How to Make Payment on My HSI

HSI Financial Services, LLC is a debt collection agency specializing in debt recovery from patients in the health care industry. HSI offers payment options to patients with outstanding debts, as an attempt to collect or recover delinquent costs accrued during a hospital stay or any other service provided by a health care facility. Established in 1983, the HSI headquarters is in Atlanta, Georgia. HSI offers two ways for patients to make account payments, online and by mailing in the payment.

Instructions

Online

1

Visit the HSI Financial Services payment website at HsiPay.com. Locate and click the "Click Here to Get Started" link at the bottom of the page.

2

Enter your reference number and last name in the designated fields and click "Submit."

3

Enter your payment type and the amount of your payment.

4

Enter the type of credit card, if paying by credit and enter the bank routing number and account number, if paying by check.

5

Submit your payment and print out your payment confirmation sheet. Retain the confirmation sheet as a record to verify your online payment.

By Mail

6

Purchase a money order for the payment amount. If using a check, write the check for the payment. Be sure to include your reference number on the memo line of the check or money order, to ensure proper distribution of your payment.

7

Make your check or money order out to HSI Financial Services, LLC and be sure to sign it in the designated area.

8

Mail your payment to:

HSI Financial Services, LLC

Post Office Box 723537

Atlanta, GA 31139

9

Wait 7 to 10 days for HSI to apply your payment to your account. Verify receipt of your payment by calling to speak with a collections agent toll-free at 800-282-3108 or call 770-850-7450, if you are in the Atlanta area.

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What If You Cannot Pay Your Bills?

Individuals facing financial struggles such as unemployment, disability or medical problems may find it difficult or impossible to come up with the cash to pay their bills. Creditors have set consequences for individuals unable to pay their bills. Specifically, if you are unable to pay your bills, it can have lasting ramifications on your finances, regardless of the reason you cannot make payments.

Function

After you do not pay a bill, many companies will quickly start the "collections process," in which they attempt to recover the money you owe them. Some creditors take immediate action against non-paying consumers: auto loan companies will often repossess vehicles for one-day-overdue payments, while landlords will often evict tenants a few days or weeks after the rent is past due In contrast, credit card companies typically wait four months before automatically closing cards, charging them off and sending them to collections. Mortgage lenders have the longest collection processes, typically waiting months before foreclosing on borrowers' homes.

Credit Consequences

In addition to losing your home, car and/or credit cards, missing bill payments can damage your credit score, the three-digit number a lender uses to decide if you are eligible for a loan. Car repossession and late credit card or mortgage payments all go on your credit report and damage your payment history, which is the most important aspect of the credit scoring formula. Additionally, late payments, foreclosures and repossessions do long-term financial damage, remaining on your credit report for seven years.

Strategies

If you do not have the money to pay all your bills, the worst thing you can do is to ignore the problem. A June 2009 article from "Main Street," a consumer finance website, recommends prioritizing your bill payments according to basic needs and credit impact, and using your money to pay the most important bills. Keeping a roof over your head is of the utmost importance, so pay your rent or mortgage first, as well as utilities such as gas and electricity. Transportation, especially for work purposes, is also key, so car payments should also be a high priority.

Considerations

If your income situation is unlikely to improve any time in the near future, one option you can consider is filing for bankruptcy. Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will give you a "discharge," or release, from most of your debts, selling your nonessential property to pay your creditors, while Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to reorganize your debt and pay what you owe over three to five years. Although filing for bankruptcy seems like a good way to escape debt, it will trash your credit score and remain on your credit report for seven to 10 years, greatly reducing your chances of getting credit, employment or rental property in the future.

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How to Resolve a Judgment

A court judgment is a very serious legal issue and can negatively impact your finances and credit score. Judgments stem from lawsuits, with a judge ordering the defendant to make full payment for a delinquent debt, or for damages in a civil case. Judgments appear on credit reports for seven years and in public court records. Even more damaging is the potential for bank or wage garnishment. Garnishment freezes bank accounts, allowing debt collectors to take money to satisfy the judgment. Wage garnishment forces an employer to deduct money from the debtor's paycheck to send to the bill collector. Garnishment is possible after a judge signs a garnishment order. Resolving the judgment ends the threat of garnishment.

Instructions

1

Contact the debt collector. Get the name and phone number by reviewing correspondence for the judgment sent to you by the court. Or get a copy of the judgment by visiting the county courthouse. Another option is pulling a copy of your credit report from the Annual Credit Report website. Credit reports are available for free from the site because of provisions in the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Read the credit report to review the judgment listing and contact information for the debt collector.

2

Negotiate a settlement of the judgment, preferably by making one lump sum payment. This completely resolves the judgment. Get details of the agreement in writing before paying.

3

Arrange for a payment plan or a settlement in several installments if you cannot pay in a lump sum. Request details in writing, including acknowledgment by the debt collector that your bank account and wages will not be garnished if you make payments as agreed.

4

Pay by cashier's check and keep copies of all correspondence, including a copy of the check.

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What Does Credit Limit/High Balance Mean?

Determining your credit score is not a simple process, as credit reporting agencies use several fairly complex ratios and formulas to assess your overall creditworthiness. One important ratio is your credit utilization rate, which compares your outstanding balances to your available limits. Improving your credit utilization rates will also improve your credit score.

Identification

Your account balance is the total amount you owe on a debt instrument such as a credit card. Your credit limit is the total amount that you can charge to the account. Generally, the lower your outstanding balance is in relation to your available credit, the better the impact on your credit score. Creditors and credit reporting agencies view lower balances as a reflection of your ability to handle credit responsibly.

Acceptable Ratio

There is no real consensus among credit industry experts as to the "ideal" ratio of outstanding balance to available limit. However, as a general rule of thumb, strive for a utilization rate of 20 percent to 30 percent. Thus, if you own a credit card with an available limit of $10,000, try to keep your outstanding balance between $2,000 and $3,000.

Considerations

For the best credit score, get an acceptable utilization for all your credit accounts, not just one or two. Even if your overall utilization rate is between 20 percent and 30 percent, one account with a 60 percent or 70 percent rate can still have a detrimental effect on your score. Therefore, when considering a repayment plan for your outstanding balances, a good strategy can be to apply any extra funds to those accounts with higher utilization rates while keeping the remaining accounts within the acceptable range.

Avoid Tranaferring Balance

You may be tempted to transfer all or portions of outstanding balances on high-utilization-rate cards to those with lower utilization rates in an attempt to "even things out." However, try to avoid this strategy, as transferring balances can also have a negative impact on your credit score. Your best option for improving your credit score as quickly as possible is to pay down those high-utilization balances in a timely manner.

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Senior Citizen Debt Help

The most common source of debt for senior citizens is health care costs. With often only a fixed retirement income to sustain them, many elderly people turn to lenders for assistance to cover health care and long-term housing expenses. Finding legitimate debt help can keep senior citizens out of financial difficulty, while managing the everyday costs associated with aging.

Increasing Debt

As of 2011, senior citizens make up a segment of the American population with the fastest-rising credit card debt. Among those 65 and older, the average credit card balance increased 149 percent from 1995 to 2004, according to Sharon Shaw Elrod, MSW, EdD in her article published on SeniorCitizenJournal.com. With the rising cost of health care, gas and energy bills, senior citizens on fixed incomes are often resorting to using their credit cards and other loans to pay for everyday expenses like prescription drugs, doctor visits and unexpected expenses.

Government Assistance

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) provides a "Benefits QuickLINK" on their website as a free online financial tool for senior citizens, which can help them find and apply for government benefits. Just a few of the programs for which seniors can find eligibility and application information include Medicare savings programs, state pharmaceutical assistance programs, state property tax relief, low-income home-energy assistance and supplemental security income.

Government Grants

Government grants, which do not have to be repaid, are available to senior citizens, most often through organizations that provide care and assistance to the elderly. Seniors may be able to qualify for these individual grants if they meet the specified requirements. The types of grants available for senior citizen debt help consist of debt assistance, housing assistance, educational grants and funds to start a business. Grants.gov provides more information about available government grants, eligibility requirements and the application process, or senior citizens can peruse a list of thousands of opportunities found in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) available by mail or in downloadable PDF form at cfda.gov.

Private Assistance

Numerous charities, funded by private citizens, provide financial assistance to senior citizens who are having trouble paying all their bills. Seniors can free up more funds to pay down debt by getting help to pay heating and utility bills through charities such the American Red Cross, Operation Round Up (offered by many gas and utility companies) and United Way. NeedHelpPayingBIlls.com provides a detailed listing of nationwide charities and organizations that can help pay bills and reduce debt.

Reverse Mortgage

An increasingly popular alternative for senior citizen debt help is the reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage allows seniors to use the equity in their homes without having monthly mortgage payments, and the loan on the home is not due until they die or move out of the home for a period of more than 12 months. The lender gives the senior a mortgage based on his age or life expectancy and the appraisal value of the home. The applicant can choose to receive the funds as one lump-sum, in monthly amounts or as an interest-earning equity line of credit.

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Texas Home Equity Loan Laws

When a homeowner in Texas needs to borrow for any purpose, he can make a home equity loan and secure the loan with a lien on his property. Equity is simply the difference between the current fair market value of your property, less them amount that he owes on it. So, if you still owe $100,000 on a house worth $300,000, you are said to have $200,000 worth of equity. Home equity loans were not available in Texas until 1997, and its laws go farther in protecting homeowners than most other states.

One at a Time

In Texas, unlike most other states, you must pay off a home equity loan entirely before you can make another loan against your house. That's opposed to a state like California that experienced a huge run-up in housing values. To tap into the accumulated appreciation, people remortgaged their homes, having pledged them a multiple of times. In addition, regardless of how quickly you pay off your home equity loan, you cannot apply for another home equity loan for one year in Texas.

80 Percent Rule

A combination of your first mortgage and your home equity loan may not exceed 80 percent of the fair market value of your home. Let's say you have a home that's worth $200,000, and you owe $100,000. You would be able to make a $60,000 home equity loan secured by your home. ([.8 x $200,000] - $100,000). However, if you owed $165,000 on your home, you would not be able to apply for a home equity loan in Texas.

Buyer's Remorse

Even after a home equity loan is executed, the borrower has three days to cancel the loan; and if she does, she will not have to pay any penalties. For that reason, the proceeds of that loan will not be delivered to the borrower until that time has expired.

Other Laws in Texas Governing Home Equity Loans

A lender cannot charge any more than 3 percent of the loan's value in fees. The state of Texas will impose a serious penalty on a lender when excess charges are revealed. In addition, a home equity loan cannot be closed within 12 days after a person applies for the loan and it must be closed at an office of the lender, at an attorney's office or at a title company's office.

Furthermore, the borrower will be given a statement of the fees he will pay at least a day before the closing unless the borrower waives his rights to one. Finally, the lender may not take as security any other of the borrower's assets as collateral except his home. And agricultural land and so-called open space cannot be taken as security for a home equity loan.

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What Is Debt Ridden?

Whether it is a country, company, state, or person, there are a number of present-day examples of entities being debt-ridden. In short, debt-ridden is classified as anything or anyone that has borrowed a significant amount of money that is unable to be paid back. Combinations of spending more than can be made and bad investments can quickly lead to an enormous amount of debt.

Personal Debt

Macmillan Dictionary defines debt-ridden as, in serious financial trouble as a result of owing very large amounts of money. For many people, one of the main reasons for becoming debt-ridden is credit cards. Before the U.S. National Debt crisis came to light, many households were thousands of dollars in credit card debt, and often relied upon credit to pay bills or other credit cards. With card interest rates often high, it is easy to spend more than is made, which makes it hard to pay the debt back in the end.

Debt-Ridden Countries

The United States is a perfect example of a debt-ridden country. With a current debt amount of $13 trillion and growing, the United States' debt is due to a number of reasons. Spending more than is made is one of them. For instance, in 2009, government receipts were $1.51 trillion while government expenditures had reached $3.5 trillion. A combination of wars in the Middle East, inflation and a real estate market where a large amount of credit was made available to people has led to a situation where the United States has quickly become debt-ridden.

Greece

Greece is another example of a debt-ridden country, with it being $413.6 billion in debt. A number of factors led to this debt, such as unrestrained spending and cheap lending practices. In recent years, Greece failed to reform its financial structure, leading to tax evasion by many of the country's well-off citizens. This left it in a situation where it was not gaining adequate tax revenue to support the economy. As a result, Greece is now considered a black hole by financial investors.

Zimbabwe

Last on the list of the many countries in financial strain is Zimbabwe, which is currently $5.7 billion in debt. One of the major problems within Zimbabwe was that it had a low per-capita income, meaning the income per person in a population was low. This is due in large part because the country is stricken with poverty in many areas. Therefore, this left the country with little to no way to clear the debts that it acquired. When coupled with a corrupt government, the result is yet another debt-ridden country.

Paying it Back

People who have acquired mass amounts of debt often must consult debt-consolidation firms, which in some cases may help lower the personal amount of debt. Bankruptcy is also an option for many. For countries, increased financial reform in the areas in taxation, and slashed spending are designed to help dig the country out of debt. For example, the United States has utilized stimulus packages that are designed to create jobs for its citizens and stimulate economic growth.

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