Medical Bills From High School

[whitefang2002]

Ok so the other day my mom called me up and said that i got some mail at her house and it looked to be from ______ collection agency. I was like go ahead and open it cuz I don't have anything to hide. Plus I shouldn't have any collection agency after me, cuz I know not of any I owe.

So she opens it and was like yeah it is from _______ collection agency. I was like ok what the hell is it for? She was like the clinic. Then I asked if there was a date on it...and there wasn't a service date on it....

So she copied it and sent it to my email. I called them up and they said its a medical bill from such and such clinic from January 2005. They said they sent a bill out once when they first got that account...and then this one. And mind you all it was the wrong addresss cuz I haven't lived there since 2005.

I called my mom back and told her that it was a medical bill from January 2005. Then she said well tell them you can't pay it cuz you don't have a job and etc. I was like......I don't mean to sound like a bitch or anything, but isn't this in your ball park. She said no because she paid all of our medical bills. So she is saying that they are lying.........ggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Background:

She got over $500 a month for me from Socail Security....yeah thats right she took it all. And she was getting child support for me from my dad. She is horrible at paying her bills and lots of stuff had gone to collection agencies...how could she keep everything straight and sure she paid this one by me just telling her the date?!?!?! Yeah right. We don't really get along as close family should. We just get along "socailly" I could say....

I was living under her roof and under her medical insurance when this occcured. I paid for a lot of my own things and I had to even give her money to bail out her checking account that went over a hundred in the whole......many many many times.

When I asked her about the SS money she said that either I get the check and then have to pay 1/4 of the house hold bills inculding the house payment..for rent so to say. Or she gets to keep the check. But either way I still paid for eveything else myself. I bought my own clothes, my own food, ect. I didn't think that was right.

She always talks about me and my SO behind our backs and then the next day she will talk to us like nothing happened...even if she knows I found out!

I'm waiting to get the original medical in the mail to prove to her what it was...cuz she thought I was lying just to get her to pay it.

But my question is...........do you think that this was my mom's duty to pay this billl?

And I will just add this in too........Do you think it was right for her to take the SS money and me still have to pay for tons of my own stuff? like clothes........

And just adding this too.......her house payment was only $300 a month....how could she not afford to pay off the damn clinic and go in the hole with her checking and so when, when I look at it.....they didn't have that much bills. Also my younger sister was living there too and she was getting SS for her and also child support.............Do you think I should have gotten my SS money?

Makes me wonder where alll that fucking money went to!!!!!!!

Just makes me mad cuz my other sisters didn't have this problem.

[mailahn97]

If you were a minor at that time your parents are liable for it. I would notify the collection agency that you were a minor at the time of date of service. They cannot legally collect an obligation when the person was not of age to make the legal decision.

If any thing they may even have to charge it off once they find this out. When you went to the clinic who signed the paperwork....was your parent there. When you went to the clinic did you misrepresent your age in any way. These are all things that you need to take into consideration.

Good luck with all of it.

[sbayhylle]

As Rep Payee for your Social Security check, there are rules about what she can spend it on. She can only take out a certain percentage of the total check for household expenses. The rest has to be spent on you and she has to prove it was spent on you by keeping receipts, etc. If you wanted to push it, you could call your local social security office and explain the situation about the medical bills and that you were not receiving any of your check. They will investigate it and take it from there. Your Mom was not entitled to that money for her own personal use. It was to be spent on you.

[mystofpric]

All the above is very true. if the collection agency agrues it you should be able to get a copy of your reconds and check-in infor from the clinc I think theyhav eto keep that stuff for x number of years. But as long as you were under the age of 18 then there ya go.

[pappyld04]

Noone under the age of 18 can enter into a legally binding agreement of any kind. And IMO your mother is a piece of shit who used you as a free ride through life! I know it sucks to hear it from someone else but I call a spade a spade!

[whitefang2002]

Thanks all. I know that she used me...thats why we don't get along too well...ok one of the reasons why.

I went to the appts. myself...but I certainly don't remember signing anything...I'll just wait till I get the original clinic bill and see what it says.

As for turning her into the SS agency...I know I should...but I hate court and legal things...and yes even though she has done this and so much more to me.......she's still my mom. I don't want to start a huge mess...and I know she wouldn't have kept recipts of the things she spent my money on.

This is one of those things that I wonder if its easier to try and forget about. Me just pay the damn bill if she won't when I prove to her the date of service.....and then move on.

My councelor wonders if I should just keep peace with them and only associate with them to be nice.....or if I should just put them out of my life. She said this due to the other shit my family has pulled on me...and she means forgeting the whole family and moving on. But she says I may be too young to be able to do that because I'm not married and I may have to rely on my family in the future....

I don't rely on my family...and never have and never will. Can't trust them. I know I should just pay this and forget and move on and get them out of my life so they can't use me again....

But I'm not sure how to do that, honestly.

This kind of stuff irks the hell out of me!

[sbayhylle]

Thanks all. I know that she used me...thats why we don't get along too well...ok one of the reasons why.

I went to the appts. myself...but I certainly don't remember signing anything...I'll just wait till I get the original clinic bill and see what it says.

As for turning her into the SS agency...I know I should...but I hate court and legal things...and yes even though she has done this and so much more to me.......she's still my mom. I don't want to start a huge mess...and I know she wouldn't have kept recipts of the things she spent my money on.

This is one of those things that I wonder if its easier to try and forget about. Me just pay the damn bill if she won't when I prove to her the date of service.....and then move on.

My councelor wonders if I should just keep peace with them and only associate with them to be nice.....or if I should just put them out of my life. She said this due to the other shit my family has pulled on me...and she means forgeting the whole family and moving on. But she says I may be too young to be able to do that because I'm not married and I may have to rely on my family in the future....

I don't rely on my family...and never have and never will. Can't trust them. I know I should just pay this and forget and move on and get them out of my life so they can't use me again....

But I'm not sure how to do that, honestly.

This kind of stuff irks the hell out of me!

Contacting the Social Security Office would definitely cause your Mother some problems. You have to do what you feel is right for you. It sounds like paying off the bills yourself might be the best answer. Beleieve me, I understand. My Mother went through 85k of my son's college fund that my Grandfather left him when he died. She was the executor of the estate and has a gambling problem. Now the money is gone and my son is stuck working his way through college and taking out student loans. It wasn't supposed to be that way and I went through hell to ensure that he would have this money to go through college. Now it was all for nothing. She's still my Mother though and I'm not willing to file suit against her and cause her misery at this stage in her life.

[Tyger]

You may have to send the collection's agency a copy of your birth certificate or driver's license/state ID, to prove that, at the time that this bill was created, you were a minor, and give them your mother's address, and tell them that SHE had custody of you, and she is the one they need to go after, and to have that moved off of YOUR credit report.

[whitefang2002]

I can't believe that they sent out only 2 statements and they were like almost 4 years apart!!!!

Yeah I'll know more of what I have to do when I get it in the mail. If mom won't pay it, then I'm just going to pay it. I hate having to go through a hassle just to get things paid that other people put on me!

Thanks agian for all your advise!

[square]

Is this a clinic you 1) only went to on your own, or 2) did your mom go at one point and sign something that she would be the responsible payer? Maybe they already hit her up to pay and she blew them off, so now they are trying you. I don't think they care at all about what is just or fair, or who's responsible, or even whether the bill is legitimate or not. They just want someone to pay; anyone. That's how they make their money. They may be fully aware that you were a minor at the time, and are just trying to see if they can get you to pay. Maybe.

What happens if you send them proof of age (shows you were a minor at the time) and say nothing about your mother being the responsible one?

(Then again, if you send them any copies of proof of age documents, does that just gives them more info about you that they can use to further come after you, or to better identify you if the decide to report you to the credit bureaus?)

What happens if you ignore them? Is it big enough bucks that they would try to sue you over, or will they just go away eventually?

I don't know a whole lot about this stuff and don't want to give you bum advice, but my wife and I have been down this road a couple of times with bills we considered scams in one way or another and refused to settle (wouldn't even have settled for a nickel just to make them go away; on principle). They were in the $250 to $400 range. The collectors were very persistent and intimidating and threatened to zing our credit reports (well, hers really). But they never followed through with the credit bureaus, and each time they went away after about a year, never to be heard from again.

[froggystyle1977]

If you didn't know about this bill then there at some point was an issue with the insurance your mom had or sometihng along that line. I would not pay it even to keep the piece unless you were over 18 at the time. send them a copy of your birth cert. with a letter stating you were underage and are not responsible for the bill. And that you consider the matter to be closed. send this certified mail return reciept requested. if its in collesctions its prabably on your credit report. from what you have said this may not be thew only bill your mother never paid, so please get your credit report and make sure there isn't all kinds of things on there that your not responsible for, if you pay this bill and there are more they will all come after you. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

[whitefang2002]

still waiting to get it in the mail so i can see the exact date to see if i was underage at the time of service. I have looked at my credit report and the only things that were on there was debt that my ex. caused me...........like opening up accounts under my name with out my permission. I have paid everythign that was on my credit report. I havne't checked it again since I paid all that crap off. I should take a look at it sometime soon to make sure there isn't anythign else on there..........

[Angelina]

whatever you do DONT give them your SS #

i had a company in NY send me a bill...i called and asked if they were stupid it had been raining for 3 months here and i would have LOVED to go to NY..

they wanted my SS# to clairify it i said NO...give me the one you have...be careful and besides you were a minor they cant go after you.