What is the federal law concerning spouces medical bill being put on my credit report?
916078
just because you are married you are not responsable for your spouces debts, as long as you did not sign anything for them . but if your spouse dies there estate is to  go for paying there debts off. if you have anything that you both are co-owners the creditors can force the sell to get there money.you need to contact the collection agency and chew there butts out and inform them if they cant show you proof that you signed for the debt , they better get this off your credit report or you will sue there tails off.you will have to be firm with them or they will bullie you to get you to pay the bills. next you need to write the 3 madger credit reporting agencys tell them that these are mistakes and to remove them from your credit report . send it return recipt requested so you have proof of when they got it. they have 30 days to prove weather it is valed or not. if in 30 days they have not contacted you and cant prove it to be valed they have to remove it from the report. you need to write them again the same way and tell them to remove it form your report. (that is federal law) but you will have to stay on the collection agency and who ever turned this over to the collection agency untill you get the matter solved . because they can put it right back on your credit report again and you have to start it all back over again.  if you run in to a brick wall with the collection agency and they wont budge you may have to have a talk with a lawyer they can be sued for fulse reporting to the credit buearo. i cant remember what the addy is but you need to search for the fare debt collection act it will give you more info.......... why cant you sue the doctor if he made a mistake during surgey??? if this is what the docs or hospital is telling you go see a lawyer
1086827
They do affect your credit FICO Scores but lenders generally ignore medical collections...\nNeed more info contact me through my E-mail\njonnylender@yahoo.com
793989
First read ugottafriend4life's answer again and follow it.  You may be able to add it to your BK.\n\nNext...VERY IMPORTANT!  Is this the first collection letter you got?  It should have a statement telling you that you have 30 days to dispute the debt.  \n\nSend them a dispute letter and demand validation.  That will buy you some time to look into the BK filing.  It also places a "stay" on the collector preventing him from placing anything on your credit report.  By law, he can not proceed with collection activities until he validates this debt.\n\nDuring this time you can negotiate with either the doctor's office (preferred) or the collector.  But demand IN WRITING that in exchange for payment they must not place anything on your credit report.  Does it make any sense to you to pay the bill and still have your credit messed up by these jerks?  If they sue you, the judgement stays on your credit report for 10 years, same as the BK report.  So they really can't do much harm to you.  But if they want your money then make them give you something in return!
268725
HELL NO YOU CAN'T GET IN TROUBLE!!!! stupid collection agencies will say anything to get you to pay up. a company called me once saying that i must really hate my preemie newborn if i wouldn't cough up the $20,000 for his medical care which the insurance handled eventually. idiots told me they could have my son taken away. \nthe worst thing they can do is report it to the credit bureau and if you're in collections they have already done that. \nbesides, you keep going off on them like that and maybe they'll quit calling you back.
102357
Every American by law is entitled to one free credit report each year from all three major reporting agencies.  There is no catch or obligation.  It is provided thru the FTC.\n\nHere's the link to getting them:
1093197
I would contact the better business bureau and place a negative report on their business. Next I would contact the credit card agency and ask them how to dispute this charge. Since this is from December 05 you might have a hard time getting them to do anything since that is almost 6 months ago.\n\nAs far as small claims court goes, you have 2 choices in filing a case. You can report it in your precinct where you live and if they will not go across state, which i do not understand as i have done this several times with medical collections....then you can file in the precinct where the business resides. You would need to call the county clerk for that county or the sherriff's dept and they can tell you which precinct that address would fall under. Best of luck.
759187
Yes they will know because insurance companies go by your credit now instead of your word.  It will show up on your credit that you defaulted on your insurance premium.  Your rates may be higher someplace else.  If your mom is the primary insurance holder then it may not affect you but you may want to check into it.
45327
They could eventually.  What could happen is they can sell your overdue account to a collections agency and the collections agency could sue you and if they win the lawsuit they could have your wages garnished.\n\nThe big issue is that you are destroying your credit, by not paying this debt.  It is probably a relatively small amount and will stay on your record for 7 years.  If it is not in collections contact the book club and make arrangements to pay off your debt.  If it is collections make sure you are staying current on your other bills and pay any extra money to paying off your debt.  If it is in collections paying it off will not help your FICO score, but it will make your credit report look better.
1032164
I think this is a new area of concern and that there isn't policies as to rights set in place yet.  I could be wrong.  Talk to a lawyer.\n\nBe thankful that your company told you so you can keep an eye on your credit reports and be more aware if something looks fishy.
1186750
WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH CREDIT
1123511
I would first of all go to the hospital and see if they will agree to a payment plan. It is my understanding that as long as you pay, consistenly, something on a bill you can't be taken to court (don't quote me on this)...but my first stop would be the accounting department of the hospital in question.  \n\nAsk them where you can go for help in paying.....Remember, you are not the first patient that can't pay.  Just make sure you don't let any family member co-sign anything to do with this bill.  \n\nLast but not least (and this is the last resort) if you can't get help eitther with the hospital or a govt agency,you couuld declare bankruptcy.....but this is a BIG step and will follow you for, I believe, 7 years.
776195
If i were you I would call the hospital and talk to someone in patient accounts. i had a friend who was told they had a brain anurism (sp?) and they shipped him to another hospital etc etc and racked up alot of bills and the wife called and ended up they didnt have to pay it. Chances are you will have to pay for the first one though, it was part of your treatment.
557633
You need to take the time to read the Fair Credit Reporting Acts and the Fair Debt Collections Act.  The reason you are having a hard time with these boneheads is because you don't know the law, and they are running all over you!\n\nI've posted the relevent parts below that will help you out.\n\nFirst, when you contact the collection agent, you must do so IN WRITING to prove you sent them a letter.  Be sure to state you want to have your debt VALIDATED!  This is very important.  Once they receive this letter, they must reply within 30 days.  Their reply must have PROOF that you have a legal obligation to pay this debt.  That means contracts, bills, receipts, and everything used to calculate what they claim you owe.  Also be sure to include a cease and desist warning, with warning about posting anything to your credit report while this matter is in dispute.  Once that is done, they can't do anything until the debt is validated.\n\nIf the fail to supply this information, and post negative information on your credit report, they will be in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Whether the debt is legal or not, posting unvalidated reports is against the law and you can sue them in small claims court for $1000 very easily.\n\nIf they validate this debt, and it does appear you owe them, then pay the bill.  By law, the Collection Agency can not post anything to your report within 180 days of the date of delinquency.  (that's six months to you collection agents reading...).  \n\nI would also follow through with a negotiation demand that if you pay the bill, they will agree IN WRITING not to place negative information on your credit report, or remove anything that they did place.  Do not actually make a pledge to pay, or you may be restarting the clock on the Statute of Limitations.  Do not acknowledge that you owe the debt.\n\nContact me if you need any advice or encouragement.  I am not a lawyer or credit counsoler, just someone who likes to get under credit collectors skins.
94699
Bills such as electic, phone, credit cards, etc. need only be kept until you recieve the next bill, legally they cannot make you responsible for errors (yours or theirs) not caught within the current billing cycle. Tax records not included.
294453
Oh heck Yeah!!! You should see my credit report!  \nThat's the only thing keeping me from getting one lousy credit card is some damn medical bills on my record!
393937
A couple questions first.  Has it appeared on your credit report yet?  Check it out by getting your free report at www.annualcreditreport.com.\n\nIf it's not on there yet, and you can pay it off, do it NOW!  There is a procedure that the collection agents must follow before they can place a negative report on your record.  By paying the bill you stop that process.\n\nIf the Cell Company already put a report on it, try to negotiate with them to remove it in exchange for payment of the bill.  Use the letter below if you need guidance.  \n\nGenerally it takes a few months before the collection agents get involved, so get moving!
1160784
You can try Lexington Law Firm. They claim to specialize in this area, but as a rule the credit bureaus will tell you that No-one can remove a legitimate item from your report.