Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Jersey

Hello. They can bill you as long as they want. Whether you are going to pay something that was already paid is another story entirely. Of course you are not going to do that. If they are going to sue you for the debt, they would have to do so within the statute of limitations - (6 years from the date of service - I am assuming this because it's a contract action).

The question is, did they get a judgment against you and are they collecting on the judgment now? If the collection is based upon a judgment they obtained in the court, you would have had to been served with a summons and complaint, ignored it and then they obtained a judgment by default. If you never got notice that they were suing you, that is a problem. What you need to do is ask them for the original billing statement from the hospital and provide to them whatever information you have that it was paid off. Whether you remember the actually name of the insurance company or not, tell them you were covered and it was paid.

Even if it is just a bill gone to collections, they would need to send you a notice under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allowing you thirty days to respond to them, dispute the debt and request information about the original debtor.

You can do the following to put an end to the harassment. Call them and explain the situation. Tell them you were covered by insurance at the time, that you (or your insurance company at the time) paid the bill and they darn well better take this off your credit report and stop any action to collect.

Ask them where you can mail a letter explaining this in writing. Make two copies of the letter. Send the original by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested. Send a copy by regular mail. Keep a copy for yourself along with your mail receipt.

Give them a deadline to respond in your letter. Also, go online and dispute the debt with the credit reporting agencies. The credit reporting agencies will then do an investigation and let you know what the creditor's response was. You can do this online for free on some credit sites during a free trial period.

I hope this answer provides you with some help. Regards, Tina