[puzzclar]

Now I can't handle this!!! It's just too much. I have 6 months to pay a bill, and a year for another one, both are over $1000..... My job doesn't pay enough for me to do this... it's 300 a month in medical bills extra a month.... how am I going to do this??? I'm searching for a new job but, if it doesn't come quickly, what do I do???

[~Christina]

Why are you stuck with a dead line? Did they tell you that is how long you HAD to pay them ?

You could work out payment arrangements. I once had an ambulance bill I made monthly payments on for two years.

[Raindropvampire]

I had a hospital bill here I let go to collections. The hospital would only accept the bill being broken up into 6 payments. When it went to collections they were happy with $25 a month until it was paid. Yes my credit took a ping for getting sent to a collection agency but it was worth it to not have to stress over how I was going to come up with a huge payment every month.

[JoeS21]

I agree with the other replies. Here's what I would do:

1. Ask for a payment plan. Call back and re-ask for a payment plan. Simultaneously, find out what happens if you don't pay. (You might opt to say that you want to know because you are worried and want to learn the worst case scenario. That way, they won't feel taunted, but instead might feel sorry for you. That information, if reliable, might be used to plan ahead.)
2. Ask the supervisor, manager, etc. for a payment plan.
3. If it were me, I would try to find a 0% apr promotion on a credit card to pay the debt. (If you do that, make sure you make the minimum payments on the card each month.)
4. If 1, 2, and 3 didn't work, I would try to find a loan with better terms than the consequences of not paying the debt.
5. If all else failed, I would continue to call the creditor and try to work something out. (I personally would only do #5 until I was a month late on the debt, then I would stop. #7 explains why.)
6. If everything failed, I would still bring this up online on forums in a hope to find a solution.
7. In addition to #6, I would stop communicating with the creditor and collections if sent my way, unless sued. Here's why: Each state, I believe, has a statute of limitations for collecting a debt (and the clock starts over if you negotiate with collections - so I personally wouldn't speak to that creditor or collections after some point). Once that period of time is over, to my understanding, the debt can no longer be displayed on a credit report and is no longer legally collectable. This is called a, "Time Barred Debt." That is something everyone should be familiar with if you are not already.

Good luck! And I hope something reasonable and good happens.

[puzzclar]

I sent in a payment about a month ago.... and it wasn't posted correctly, and the insurance has not paid yet on the account so, that should take care of most of it. At least things have calmed down from this but still hurting.

Good job. I hate debt

[Rose76]

You can only do what you can. Your creditors are bluffing you. If you decide you have to do smaller payments over a longer period of time, what are they going to do? put you in jail? Never let creditors intimidate you. It's all a mind game.

[divine1966]

As long as you pay something they can't do nothing. Pay what you can monthly even if 20 dollars, they can't do nothing

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rose76]

Even if you were to pay nothing, there is not a whole lot they can do . . . not unless you've got assets to seize or excess income to garnish. They would have to sue you in court first to do that, and a judge is not going to be unreasonable.

In our system of law, a creditor takes a certain risk. That's true of medical creditors also. Sometimes a debtor just can pay up quickly, and that's just that. It's not against the law to get behind in your debts. Do what you reasonably can, and then don't worry.