Spanish hospital claim

Jbs15888

Hi Guys,
Just wanted a bit of advice from anyone in the know.
Last year whilst on holiday in Spain my wife had some severe stomach pain so we popped down to the local medical centre who advised us they believed she could have a burst appendix and wanted to send her direct to the local hospital, They then asked to see our travel insurance so I accessed this on their computer which they then printed and looked over for us, they then said it was all fine but we needed to pay the £225 excess plus the 70euro we had already paid to see the doctor.
They attached a receipt to our paperwork letting the hospital what we had paid and then called us a taxi which we also paid for.
We spent around 3 hours at the hospital mostly waiting around but they did send her for a scan which came back clear for the appendix so we was discharged with a prescription for a simple tummy bug.
We picked the prescription up on the way home which we also paid for (approx. 45euro)
The hospital had checked all our paperwork on arrival and signed it off fine so we thought nothing else of it at the time.


Anyway, Last week she received a debt collection letter for 1450 euros for a long list of medical services including our taxis which we paid for along with prescriptions and other hard to understand care services which we most definitely did not have.
The letter stated due to circumstances beyond our control you now owe this amount.
The letter was from Credit management ltd and states they will send bailiffs to our house along with county court action if we do not pay the full amount in 7 days.


This has created great stress for us especially just before Christmas and with all the made up medical services on the letter we feel really hard done by, and with nobody to complain to as they say all communications must now be with them as they have been appointed the agents in this case.


A few questions I have are:
Can they take us to the county courts for this overseas case?
Can they skip the county courts as it is a debt from abroad?
Is there any independent bodies we can seek help from?


Any help would be greatly appreciated on this, Sorry for the long post.


Thanks
Jeremy

sourcrates

Hi,

These cases pop up on here from time to time, it’s difficult to know what’s a scam, and what isn’t.

Healthcare in Spain is supposed to be free, did either of you not have a europeon healthcard (EHIC) ?

There’s quite a lot on the internet about Spanish hospitals charging for services that should be free.

No one can just “send bayliffs” to your address, there is a court process to go through, and a county court judgement must be issued against you first.

These letters, as with all debt collection letters, are 99% bluff and bravado, especially ones from foreign debt collectors, and the seven day time scale is meaningless and laughable.

No one can collect a debt from you without providing proof when asked, if you believe their claim to be bogus, just write back and tell them so, tell them, what you’ve told us, and tell them to prove otherwise.

You will most likely not hear from them again.

From what I can gather from various sources, this is quite a common thing in Spain, get in touch with your insurance provider and let them deal with it.

TonyMMM

Send it on to your insurers , presumably they are aware of your claim ?

System

sourcrates wrote: »

Healthcare in Spain is supposed to be free, did either of you not have a europeon healthcard (EHIC) ?

It is only free if you go to a state hospital. Unfortunately most Brits don't end up in those, they end up in private hospitals.

There’s quite a lot on the internet about Spanish hospitals charging for services that should be free.

Usually because they're either private hospitals or the person hasn't produced an EHIC card.

National_Debtline

Hi Jeremy


Welcome to the forum. I can understand why this must have a come as a shock to you. Usually if you need medical treatment abroad and it is going to costs less than a few hundred pounds you will be expected to pay the costs up front and claim the money back from your insurance company. For more expensive treatment you would be advised to call the insurance company there and then, or as soon as you possibly could.


Did you ever contact your travel insurer about your wife's treatment? I think it's unlikely that the hospital would have contacted them directly, so if a claim was never made that would explain why your wife is now being billed. Certainly your next step is to contact your insurer and find out if you can still make a claim. In the meantime ask the debt collection agency (DCA) to put the debt on hold.




In answer to your other questions, it is possible for a foreign debt to pursue you in the UK. It is relatively easy for a debt from another EU country to do it, but that doesn't mean court action is a given. Bailiffs can't be used before any court action has been taken, and you can seek more advice from one of the free debt advice agencies.


Susie
@natdebtline