawsuit against me, I will fight it in court, and I will win, and I will ask the court to make you pay my legal fees and court costs, since I have now notified you in writing that this matter is time barred by the [your State's Name here] statute of limitations.

Sincerely,
[your name printed by a computer. never sign anything you send to a debt collector]

If they get more aggressive or if they even hint at the possibility of "taking legal action" against you or if they say anything about a "file about to leave their office" or threaten a lawsuit, don't give them a month to respond before sending the second letter. Just send this combo letter instead, by certified mail...

[the date]

[your name]
[your address]
[your phone number if they are already calling you on it]

(I leave the account number out of the letter, since junk debt buyers usually use a new account number. You have already given them sufficient information with which to identify the account.)

TO: [junk debt buyer or creditor or collection agency name and address]

I dispute the validity. Please send me written verification.

It is inconvenient for me to receive telephone calls from you at any time and at any location.

I revoke any prior authorization you may have had to call my cell phone and I demand that you never call my cell phone number.

The [your State's Name here] statute of limitations has expired. If you file a lawsuit against me, I will fight it in court, and I will win, and I will ask the court to make you pay my legal fees and court costs, since I have now notified you in writing that this matter is time barred by the [your State's Name here] statute of limitations.

Sincerely,
[your name printed by a computer. never sign anything you send to a debt collector]

And hopefully, it will make it less likely for you to be sued.