When the money troubles start, there is no peace. No quiet time, no "day off" from the difficulties. When you start being contacted by debt-collectors, it never stops. The phone rings from 8 AM to 9 PM. Every day. No Sunday's or holidays taken by these things. They call and call. And they send mail. Tons of mail.
There is a big difference between refusing to pay and not being able to pay. The biggest portion of my debt came from medical emergencies. Each one of my family of five had one in the past 2 years. I was basically under the assumption that my medical insurance from Horizon Blue Cross was going to cover the expenses. I was paying them, first $1250 a month through Cobra, and then $900 a month for my private insurance. I had a lapse of literally a few days in the transition from Cobra to private. That meant that they got out of paying any claims by claiming the "Pre-existing condition" clause. Now I did put in for all the proper pre-approvals, received them, and was told I was covered.
Until the bills came. Then I was not covered. That's about $100,000 I have to eat.
So the calls come. They call and they call. I found out there are debt-collectors who disguise themselves as lawyers. I try so hard to avoid generalizations. But lawyers really, really have shown themselves to be as slimy as people say they are. I'm hoping there really is a special place in Hell for this breed of human. They are relentless. The outside debt (aside from the medical bills) is about $15,000 but not in one lump. I had a couple of cards in amounts such as $2500. These are the type of accounts that are being handled by the so-called "law firms" which are really nothing more than bargain-basement debt collectors. Shylocks. Loan sharks.
Dirt.
The phone rings from 8 AM to 9 PM and I try to explain the difference between refusing to pay, and being unable to pay.
They don't care. I guess I don't blame them, since it's not their problem. It's just a little frustrating getting a phone call from someone who is barely able to put a complete sentence together in English, and having them demand money. People who barely have an 8th grade education level are calling and harassing my family. These "law" firms really have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to hire folks because decent people wouldn't touch these jobs.
They send mail. They call. You don't get a single day without contact from these parasites. These are not reputable lawyers defending the rights of a client. These are leeches who buy the debt from banks etc. and look to turn a profit by collecting them. That's the worst part. Someone who makes money off of others' misfortunes really deserve their own little cubby in Dante's Inferno.
Well, I think I've made my point. The phone is ringing. I'll tell you about my defense weapons in the next entry
