Best course of action? (being chased for debt from non EU country)

louix858

Obtained free trip to usa, obtain cheap medical insurance.
Suffer gallbladder attach while in states, call insurance to make sure they would cover it, they say they won’t as it was a pre-existing condition I didn’t tell them about (very confusing small print I misunderstood in original contract)

Suffer absurd amount of pain for 6 hours before finally conceding and visiting medical facility. Receive scan to determine I’m not dying doctor says go home , take painkillers and drink liquids.
While they are attempting to treat me I explain that I have no insurance and try to refuse unnecessary treatment (IV + EKG) (I knew I was hydrated and my heart was fine). They insist and tell me that because I don’t have insurance I will get an 80% discount and my bill shouldn’t be more than $1000 I stop resisting and accept the additional treatment.
Medical bills comes to ~$800 I ask if that “includes everything?” and that “everything is sorted?” they say yes so I pay then and there and go home.

Months later after returning to uk I receive shoddy looking medical bill for $2000 website for paying looks suspicious too, so I ignore them.

Bills are made out to a shorterned version of my name? Not my full legal name (they are missing 2nd part of surname (double barrelled surname still listed as a single name though))
So I ignore them.
Few months later I receive another letter from GRA (global recovery alliance, based in Switzerland) a “credit management company “stating that the medical company has requested that they assist them with the billing of my account for the amount of ~$10000
They point out that if I don’t contact them in 30 days to dispute the validity of the invoice then they sent me then they will assume it is valid.
Can they actual increase the amount I am owed?
Do they have any power to do any harm to me?

I do not have $2000 let alone $10000, ive been out of work a year now on universal credit and trying so god damn hard to get the NHS operations I need to get back to work.
The medical company took photocopy of my soon out of date provisional driving licence, other than that they have some scratched version of my signature (massive amounts of pain when they asked for it) and all the requests have been in partial version of my name.

I would be tremendously grateful if anyone can advise me my best course of action? As this is causing me no small amount of stress. I want to be out of this hole I am in not dragged into a deeper one.

sourcrates

Hi,

It is what it is, just an invoice, the debt collection agencies timeframe is meaningless and is of no consequence at all, they are only acting on behalf of the hospital, the “harm” they can do to you from Switzerland is restricted to collection letters, and that’s about it.

The debt has not even been to court, and it will never see a court, as the UK has no reciprocal agreement with the USA.

Due to the absence of a reciprocal enforcement agreement, a US judgment, if it ever got that far, which is unlikely, can only be enforced in England at common law, by bringing a new action under which the judgment is seen as a simple contract debt.

Basically it would cost a fortune to take this matter to court in the USA, and then seek enforcement through the English courts, it simply would not be worth the time, money or effort.

On this debt collectors website it does say if you have paid your bill, then tell us, it may be worth disputing the debt exists as you paid what they said was owed at source.

louix858

thank you for your prompt, thorough and reassuring response,

As i understand it the 2nd bill i received was for "evaluation" (so 10 min of a doctor talking to me) where as it seems the first bill was for facilities. i wish they had made this clear at the time instead of misleading me.

i hope you don't mind my asking a further question: i understand it is possible that they may attempt to sell the debt to a uk firm? i assume this would present further difficultes.is this a likely eventuality or would it simply be considered a lost cause for such a relatively small amount?

sourcrates

Let’s get one thing crystal clear, debt collectors have the same ability to use the court system like everyone else does, how, or under what circumstances that may happen in this case, I don’t know.

You would need to get legal advice on this, there is a website called Legal Beagles who may be able to help you further.