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Okay, so, long story short, I was forced by the police to take an ambulance and go to the emergency room and stay the night last week. No health insurance here. I know that, soon, I will be getting a bill in the mail for several thousand dollars. As a senior in college without a job, I cannot pay this. The bill will go to a collection agency.
I am contemplating on simply not paying the bill. This will destroy my credit, I know (which breaks my heart because I have worked really hard to get a good credit score. I'm 21 yrs old with a score of 728). I have a good job lined up for me after I graduate. I could pay the debt then, but why bother as my credit will already be in shambles?
I plan on moving to a big city after I graduate (chicago or DC) which means I will rent and be using public transportation. Good credit helps with getting a lease, but the big figure in that equation is personal income, which mine should be pretty good.
What do you guys think?
Should I even bother paying the debt? I don't own a vehicle, I don't plan to, and a house can wait till I am in my 30s when this is off the books. I'm very frugal and never used my credit to buy anything anyway. If I need more loans for school I can have my parents co-sign for one. I don't see anything in my future for the next seven years that I would need good credit for.
I wrote a couple of post on the "Do I have to pay debt?" thread. They are message 66 and 126. There is an issue of honesty there. Now, there is a slight variation on your case. I do tend to agree withe some of the comments stating they do not think you could be forced to go if you were sound of mind and be able to walk.
However, there is an angle where you receive services.
Now, the question for you is how do you think not paying is going to affect your future plans? Is that damage worse than the damage for paying now?
Can you try to work something with the agencies involved? Have you tried that?
Remember that the bottom line is that taxpayers will end up paying for you most likely. Is that what you want?
My advice? Go and talk to the agencies and let them know you do not have a job but plan to pay. Ask them if they can wait. Let them know you will keep them informed where you will live and that you will try to pay as much as you can however little it may be and when you get a job and can pay the rest, you will do so. The other course of action is not to pay and simply accept the consequences.
I wrote a couple of post on the "Do I have to pay debt?" thread. They are message 66 and 126. There is an issue of honesty there. Now, there is a slight variation on your case. I do tend to agree withe some of the comments stating they do not think you could be forced to go if you were sound of mind and be able to walk.
However, there is an angle where you receive services.
Now, the question for you is how do you think not paying is going to affect your future plans? Is that damage worse than the damage for paying now?
Can you try to work something with the agencies involved? Have you tried that?
Remember that the bottom line is that taxpayers will end up paying for you most likely. Is that what you want?
My advice? Go and talk to the agencies and let them know you do not have a job but plan to pay. Ask them if they can wait. Let them know you will keep them informed where you will live and that you will try to pay as much as you can however little it may be and when you get a job and can pay the rest, you will do so. The other course of action is not to pay and simply accept the consequences.
You have a great day.
El Amigo
El Amigo,
I have also posted my situation on this thread. I chose to ignore the hospitals and then the collection agencies that followed. I thought that the hospital basically writes off the loss, and collects it from other people who are insured, which reflects in higher bills to their insurance companies. Are you sure the taxpayer's are paying for my bills, I have never heard that before, but I do not know as I could be wrong. If you could answer me on this issue it would be highly appreciated.
I have also posted my situation on this thread. I chose to ignore the hospitals and then the collection agencies that followed. I thought that the hospital basically writes off the loss, and collects it from other people who are insured, which reflects in higher bills to their insurance companies. Are you sure the taxpayer's are paying for my bills, I have never heard that before, but I do not know as I could be wrong. If you could answer me on this issue it would be highly appreciated.
I wrote "most likely". I am not 100% sure they taxpayer will pay. However there are communities that do. I was charged from the county last year when an ambulance had to take me to the hospital. In this case I did not have to pay because the Army nurse is the one who made the call, not me, so the Army paid.
I have also posted my situation on this thread. I chose to ignore the hospitals and then the collection agencies that followed. I thought that the hospital basically writes off the loss, and collects it from other people who are insured, which reflects in higher bills to their insurance companies. Are you sure the taxpayer's are paying for my bills, I have never heard that before, but I do not know as I could be wrong. If you could answer me on this issue it would be highly appreciated.
Now, the part that I admit does bother me how you apparently and very conveniently seems with no remorse chose to ignore and have no problem other insured people pay for you in the end. Did I get this correctly?
Now, the part that I admit does bother me how you apparently and very conveniently seems with no remorse chose to ignore and have no problem other insured people pay for you in the end. Did I get this correctly?
You have a great day.
El Amigo
Thanks for the response. No, I do have remorse, and I do not think it is ok on what I did. I just do not want to have to suffer for years putting every extra dollar I have to try to pay these bills. Money is tight already for me as it is, I would really have no life if I started to pay for these bills.
Thanks for the response. No, I do have remorse, and I do not think it is ok on what I did. I just do not want to have to suffer for years putting every extra dollar I have to try to pay these bills. Money is tight already for me as it is, I would really have no life if I started to pay for these bills.
You are good with someone else picking up the tab for you. In other words you want someone else to pay with his hard earned money for you. You did not even consider finding a way to pay, to talk to people and maybe finding a solution. If you simply show an earnest effort and to say the least tell them "Look, I really am in a tight financial spot. I will at least give you X$ a month. this is all I can do. I promise when I get better financial stability I will pay you". Do you think they may no appreciate your effort. To them something is better than nothing. Do you mean to tell me there is nothing you can do at all? If you do have remorse, show it with actions.
To me that is simply focus on the self stepping on others. That really is the bottom line.
I guess we are clear from our angles on the issue.
Do you fail to understand that MANY times, people are super broke BECAUSE they go to the bar and get drunk frequently? It has nothing to do with the amount of money spent, it has everything to do with the judgment one makes to go get "drunk"..
An acquaintance of mine is $50k in unsecured credit card debt because of alcohol, and he's about to lose everything. He's Mr. Party and thinks nothing of slapping down his VISA to pick up a $500 tab for everyone in the bar. Still, he's in denial about his alcoholism.
Las Vegas, you are clearly an alcoholic and you desperately need help. Please contact AA before it's too late.
As for the OP, I do think that you are responsible for this bill, and I think there are some good suggestions here for how to go about paying it off. Additionally, I think you need to stop and consider how you ended up in this situation and make some changes.
An acquaintance of mine is $50k in unsecured credit card debt because of alcohol, and he's about to lose everything. He's Mr. Party and thinks nothing of slapping down his VISA to pick up a $500 tab for everyone in the bar. Still, he's in denial about his alcoholism.
Las Vegas, you are clearly an alcoholic and you desperately need help. Please contact AA before it's too late.
Very good observation. Maybe he does need help. Alcohol dependency can blur moral, ethics, etc. That may be his problem. I am glad you brought that up.
If what you say is true about the police FORCING you to take an ambulance (forgive my skepticism), then I would contact an attorney and have him write a letter to the chief of police *and* the mayor and inform them that you will be forwarding the bill to them for payment.
If they refuse to pay the bill I would initiate a lawsuit against the city and I would certainly contact the media and let them know the sordid details.
If we had more details about the circumstances we would give you better advice.
20yrsinBranson
Ah, yes, I can see it now. The OP is at a job interview, resume in hand, when the interviewer pulls out a newspaper article and asks, "Is this you?"
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