Stale Bill

Dealing with an Old Bill

I received a pair of contacts two years ago from my optometrist.

All of a sudden, he sends me a letter telling me that I did not pay for said contacts (he said the bill was misfiled and that records show I did not pay the bill).

I replied that I failed to believe that they would have given me the contacts without paying for them.

Further, the "statute of limitations" has expired on the insurance I had at the time, so there is no way to recoup the money I would have received from the ins. company.

He basically told me that that was my problem, and refuses to bill me, stating that he will 'give me a receipt when I pay the bill.'

As I see it, any fool can call me and tell me I owe them money; I feel I need proof. At the very least, what is the "statute of limitations" on billing someone.

Sorry so lengthy; any help would be appreciated.

Cyranae

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You'll have to ask a local lawyer what the statute of limitations on debt is where you live. It is generally four to six years.

I doubt that the statute of limitations would have run on claims you can make against the health insurance company you had back then. It would be the same as it is on a debt collection case.

You would have to read the policy you had then, but you still might be able to submit a claim if you can prove the service was covered and happened during the time the insurance policy was in force.

The bill is your problem if you didn't pay it. The doctor can take you to small claims court over it, but then he would have to prove his case by producing records and you could state your defense that he would not have given you the service without payment. The judge could then make his decision based whatever evidence there is.

If you feel you don't owe the money and the doctor won't send a bill, you can sit back and wait to see what the doctor does. In the meantime he might add a negative item to your credit report.

I don't know how much money is involved, but it situations like this it is almost always best to reach some sort of compromise.

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