Hi,
my mom recently had a surgery and the bill was coming in parts. I had already paid most of the bills, but $1700 bill was pending. I was waiting for other bills to arrive so that i can pay it all at once.

Yesterday I got  several letters like $500,$400 all totaling to about $1900. It doesnt say what is bill is about, just says I owe this much. I had never gotten any invoice from hospitals of these bills. I know i owe about $1700 but I dont know about this $1900. I called Collection agency this morning but they said they dont know. What should I do? What if I dont pay my bills? what will happen? Are  they under law to tell me where these bills are from? I dont mind paying but I dont wanna pay something I already paid for or something I am not suppose to pay.

I dont want to pay this and they send me another bill again later. I dont know when these bills will stop coming. What should I do.

Thanks

Call the hospital and ask for detailed invoice on every bill you have received with a proper breakdown...

The collection agencies are usually a buch of bullys. Don't get intimidated. They threaten with reporting to the credit agencies. But, tell them that you just want to fully understand what the money is owed for and have all the intention to pay. If they continue to bully you, make a counter threat that you will be suing them if you credit rating is ruined because of their careless actions... That worked for me...

 thanks,
But the thing is I did not even receive ANY invoice which amounts to $500, $400 etc etc that I am getting from collection agency. I have no idea where there numbers are coming from. If this is coming from hospitals, shouldnt i have gotten invoice from them? 

How long do i have until they mess my credit score? Will they also freeze my bank account too?

I am glad you posted about this issue.   Most likely, it is a scam.  One of my relatives has been receiving collection notices for things that she does not owe.  You can google the words used in the collection notice and probably will find many people have received the same.  Be careful, do not pay them unless you know for sure that it is authentic.  Even then, you can negotiate the payment amount and schedule.

thank you nepali_american,
If it is real collection agency, how can it be a scam? Should I verify it is a real collection agency? I need to be sure if it is real or fake, to decide not to pay them. What should be my next steps. Thanks 

Collection agencies cannot freeze your bank account. The only way your checking is at a risk is if you default on a big bank/credit/Irs....and they can't just freeze the account either. They have to follow a protocol which requires them to give you every possible way. Finally they can go to court which they are obliged by law to notify you about. The only way your your bank account can be touched is if you don't show up or the court judges against you. Now hospital bills are entirely diff story. Even if u default on every single bill the most that can happen is you get collection calls 24/7 and your credit will be a lil messed. I am not suggesting you don't pay the bills and if you have paid most of it anyway I think the best thing to do would be to call these agencies and find out exactly who your creditors are. They have to tell you who forwarded these bills to them...and like "yotabha...." said threaten them of suing. It mite just work. Gud luck with everything.

 yeah i called this morning, they said they dont know who the the bills are from and told to call the hospitals. I read in forums that it is under federal law for collection agencies to tell me who do i owe the charges to. 

Like nepali_american said, I am hoping this is a scam, but since this serious issue, I want to be 100% sure. What should I do to make sure this is a scam? check google for keywords? Should i just ignore them? Do I need to inform a credit bureu to make sure my credit is not messed up? 

Double, triple check and make sure you are not a victim of scam.  It has happened to me.  I thought I missed a payment because I was busy .  I paid full amount due.  A few days later another bill from same collection agency, same amount and for same thing.  When I went through all of my previous bills, I had never missed any.   Be careful.

Bajara:
Call the hospital and find out what you owe and whether the collection agency is actually working on their behalf.

If you want to paly by the rules and protect your interests.

1. send them a registered letter or fax mentioning that you need to know the real creditors, on whose behalf the credit agency is working. Mention that you wish to resolve all the dues in an amicable manner. Keep all the documentation.
2. Ask them to correspond with you only in letter/mail and stop making calls. Choosing the way you wish to be communicated is your right.
3. If they are not able to provide the real creditor, it is most likely a scam and just ignore them. If they continue harrassing you, tell them that you will be filing a police report for scam/fraud.
4. If they are genuine collection agency and will not provide the real creditor, then you write to them telling them that you will not entertain further correspondences until the information is made available to you. Again, mention that you will proceed with legal action, should your credit rating suffer because of their stupidity.

Good luck... If I were you, I would not lose any sleep over it.

 ok thank you all, I will go to hospitcal, get all the bills(paid and unpaid). I will also call the collection agency tomorrow and ask them to give me information about who the creditor is