Dentists usually handle their billing in-house, with you either paying for your services in full when you get your bill or working out a payment plan with your dental office. However, when you fail to pay your bill within a certain period, the dentist might sell the account to a collection agency. At this point, the dentist stops trying to collect what you owe, and the collection agency has the legal right to collect payment on the debt.
Collection Attempts
The collection agency likely will contact you to try to get you to pay the amount you owed your dentist, plus collection costs. The contact can be by phone or postal mail. When the agency first notifies you that you owe the bill, ask for verification that the debt belongs to you and was sold to the collection agency. If you would prefer not to receive further mail or phone calls, notify the collection agency in writing. However, this will not remove the debt or other effects of it.
Credit Score Decreases
Collection agencies report their accounts to the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. When the account shows up on your credit report, it will significantly decrease your credit score. The impact of collection accounts is higher than that of late payments on other accounts because accounts do not go into collection until you are severely delinquent. The collection amount will stay on your credit report for seven years, even if you pay it off, although the impact on your score will decrease as those seven years pass.
Potential Legal Action
Collection agencies can sue you to attempt to get repayment for your dental bill. If you are sued, you must appear in court and might have a court judgment against you. In this case, part of your bank account may be levied or your wages might be garnished to pay off the debt. In addition, a court judgment appears on your credit report and further decreases your credit score.
Tips
If your dentist has not yet sent the bill to a collection agency, keep in touch with the dental office to work out a payment plan and stick to it. As soon as you stop paying as scheduled, the dentist might wonder about your willingness or ability to pay and sell the account to a collection agency. If you get a call from the collection agency, ask whether it has reported the account to the credit bureaus yet. If not, offer to pay it in full in exchange for not having it reported to the bureaus. Even if the agency has reported the bill, you can work out an agreement in writing that specifies that the agency will remove the account from your credit report in exchange for payment.
0 comments:
Post a Comment