TLDR; was in bad accident, hospital bill went to law firm that reps hospital but law firm doesn't own the debt, the hospital does. Need written payment agreement from law firm for home loan, law firm won't provide it. What can I do?
In 2010 I was in a bad accident and incapacitated for a pretty long time. I broke my entire face and was mostly blind and was bed-ridden for 6 months with my jaw wired shut for 9 months. During this time I had very limited access to anyone who could help me do things like check my mail, and during this time I received a notice that my hospital bill was going to go to collections. I found out it was in collections when I got the call from the agency barking for payment.
I called the hospital and they said this happens with traumatic cases all the time and to come in and file an appeal and get it taken out of collections, so I waited until I was well enough to be able to speak and see decently and I had someone drive me to the business office of the hospital to present an appeal. My appeal was denied. The man's exact response when I asked why I was being denied when my situation seemed like the exact type that would grant an appeal was: "Because I don't want to do it". OK, whatever, I was glad to be alive and didn't have the energy in me to fight it.
So, ever since, I've been making payments towards the balance. Well, I recently applied for a special kind of home loan that says any medical debt in collections disqualifies me unless the collections agency will provide a copy of the written agreement.
I called the collections agency and requested a copy of my payment agreement but they said we never had one. I asked to have one drafted but they refused. I also asked if they owned the debt and they said "No, we just represent the hospital".
So, my problem is that the mortgage loan officer has told me, in his exact words, "Without a settlement agreement that says you pay $X per month and have been paying that amount for at least 12 months, we cannot approve you".
Is there any kind of request I can put in with the collections agency to better negotiate to get a written payment agreement?
Submitted July 07, 2017 at 04:49PM by ThatMightBeTheCase http://ift.tt/2tRNf1k
