vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
This is either laundering money or laundering non-money.  All the other answers point out how a cheque or bank transfer will take days to actually clear.  That is a red herring! There are lots of ways to illegally transfer real money out of existing accounts.  Stolen cheque books, stolen banking details (partly in connection with stolen smartphones and credit cards) and cards, money transfers from other people duped in a similar manner as you are: it is much easier to steal money than invent it, and it takes quite longer until stolen rather than invented money will blow up at the banks. All of those payments will likely properly clear but not leave you in actual legal possession of money.  People will notice the missing money and notify police and banks and you will be on the hook for paying back all of it. Cheques and transfers from non-existing accounts, in contrast, tend to blow up very fast and thus are less viable for this kind of scam as the time window for operating the scam is rather small. Whether or not the cheque actually clears is about as relevant of whether or not the Rolls Royce you are buying for $500 because the owner has an ingrown toe nail and cannot press down the accelerator any more has four wheels. Better hope for the Rolls to be imaginary because then you'll only be out of $500 and that's the end of it.  If it is real, your trouble is only starting.
Is there not some central service that tracks current currency rates that banks can use to get currency data? Sure.  But this doesn't matter.  All the central service can tell you is how much the rate was historically.  But the banks/PayPal don't care about the historical value.  They want to know the price that they'll pay when they get around to switching, not the last price before the switch.  Beyond that, there is a transaction cost to switching.  They have to pay the clearinghouse for managing the transaction.   The banks can choose to act as a clearinghouse, but that increases their risk.  If the bank has a large balance of US dollars but dollars are falling, then they end up eating that cost.  They'll only take that risk if they think that they'll make more money that way.  And in the end, they may have to go on the currency market anyway.  If a European bank runs out of US dollars, they have to buy them on the open market.  Or a US bank might run out of Euros.  Or Yen.  Etc.   Another problem is that many of the currency transactions are small, but the overhead is fixed.  If the bank has to pay $5 for every currency transaction, they won't even break even charging 3% on a $100 transaction.  So they delay the actual transaction so that they can make more than one at a time.  But then they have the risk that the currency value might change in the meantime.  If they credit you with $97 in your account ($100 minus the 3% fee) but the price actually drops from $100 to $99, they're out the $1.   They could do it the other way as well.  You ask for a $100 transaction.  They perform a $1000 transaction, of which they give you $97.  Now they have $898 ($1000 minus the $5 they paid for the transaction plus the $3 they charged you for the transaction).  If there's a 1% drop, they're out $10.98 ($8.98 in currency loss plus a net $2 in fees).   This is why banks have money market accounts.  So they have someone to manage these problems working twenty-four hours a day.  But then they have to pay interest on those accounts, further eating into their profits.  Along with paying a staff to monitor the currency markets and things that may affect them.
Your desire to travel before starting work is smart and something you should do. There are very few opportunities in life where you will have a chunk of time to do such travelling. Having said that, your life plans may or may not pan out the way you expect. Ideally, you'd take the 0% APR for 18 months and max it out. A 3% balance transfer (BT) fee breaks out to 1.5% APR, but due in 1.5 years. That's a very good loan rate if you can pay it before the APR changes. Say, you take 6 months to travel. When you return, you have one year to pay off your credit card bill. Calculate how much you will borrow and how much your monthly payments will be. $1,500 across 12 months is $125. Can you add that as a monthly expense? What will your life circumstances be when you return from travel? Do you know what your income will be? Do you know what your expected expenses will be? How much padding will you have for emergencies?
I did this for a few years and the best way I found was via http://xe.com/ It uses a bank transfer from your UK bank to xe.com (no fees from bank or xe). On the Canadian side, they use EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer, no fees from bank or xe.com) They have very competitive exchange rates. To make a transfer, you log in to xe and arrange your transfer. This locks in the rate and tells you how many GBP you need to transfer in. Then, transfer your money from the UK bank into xe using the details they provide. Two or three days later the money shows up in your Canadian acount. There's a bit of paperwork they need to set it up but it's not very hard. After it's set up, everything else is online. Enjoy!
"You have received some good answers, but since your concern is proper protocol, keep everything in writing (emails, not phone calls).  Also, you'll get a quick response by contacting the University ""Accounts Payable"" department, confirm the situation with a summary as you posted here and ask for the ABA routing number for the transfer.  The routing number, email, and you bank statement is all the records you need to cover your but."
You'll need to show the whole paper trail: show that the $2000 are the same $2000 (i.e.: show that you didn't get any new income that was not yet reported on your Elance balance), and show that it was in fact transfer from Elance (matching transactions on both accounts). Obviously, add a letter describing the whole process and pointing to the specific pages and lines in the statements and prior year tax returns. Follow the instructions on the notice about where to send your response, and make sure you send it certified USPS mail. Consider having a tax professional (EA/CPA licensed in your State) helping you with this. For the future - do not leave money on various private parties' accounts. It is uninsured, and if something happens to that company - you lose the money. That includes, in the US, also PayPal accounts.
No, they cannot refuse to provide you with the current balance or a balance history. The other answers point you to resources that are available to help you put pressure on the dealership. The bottom line is that you now know that you have the right to the details and to audit their recording of the transactions. You should now use that information and demand a better response in writing. If they have to give you a response in writing, they can't deny the answer they gave in a court of law later on. They understand this, and they will take you more seriously if you send a letter. Make sure to keep copies of the letter and send it with certified delivery.
You are making an assumption that may not be true: Unbeknownst to me, some apartment debt I paid had already been sold to a collections agency before I actually paid it. Typically debts are sold to a Debt Buyer, whereas a Collection Agency works on commission to collect debts on behalf of the creditor. If your debt was actually sold, you should have been notified in writing of this fact, and who the new creditor was. I suspect your debt was not sold, because if it was the apartment complex would not have been legally allowed to cash your check when you finally paid them. Therefore, it is most likely that the collection agency was working on commission, and the apartment complex never informed them that you had settled your debt. As for what to do about it, here are 3 options, ordered by likelihood of success: Good luck, and if you don't mind, please update us later on what you did and what the result was. Your experience will be helpful for others having this issue in the future.
1% is below interchange, so you either 1) take mostly debit, 2) have someone willing to literally lose money paying the banks for you, or 3) have hidden/padded fees somewhere else.  Edit: Or 4) Have customers pay the fees through surcharging.
"This does not directly address the question, but how the Bank views your behaviour is not the same as a credit reporting bureau.  If you do not ""go deep"" on your card at all, you may be deemed not to be exercising the facility, indeed they may ask you to reduce your credit limit. This is not the same as ""missing a payment"". At the same time, do not just make the minimum payment. Ideally you should clear it within 3 months. Think of it as a very short term line of credit. Not clearing the balance within three months (or turning it over) demonstrates a cash flow problem, as does clearing it from another card. Some banks call this ""kite flying"" after similar behaviour in older days with cheque accounts. If you use the credit and show you can pay it off, you should never need to ask for a credit increase, it will be offered. The Bureau will be informed of these offers. Also, depending upon how much the bank trusts you, the Bureau may see a ""monthly"" periodic credit review, which is good if you have no delinquencies. Amex does this as a rule."
Here's your problem: The debt is valid and it is your debt, regardless of your arrangement with the insurance company. The insurance company (possibly) owes you money, and you owe the Doctor money. You are stuck in the middle, and in the end it doesn't matter whether the insurance company pays as to whether you owe the money. Don't ignore them. Also, disputing the debt it pointless because the truth is that you do owe the debt. The insurance company may owe you money (which is in dispute), but the debt to your medical provider is your own. You are just stuck in the middle. It sucks, but is pretty common. I think the best you can do is keep working on the insurance company and responding to the bill collectors letting them know that you are working on it and will need to pay late. In theory they deal with this a lot and probably understand, not that it will make them lay off you in the meantime.  In the end it is possible you might have to sue the insurance company to get the money. One thing to be careful about: If the debt is fairly old (several years) you may want to avoid making partial payments because if this goes on your credit report, that payment may extend the period where the negative information can appear on your credit history.
And hospitals can't repossess the pacemaker you got when you declare bankruptcy and get your medical debt cleared...  I understand what you're saying, but you can rationalize any debt as being unforgivable I you really want to and especially if you have a vested interest in it being unforgivable. I don't know that the origin of the debt or the object of the debt should matter.
Check with the manufacturer of the name brand medication.  Most of them have programs to help people who need their medication but can not afford it.  They may be able to send you coupons for discounted or free medication.  You can go to a free clinic.  If your income is low enough the free clinic will provide medicine until you can get back on insurance.   You can do what alot of people who work hard and do not have insurance do and pay for it outof pocket.  You can talk to your doctor and see if there is an alternative to the expensive medicine that your insurance used to pay for. It may not be as effective or may have other side affects but many people are forced to go with these alternatives.   You situation is certianly unfortunate but also not terribly uncommon.  You probably also have recourse against the former employer but if they commited fraud, and faked your insurance there probably is not alot of money to recoup.  If it was a person who commited fraud then you may be able to get a judgement against them that would survive bankruptcy and the business but it will probably be at least 5 years before you can recoup anything possibly much longer and your attorney will probably not take it on contingency.
No. Medical bills for yourself or your human companions may be: Canada Revenue Seeing-eye dogs and the like also get special treatment Nice Doggie There are pet medical insurance policies; but as they are often priced like human policies, they might exclude your animal if it has a pre-existing condition. Good Luck Scott
"I would start with actually talking to the collection agency.  Say what you are saying here,  namely:  ""I'm willing to pay the debt if the creditor can prove to me that I owe them"". You can also talk to the health facility, ask them for information or records.   You can start there and see what happens.  Once you are ready to pay the debt you can negotiate to have the negative mark removed from your report.   It really depends on the collection agency.  They could be reasonable, or the could be total scum."
You will often receive a lower bill if you simply wait for a second or third billing statement. I was once given the advice to never pay a medical bill until after they had sent three notices, because they will almost certainly reduce the amount due. Sounds crazy, right? I have excellent credit, so the idea of risking it by ignoring bills disturbed me greatly, and I scoffed at the advice.  I then had a similar experience to you, and decided to take the advice. By the third statement, the bill was reduced to less than half of the original, with zero intervention on my part. I then paid it without any impact to my credit whatsoever. I've since done that every time I receive healthcare services, and the bill is always reduced on subsequent statements, generally to less than half of the original bill. Sometimes it's because insurance finally got around to paying. Sometimes a credit is mysteriously added. Sometimes line items disappear without explanation. (Line items sometimes appear over time, too, but the overall balance generally goes down.) I don't know the reason for it, but it works. This has happened with a variety of providers, so it's not just one company that does it. Granted, I never called to negotiate the price, so I can't say if I would've gotten a better deal by doing that. I like it because it requires no time or effort on my part, and it has greatly reduced my medical bills with zero impact to my credit. I only have personal anecdotes to back it up, but it's worked for me.
Is it common in the US not to pay medical bills? Or do I misunderstood what had been said? There has definitely been a misunderstanding as it is not that common for people to not pay medical bills. Yes, there are those that cannot afford to pay them, and that does contribute to increasing prices, but overall people do pay. I think there is an aspect to this that has not been covered by the other two answers. What is common, at least in my experience, is that medical providers (i.e. doctors, hospitals, radiology, etc) are much more likely to work with you on establishing a payment plan than utilities, credit card companies, banks, etc are. This is different than holding off payment in the hopes of negotiating a reduction in payment. I am speaking of paying the total amount, but over multiple payments, and without a penalty for paying over multiple payments. And usually they will ask you what you can afford. If you can pay $50 per month, likely that will work. And even what I do that and call to pay the monthly amount, they will ask if I will pay that or some other (including lesser) amount. Also, if I skip a month (usually from forgetting, not intentionally) there is again no additional fee. This doesn't cover ALL providers, but so far has been consistent across all of the ones I have used. I suspect this is what your colleagues were referring to.
All new loans must be originated from the direct loan program. In most cases, the Stafford loan is better, as the rate is lower (6.8% vs. 7.9% for the PLUS loan). There aren't many viable alternatives for most people.  Private student loans exist, but carry significantly higher rates and worse payment terms. The exceptions are programs that exist for professions like medicine and dentistry. Credit cards usually carry higher rates and limited credit lines, but you have the option of negotiating the balance down or declaring bankruptcy to discharge the debt if you are unable to repay.
"My answer might be out of date due to the Affordable Health Care law.  I will answer for the way things were prior to that law taking effect. In my experience, hospitals have a financial assistance program you can apply for.  If you can show a financial need, the hospital will only charge you a certain percentage of your bill.  A person with a very low income will likely only be charged 5 or 10% of the theoretical balance.  That would be assuming the person is at or near the poverty level (which has an official definition -- but to give you an idea, your cashier at McDonald's is probably at or near the poverty level). Also note that sometimes it takes a while for hospital charges to be submitted to insurance, and to be approved and paid.  Thus, many people have learned through experience to ignore the first bill that comes in from a hospital, and wait a month before paying. There can be a dramatic drop in the ""What you owe"" line after the insurance company responds, and the billing office adjusts the bill to the negotiated amount and subtracts off what the insurance company covered."
I've considered just calling the out-of-network hospital and asking   them to reduce the charges. Ideally they would send my health   insurance provider a smaller bill which I could just pay. However I   want to be careful about how I proceed. Yes, that's what you should be doing. They might give you a discount, but even if not - they will definitely be willing to work out a payment plan for you so that you could pay in installments and not in a lump sum. I have experience with the El Camino group in California, that did just that. It was several hundreds, so they didn't give a discount, but were able to work out an installment plan for several months without much hassle. That is something to do before you get to lawyers. I'm not sure I know how the lawyer could be useful to you, other than claiming bankruptcy or waiting for them to turn to collections and then fight those. You should also work with your insurance. How much is your deductible? If your deductible is so high that it exceeds the several thousands bill you got - do you have a HSA? FSA? These will allow you paying the bill with pre-tax money, saving quite a lot (depending on your brackets and how much you put there). I would expect the insurance to bill you for the deductible, and cover all the rest. Is it not what is happening?
Seems like the straightforward answer is to call the provider and ask.  They should be able to tell you if you owe them or not.  Unfortunately, with small providers there is always a chance they won't get even that right; I would confirm exactly why they think you don't owe them anything if in fact you don't. Medical providers can go after you for years later, depending on your state; so don't assume just because it's been months that they won't eventually.  Smaller providers aren't terribly organized, but they do usually eventually go after most of those who owe them.
The best option would be to have the dental office allow you pay in installments. That would be probably the cheapest and most convenient way. When high amounts are involved - many medical offices are flexible with payments and allow spreading over long period of time, so you should check it out. Otherwise, credit cards would probably be the most expensive loan, but you should shop around and compare the rates offered to you, it is hard to guess would you may get.
"A simple way to account debt forgiveness of your receivables is to utilize a ""Bad Debt"" expense account. Take the following two examples: If you are only forgiving a portion of the principle, another popular term used is Principle Reduction as the expense account."
Also inquire about any sort of possible help the school provides to students who've had life emergencies, such as your medical issues. Many have programs that are not advertised, designed to help students finish their degree and recover from personal hard times. It's worth the inquiry if you are willing to ask. Any little bit of assistance can help. Don't be afraid to talk with an institution's mental health councilors either, who can help you deal with the psychological difficulty of your situation as well as often being able to connect you to other potential support resources. The pressure can take its tole, and you'll have better long-term opportunities if you build up your support network and options. Student Loan Forbearance While In School If you are trying to save up every last dollar for tuition to finish the degree, but you have to pay loans now, call up the provider to ask about temporary delays on your student loan payments. Many have time-limited hardship allowances, and between the medical bills, low income, and returning to school, they may be willing to give you a few months break until you get back to school and the in-school provisions kick in. Skip a Semester If Necessary To Save Money If you can only raise enough for one semester, then need to skip a semester to build up more funds, that happens, it's OK. Be strategic, and check on loan forbearance. Usually being out for one semester is allowed by student loan companies before you owe them payment, and if you re-enroll you don't have to start making payments yet. Double-check on Credit Expiration and Degree Requirements Make sure you talk to someone who knows what they are talking about, especially in terms of credit expiration. Policies vary, and sometimes an advisor is able to put in a special request to waive you through some of these issues. Academia is heavily, heavily reliant on developing a good relationship and clear communication with an advisor who is willing to work with you to achieve your goals. Written policies are sometimes very firm, and sometimes all you have to do is ask the right person and poof, suddenly the rules change. It's a weird system, but don't be afraid to explain your situation and ask what can be done.
Regarding Medical insurance premiums - The premiums are only part of the cost. You need to know if you have a deductible, your out of pocket maximum and what co-pays you have. If you take medications on a daily basis you need to account for those costs. Some programs allow you to put money aside pre-tax to pay for these known expenses.  I would split Emergency fund / general savings into two lines. You can set a goal to save X months worth of expenses as an emergency fund, but the general savings will be whatever is left over from the rest of your budget. Unless you have a goal for the savings: car, home...