Consumer complaint received 2017-09-11
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action — Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged
Company: R.M. Galicia, Inc. (CA)

My XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX Hospital, I was in the hospital for a total of 36 hours. I am insured but I still began receiving numerous bills for myself and my son even though this hospital was in network. They totaled {$2100.00}. I contacted the billing department immediately regarding the bill and explained that I recently had a 50 % reduction in my pay and that I would need to set up a payment plan. They stated the only payment plan available was 12 months. I then told them that there was no way I could afford a monthly payment that large and still afford rent, and they advised me to apply for financial assistance. I did and I was denied. I then contacted them again and I was advised to wait two months and apply again, and if it did not go through they would then try a different way to set up a payment plan. I followed their direction in the middle of XX/XX/XXXX and I was again denied. I was very proactive in making sure that a payment plan was set up ( as I have done with this company numerous times before ) and I did not want to damage my credit. At this same time I had received another bill from the XXXX XXXX XXXX office so I contacted them and I was advised by the representative that I could combine all of my medical bills ( hospital and office ) and that they would give me an extended payment plan to cover all of them so that I could afford the payment. I thanked the representative but I was also very frustrated that I had waited nearly 2 months and no representative from the hospital billing department had offered this service. Had I been offered that from the beginning I would have had a payment plan set up as soon as I was billed. I agreed and advised them that I was next going to contact the hospital regarding the financial assistance denial ( as previously advised ) but the representative stated she would make a note and take care of it, and contact me the next day with a new payment plan for both the hospital and office bills. I was contacted the next day and advised that the hospital had sent my bills to collection already and that there was no way they could pull it out of collection and combine all the bills into a payment plan. I was shocked that after 2 months of working with the hospital, following THEIR INSTRUCTIONS and attempting to find an amicable way to pay them that they would simply abort the plan agreed upon and documented in numerous notes and simply send my bill to collections. I recently found out that the end of XX/XX/XXXX was the end of their fiscal year so I am sure that in some way my bill hanging on in the system waiting for a payment plan was affecting someones year end numbers and bonus check so it was quickly sent to collections with no regard for my credit, and effort to protect it. It is now the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX and I have been contacted by Progressive Management Systems collections department and advised that I owe {$2100.00} and that I must pay it within 6 months or it will damage my credit. I advised this representative ( as I advised the hospital representative ) that there was no way that I can afford a payment that large as I have had a 50 % reduction in my pay and there is no way I can afford that with my other bills. I also stated I would happily provide proof of my income declining via last years XXXX and my current paystub. I was then advised by the representative that there was no other payment plan available and that if I did not pay it in 180 days or set up a 6 month payment plan and pay it in full that it will report to my credit. I can not believe that after three months of follow up, persistence and work to keep this bill from going to my credit I am now worse off than I was to begin with.