MKG122001 Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Here's the situation:I was pregnant, and due to give birth Aug of 03. I went 15 days overdue and gave birth Sept of 03. I was giving birth in a birthing center, and because of this it required $1100 FACILITY FEE. This was ONLY for using the facility during birth and followup care, NOT any prenatal care. I moved, and started this facility at 36 weeks pregnant. I had paid $200 of the $1000 owed. After contractions started, I failed to progress, and after "laboring" in the center for a couple hours, I moved to the hospital where I had a csection. Keep in mind there was another lady giving birth to her 5th kid, so most of the attention was on her while I was at the facility(she progressed quickly). I also NEVER received any follow up care from them. Needless to say, because I did not give birth in their facility I do not feel that I owe all of this facility fee. Of course, they still believe so. Now, more than 2 years after I signed this contract (8/7/03) they have sent my balance to collections. What can I do?? I have tried to reason with them, explaining my side, but they don't see it. I have tried to negotiate a lower "facility fee" amount to no avail. The contract that I have is very plain and simple, lacking much needed detail for situaitons like mine. Here it is: "My insurance company reimburses for the service portion of the care you receive only. My insurance company does not cover the Facility Fee of $1050. You will be responsible for this fee prior to 36 week gestation."PLEASE, PLEASE help me. I don't agree with paying the rest of this money,and I have collections calling me asking me when I will pay it, and threatening to put it on my report at the end of this month. I want to fight back, but just am unsure of what tactics to use and where to go. Thanks!Maria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Your state Attorney General has a Consumer Protection Division - you should start there. File a formal complaint regarding the lack of treatment received from the facility, and the collection agency they hired that is illegally threatening you in violation of the FDCPA.Carbon copy the complaint to your Department of Health as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codename_fortyseven Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Write them and tell them " I don't agree with this. I dispute this alleged debt entirely"If you don't want them calling add: "It is inconvienent for you to call me at any time or any place."In general, you want to stay off the phone. The collectors don't care about you, your baby, your story, or whatever. All they want to do is get their comission. Seems to me if you didn't give birth at this facility, you don't owe them a fee, but it all depends on the contract. Does the contract say anything about that? Does it state what the fee is for? What services are rendered for the fee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 With all due respect to fortyseven and DocDon, it seems to me the primary issue here is what agreement (I would assume a written one) Maria made with the facility and whether or not the facility fulfilled their end of the bargain.If they did then I don't believe she has a right to not pay and does legally owe the full amount.Granted, the facility can and under the circumstances, probably should cut her a break, but I can't see that they've done anything wrong.That aside, fortyseven's advice about how to handle the CA is, as usual, spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 With all due respect to fortyseven and DocDon, it seems to me the primary issue here is what agreement (I would assume a written one) Maria made with the facility and whether or not the facility fulfilled their end of the bargain.You are absolutely correct. However, apart from any credit laws, there is the issue of consumer satisfaction. If you contracted a business to reseal your driveway, you can certainly question their end of the contract if you're not happy with the end result. This goes a little more beyond fulfilling their end of the bargain. This is where the Consumer Protection Division comes in.I've helped an individual before who was being charged $10K for a circumcision on their newborn - contract or not, there was no way that simple procedure cost $10K - and there was a $2,500 "facility fee" included too. Then their staff wanted money on top of it even though the visiting physician was done in under 5 minutes with no assistance whatsoever from the staff. Since they refused to answer our request for an itemized statement, the AG asked for one and it forced them to print something up - all together they claimed 11 people were needed for this procedure. Ah.... no.All "fees" were subsequently dropped after officially questioning their billing / service practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Nashville/Savannah Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Yes...Can't say I disagree with any of that, DotDon.I suppose what I was truly responding to is a notion/train of thought that I often notice on forums like this...that being that people often "feel" as if they don't owe a bill/debt (because of their particular circumstances) and sometimes forget that "feelings" have very little to do with whether a consumer owes a debt or not.Also, it isn't totally clear to me if in this case, the facility has actually done anything wrong or has failed to perform in some way.Overall, I'd say we pretty much agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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