nco financial

[mmoodyc]

hello,

i was just wondering if anyone here has dealt with this company, nco financial. i had withdrew myself from bc medical for a few years now because i was laid off from my previous job due to 9/11 and i was unable to find another job for a long time. out of nowhere, almost 6 months later, i received a letter from the bc government and they said that i owe about $500.00. i kindly wrote back to them and told them that i had no money to pay and gave them back my medical card and ask to be withdrawn from it.

then last year, i received a letter from this company and they said now i owe $1,000.00. i asked for details but they never gave me anything. i told them i withdrew and that i was not going to pay. the collector tells me that i should go back to where i came from if i did not want to pay. i am chinese and he is not, so you decide what he meant by that. i am implying any kind of racisim here, just that i did not like his tone of voice.

now today, i received another call and he said now i owe $2,000. i told him that i was not going to pay and take my chances in court. i have long ago on this medical system because i find that many people abuse the system. i work periodically and i have never applied for unemployment insurance, but to get a call from nowhere and say i owe $2,000 without details, that really make me mad about our government.

anyways, i was just wondering what is there for me to do to deal with this problem with nco financial and if there are others here that had problems with them too.

thanks for reading

 

[dave tv]

You can opt-out of BC Medical...its usually done because of religious beliefs, but it can be done. You must fill out the proper form to do so.

 

[Massagegirl]

I agree, it's mandatory, however if your income is under $11,000/year you are entitled to FREE medical. If you make between 11,000 and 18,000 you will get partial coverage. However you must get your ass down to the BC medical building to apply for it. It's called Premium Assistance, and when you apply they will check your income tax return to see if you qualify and for how much. It only goes back 5 years I believe so better get on it! Good luck.

 

[pokemon]

I suggest you not ignore the situation or assume that pleading ignorance will help. Contact BC Medical asap to find out what is happening. There may be something owing and interest piling on.

NCO Financial Services is a real collection agency located in Vancouver. The gov't does use private collection agencies to collect certain debts (ie student loans).

Further, being unable to afford to pay a debt does not mean you are not liable for the debt. I suggest you go to the following link and look up information on credit and debt. The link is to the Dial Law program for free legal advice:

http://www.bccba.org/Guest_Lounge/dial-a-law.asp#Credit,%20Debt%20and%20Consumer

Good luck.

 

[wilde]

So long as you ordinarily live in this province, there is no such thing as opting out.

If you meet certain conditions, you may get premium assistance to the point where you don't pay anything (see post by Massagegirl). But you must apply and have filed the appropriate personal income tax returns (so they can verify your income). You should talk to the people at the MSP regarding premium assistance a.s.a.p. There is no sense in talking to the collection agency as they don't care about your story, they just want to collect. Ignoring this any further will just make the bill bigger.

 

[OTR2]

I had fun with BC Med myself recently. First when I divorced I put in the paperwork to have my deductions come off as a single. Then I was loaned from one employer to another. First one cancelled my coverage, second one started it up....so BC Med on their own set me up with a personal account when the first one was covered, so there I was running with two accounts.....when I went back to my usual employer, I ended up with 3.

First problem with BC Med....they are totally understaffed.
Second problem appears to be they don't have the ability to read any correspondence you send them.

Don't even bother picking up the phone, go straight down and visit your MLA and have their staff assist you straighten the mess out, and have the MLA's office tell MSP to call off the Collection Agency in the interim.

 

[mmoodyc]

Thank you for the good advice. I will try to take this issue with my MLA and hopefully they can do something. I have not worked much since I got laid off from my job after 9/11. I have looked hard but did not get any good results so I have been kind of depressed. And I am embarass to post zero income on my tax return, so I have not filed for a few years now. I try to get by where I can and I have volunteered at the soup kitchens and the carnegie centre, just to be useful. And beside, if you volunteer for a few hours, you get tickets to redeem for a decent lunch so it is not such a bad deal.

With the federal election upon us and I hear the politicians telling us that they will increase more funding for medical services, but when is it ever enough. For the provincial budget, nearly 1/2 is devoted to health care, but still, doctors, nurses, and citizens say they want more. Well, i would prefer that if we want health care, we pay for it and if we don't want it, then we are not forced to pay for it, especially if one cannot afford it.

However, sorry for the rant, but I am glad there is a forum here for me to ask question and get some advice, which I am grateful for. Anyways, thanks all for listening.

 

[wilde]

And I am embarass to post zero income on my tax return, so I have not filed for a few years now.

No need to be. But you will have to file those outstanding returns in order for MSP to verify your income for premium assistance purposes. Besides you will get a few bucks when you file the "nil" returns. Good luck!

 

[sushiman]

And I am embarass to post zero income on my tax return, so I have not filed for a few years now.

By not filing your tax returns showing low or nil income you have shorted yourself in the following ways:

- you have been charged full rate for MSP instead of being allowed a premium reduction as mentioned above

- you may not be eligible for a break on any prescription medication you require

- you have foregone the BC Sales Tax Credit ($75 / year for last couple of years, $50 before that) - not much but it all helps

- you have foregone the GST credit ($224 for 2004-5)

The credits may vary from the amounts above depending on actual family income, marital status and # of children if any. In fact, if you have children you may have also missed out on the Child Tax Benefit.

All is not lost, however. By bringing your tax filings up to date you should be able to recover any amounts that apply to your particular situation. In other words, get with the program.

 

[dave tv]

"So long as you ordinarily live in this province, there is no such thing as opting out."


Since I've done it, I guess it is possible....same thing happened to me (quit a job, got a bill from medical I was not aware I needed to pay). I phoned medical and had a spaz-attack, they were the ones that suggested I "opt-out".