Is a lawyer who represents a Doctors offfice allowed to charge 1100 FEE

by Patricia
(Middletown)

I have a outstanding doctors bill from May for $3700. They sent to a lawyer to collect it and he has add $1100 fee for himself isnt that a little extreme? How much is he allowed to charge? Is there a certain percent? THanks so much

Comments for Is a lawyer who represents a Doctors offfice allowed to charge 1100 FEE

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Aug 27, 2011
 Fee Being Charged by Lawyer Trying to Collect a Debt
by: Debtcollectionanswers.com.

Yes, the fee charged by the lawyer who is trying to collect your past due doctor bill does sound high, but I cannot tell you if a court would consider it to be unreasonable or not. That would depend on the law in your state. Therefore, I recommend contacting a consumer law attorney in your area who helps people resolve their debt collection problems to get a more definitive answer on whether the $1,100 fee is excessive. If it is, you may have the basis for a lawsuit.

In the meantime, you need to figure out what you are going to do about the money you owe because if you do nothing, it's likely that the attorney will file a lawsuit against you eventually. And, if you lose the lawsuit, you will owe even more than you do now because of legal fees and expenses.

Can you afford to pay your debt off over time? If so, then you should try to work out a payment plan with the lawyer who has contacted you, but not before you have consulted with a consumer law attorney. Also, if you do try to negotiate a payment plan do not agree to pay more than you truly believe you can afford and do not pay anything until you have the a written agreement.

To buy yourself time to figure out what to do and to talk with a consumer law attorney, I recommend that you send the attorney who is trying to collect the money from you a letter stating that you want the debt to be verified and specifically disputing that you owe the lawyer the $1,100 fee. Send your letter certified mail with a return receipt requested and make a copy of the letter for your files.

Mail your letter right away because federal law gives you only 30 days after you receive an initial communication from a debt collector to send it. Once the lawyer receives the letter he is legally obligated to respond to it.

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