Debt collection letter out of the blue

michellecovell

Hello all,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but the CAB thread appears to be locked..

I need some advice as to the best way to handle the following situation;
Basically I had a very large bill from the emergency vets, long story short - Cat was hit by a a neighbour's car, was rushed to the emergency vets, after a number of surgeries it was decided the damage was too great and he had to be put down.

During the two weeks this was happening, the vets did try and keep us abreast of the ever increasing bill. I did say on a couple of occasions, that we did not have this sort of money... the response from the vets was "don't worry, we can sort it out afterwards".

After the event, I borrowed money to pay off something like £1,000 of the £2,600 bill.
Since then, same time each month, I would pay around £300. The receptionist would bring up my details, tell me the balance and then take my payment. I would then receive a receipt in the post with a receipt outlining the remaining balance.
At no point was I advised that there was a problem with this.

I have received no letters requesting me to pay the outstanding balance, no warnings of going into default, no chasers whatsoever (not even verbally from the receptionist).

Some 3/4 months later, paying on time, over the phone with an outstanding balance of around £700 - I get a debt collection letter.
This letter appears to have added an extra £200 to the balance - I'm assuming a collection fee....

No warning from the vets, so I am now at a loss of what to do. I spoke to the vets who can see I've been paying each month and they asked me if I had agreed a payment plan with the practice manager (first time that has been mentioned to me).

Apparently I need to speak to her tomorrow - Which I am going to do. Any advice would be appreciated as I cannot fathom why they would not warn me in any way before selling the balance to a debt collector.

Thanks in advance,

arcon5

Just pay them the remaining amount legitimately owed and write to them stating the balance has now been paid. They'll most likely just recall it and forget about it after that.
But I don't see the problem with arranging a payment plan so long as the £200 isn't included.
They'd most likely be able to add statutory interest on though of 8% per annum pro-rata.

forgotmyname

I would return the letter saying i have no idea who you are or why your asking me for money.

Ask them to check their facts.

By the time they write again you will have made another payment or cleared the bill.

Dont pay the collector a penny.

michellecovell

Thanks for that,
I have never had to deal with debt collectors before and I'm not going to start now if I can help it. I'll see if the practice manager will accept my next payment and then the final bit should be covered off next month.

I'm hoping that by paying the next installment directly will mean they'll call off the debt collectors.

Considering that there hasn't been a peep out of them since putting my cat to sleep, I find it very unprofessional that they wouldn't even send a simple letter telling me there was a problem.

It's not like I've tried to shirk the responsibility of paying whats owed even though I have nothing to show for it. I have a good mind to complain to the RCVS about their poor professional conduct in the matter.

meritaten

hang on - if they have called in debt collectors then you cant pay the money direct to the vets. because in effect they have sold the debt to the collectors. who then collect the money and their fee.
why would they do this if you were paying off the debt? Something wrong here. it was either passed to debt collectors in error, or you HAVENT made payments on time. and tbh if you are correct that you have paid on time etc - then I cannot imagine why you would have to pay another £200 to the debt collectors. Don't pay the next instalment to the vets. instead, ask them why they have called in debt collectors, as they were getting their money via the agreed plan. I am not entirely sure of the legalities here - but, I don't think they can do this? I think you need legal advice. I would look for a solicitor specialising in debt and offering a free initial consultation. you should learn enough to decide how to proceed.
I am no expert on these matters hun - but did have a debt collection agency chasing me for payment that had already been made. it caused so much stress that I didn't pursue it and sue the company who sold the so-called debt to them. I wish I had now.

michellecovell

The issue here is, that no repayment plan was ever discussed. I raised it with them during the treatments and all they said was that we can sort it out later.

Since no one approached me to discuss payment, I paid as much as I could each month.
I chatted to the receptionist each time I rang, she would tell me the balance, I would tell how much to take from the card and then I would receive a receipt in the post a couple of days later.

If this was an issue, no one mentioned anything or sent any letters to that effect either.

unholyangel

meritaten wrote: »

hang on - if they have called in debt collectors then you cant pay the money direct to the vets. because in effect they have sold the debt to the collectors. who then collect the money and their fee.

Not all debt collectors work in such a way. We used to use one who basically just sent letters out on our behalf - but the debt remained with us.


What OP might also want to check for is if he signed anything at the vets allowing them to pass his details on to a third party. If not, they may be in breach of DPA and you may be able to get them to remove the collection fee's that way.

Fosterdog

Sorry to hear what happened to your cat

Most vets have a rule that all treatment is to be paid for in full at at the time, they do usually make arrangements for a longer term for insurance claims or regular customers but they certainly don't have to.

They may have agreed to give you some extra time to get the high amount together but 3/4 months is a bit long for them to have to wait for the balance to be cleared when no formal payment plan was in place. Unless otherwise agreed personally I would say a month is the longest they should have to wait.

It does seem strange though that they have made no other contact before sending the debt on to a collection firm. Hopefully the practise manager will agree to continue your current payment plan.

michellecovell

Thanks for all your help, the practice manager did apologise profusely and advise she would get in touch with the debt collectors to sort it out. She said that the system they use automatically referred the outstanding amount when it hit 90 days... Plus I can continue to pay as before.

If that is the case, I would have thought a letter would have been useful outlining their expectations so I could arrange something with them.

For clarification, this was a veterinary hospital where it appears to be the norm to arrange repayment after the emergency - it's just strange that there was no communication from them at all and nothing was raised with me when I called them each month with the next payment.

RuthnJasper

michellecovell wrote: »

Thanks for all your help, the practice manager did apologise profusely and advise she would get in touch with the debt collectors to sort it out. She said that the system they use automatically referred the outstanding amount when it hit 90 days... Plus I can continue to pay as before.

If that is the case, I would have thought a letter would have been useful outlining their expectations so I could arrange something with them.

For clarification, this was a veterinary hospital where it appears to be the norm to arrange repayment after the emergency - it's just strange that there was no communication from them at all and nothing was raised with me when I called them each month with the next payment.

Bad luck; it seems it was a genuine admin. error, but must have been quite upsetting for you.

I suppose I'm wondering why your neighbour isn't paying the bill... but in any case, I hope you are OK now and all the best for the future. x

bod1467

RuthnJasper wrote: »

I suppose I'm wondering why your neighbour isn't paying the bill...

Good point - OP should be reclaiming the costs from the neighbour's insurance.