Itemized Statements

by Karen
(Fort Smith, Arkansas)

I have a payment arrangement on a lawsuit against me for medical bills. The debt is legitimate and I acknowledge it and am paying every month according to our arrangement. My problem is that they don't provide me with any statements and I have no way of knowing what my present balance is or how my payment is being posted. Is there any regulation that makes it mandatory for them to give me an accounting on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis?

Comments for Itemized Statements

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Mar 21, 2010
 collection account statements
by: Gerri

Karen,

Thanks for submitting your debt collection question on our Q&A page.

You raise an excellent and important question. This is an issue the Federal Trade Commission has also raised in its examination of the debt collection industry. Unfortunately, though it seems pretty basic to me, I am not aware of any requirement for the judgment creditor to send you an itemized statement. However, I am not an attorney and you may want to check with your state Attorney General's office to find out if there is such a requirement in your state.

In the meantime, I would strongly encourage you to keep excellent records of every payment you've made on this debt. Plan to keep those records indefinitely.

You may also want to weigh in on this topic with a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and your state Attorney General.

Karen, you may also be interested in the Medical Debt Relief Act, proposed legislation that would require credit reporting agencies to remove medical debts from credit reports thirty days after they have been paid.

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