Reasonable priced lawyer needed for bill collection issue

[Kevin]

I need to find a lawyer with credit collection experience to answer a simple question about whether a collection agency can charge interest on a debt. My internet research seems to indicate that they cannot because in this case there was no legal agreement ever signed between my wife and the doctors office. The collection agency seems to think they can collect interest by default when there is lack of a signed document between the debtor and the creditor.

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The disputed interest is only $46 but it is the principle of the thing. Does anyone have a recommendation for someone who is reasonably priced and would be likely to definitively answer this question for us?

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[CarolPB]

It’s hard to imagine there was nothing signed at the MD’s office regarding an aggrement to pay. Once your account is sent to collections, they are legally able to collect the debt from you on the doctor’s behalf. Not sure, but I think they can add interest or fees. They also use some tactics to scare you into immediate payment. I say for $46.00-just pay it and get it off your credit report.

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[Garden_nymph]

I’m not sure what, “reasonably priced” means to you, but paying any money to lawyer instead of paying the MD $46 seems like a waste of time and money to me! I would suggest before spending any money, check your insurance policy to make sure the charge you don’t think you owe wasn’t applied to your deductible or out of pocket; in that case, it would be your financial responsibility to pay the doctor.

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[metrognome]

Kevin —

the WA state AG offers this info on their site: http://atg.wa.gov/ConsumerIssues/Credit/CollectionAgencies.aspx. You can call the AG for (limited) advice.

I agree with CarolPB that your wife may have signed a fairly simple contract, probably on her first visit, without being aware that it was a contract. This is SOP in a dr’s office and treatment likely won’t be provided without it. It may have been included with other things, such as a release for previous medical records, so that one signature covered several permissions. If you she was covered by insurance, the ‘contract’ may have been included in paperwork authorizing the dr to bill her insurer, esp if it is a Preferred Provider Org or similar contractual arrangement between the insurer and doctor.

As far as a lawyer, try the state bar assn (wsba dot org) or call 211; for online help try washingtonlawhelp dot org. (too many urls may cause a problem which is why I posted this way.)

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