Help, please

[helpless]

Boy, it never ends. I just got a call from a collection agency on a medical bill for my son that the insurance didn't cover. This bill is from 2004. I have never received a bill from the original company. My question is since it was before we filed a 13, can I just tell them that we filed bankruptcy or is that going to turn into a hornets nest. It is only $184, but that is hard to come by these days.

Thanks.

[rrockinggramma]

if the bar date for claims hasn't passed yet, then tell them to file a claim for the amount of the bill. Yes, by all means let them know you filed. They can take it from there.

[helpless]

We filed in 4/05. So bar date has passed. I just don't know how I am going to come up with the money so they quit calling my house. We filed bk before we were ever behind on anything (we knew it was a matter of time before we couldn't keep up) just so that I didn't have to listen to the phone ring. Irritating.

[BKTango]

Oh I had this same thing happened to us shortly after filing ourselves. This is how I handled it because like you we NEVER received the bill from the original company. It is probably a bill for the doctor's service, or lab work possibly because most times you will be billed seperately for those reasons (I know that now). Anyway contact the office/hospital or whoever the place is and find out where this bill came from in order to contact them. Let them know you never have received a bill (ours was due to them sending it to a wrong(old) address) and the first notice you have had of the bill is from collections. Also let them know you have filed. Most times they will remove you from collections and send out a new bill, here's the big kicker... you will only have to pay half of that amount if you do a prompt pay, that means if the insurance isn't going to pay it and you are, you are only required to pay half of the bill. Also they will take payments. Even a measly 10 bucks a month. Also letting them know you are in bk, pretty much puts a damper on any hopes they have and they will just take whatever. But try to work with the original company first.