Debt advice?

Givadogahome · May 29, 2013

A very good friend of mine, a neighbor. Several years ago thier daughter took very ill, her appendix burst and they ran up huge medical bill, even with insurance cover, although I've not found it my business to probe further into the cover they had, I doubt that good as they still owe a huge amount.
Anyway, he has lost his job, and she works for the interior police on a not so fantastic wage at the moment (hopefully that will soon be changing). They used credit cards to finance these costs and now the banks are on top of them chasing money they simply can't pay.
I know there are several options available in other countries, but there doesn't seem to be the same help here for such situations.
Can anyone advise me so I can try to advise them on any available assistance there is out there.

Thanks.

Expat13 · May 29, 2013

Maybe a Facebook page explaining the story with the hopes of connecting with all friends of friends who can verify this unfortunate event did occur. Obviously this is so the appearance of scam is removed. Attach a paypal account, have all friends and family share with their groups and home some small donations add up to financial help. Who knows I have even seen the DR1 community step up and help in these situations.

Givadogahome · May 29, 2013

I was thinking more along the lines of having the monthly payment reduced or the cards consolidated. I wasn't thinking about charity, they have been making the payments for years, just now he has lost his job the banks are right on top of them. There are lots of agencies in our developed worlds to help out, here, I see nothing.

Ken · May 29, 2013

I suggest you PM Dolores and she if she can suggest anything. I don't know how often she reads the posts and may not see yours.

KateP · May 29, 2013

I've never heard of credit cards being consolidated but it's normally possible to reach a legal agreement with banks on how much will be paid on a monthly basis.

Castle · May 29, 2013

Some banks can give you a personal loan to pay off all the credit cards at a reduce interest rate (not much, but a little lower). I find it easier to pay just one loan than several small loans and credit cards. I know a friend who got in this situation and Scotiabank gave her the loan and even made the checks to the other banks to pay off the credit cards.

flyinroom · May 29, 2013

Castle said:
Some banks can give you a personal loan to pay off all the credit cards at a reduce interest rate (not much, but a little lower). I find it easier to pay just one loan than several small loans and credit cards. I know a friend who got in this situation and Scotiabank gave her the loan and even made the checks to the other banks to pay off the credit cards.

You better believe they did.
(lol)

dv8 · May 29, 2013

i wonder about this story... emergency surgeries (like the appendix) have better coverage than other procedures. and no matter what the insurance company was, they would cover quite a good chunk of the costs. so whatever the difference was it could not have been so much that after "several years" it would not be paid off. so i would not be 100% trusting the debt was started to pay off the hospital.

another question is where did they get the money from? financiera? that makes sense: the rates are high and usually even after years of paying you are only dealing with interest, not the capital. what did they borrow money against? what was the collateral? is there anything valuable enough they can sell now? a car? moto? tv? computer? anything they can live without but is of value?

you have good intentions, give. but i suggest you let that go. in real financial troubles dominicans ask the family to pool for cash. that's how the medical bills are usually paid to start from. not by taking a loan. i have serious doubts about the story. unless you are willing to help them financially there is little you can do.

Matilda · May 29, 2013

Many many people take out loans for medical payments and the interest rates are appalling, especially for unsecured loans, and especially from loan sharks rather than banks - who will not often take unsecured payments. Once one monthly payment is missed then the loan starts to spiral out of control as interest is piled on top of interest, and often after 4 or 5 years people can find themselves owing more than they borrowed, even though on paper they have paid the capital back.
Once someone stops paying the banks hand the debt over to a type of lawyer or so they call themselves and they try and get the loan paid off, often using threatening behaviour. The only thing that does not work is what most people do - bury their head in the sand and hope it goes away.
Loan rates have just come down. Best advice is try and get another loan - privately or in the market - with lower rates and pay this first one off.

Matilda

CARIBETORNO · May 29, 2013

I am always leary of any charity or fundraisers in Rep Dom.there are so many scams here. I am not sayig this one is but be very careful. DV8 is correct We tend to pool cash and a loan is like the last resort. I ended filing bankruptcy once in the usa. i had 78,000 heart attack and since I had changed jobs 3 months before United Healthcare refused to cover any of it. Said it was pre-existing since it was my second one. I just started over again. Life can be rough. I never give anything to over the internet or phone. that just wreaks of scam. Good luck. I know i was no help.

dv8 · May 29, 2013

mat, a real bank - low rate - is not likely to lend any money to someone with little resources and poor credit. i bet the original debt (for whatever reason) was taken with loan sharks and nothing at all went towards the capital. you are correct to say it is very easy to have that kind of debt to spiral out of control. and i suppose that whatever the collateral was it will be taken away soon...

this situation really sucks. but there is seriously nothing give can do at this point. and DR ain't all that easy when it comes to finances and consolidating debts.

davetuna · May 29, 2013

first of all you need to find out the amount, and then you could look for a solution.

dave

CaptnGlenn · May 29, 2013

Giveadog... Here on DR1 you sometimes have my head spinning like the girl in the Exorcist movie, but I think you're a good guy at heart. If memory serves, there was a post I recently read where you listed a laundry list of various people who have taken advantage of your generosity and good nature. Not to be too cynical, but do you think this might be happening again????

You might want to sit this one out and watch what happens from the dugout. I'll bet it all turns out OK in the end.

Bronxboy · May 29, 2013

CaptnGlenn said:
Giveadog... Here on DR1 you sometimes have my head spinning like the girl in the Exorcist movie

PICHARDO · May 29, 2013

Givadogahome said:
I was thinking more along the lines of having the monthly payment reduced or the cards consolidated. I wasn't thinking about charity, they have been making the payments for years, just now he has lost his job the banks are right on top of them. There are lots of agencies in our developed worlds to help out, here, I see nothing.

He can declare himself on Bancarota with the help of a lawyer, this will NOT clear his debt but will block their options and put an end to any harassment from the banks/card issuers.

JuanDolioLiving · May 29, 2013

If they did not had insurance and had a problem with the appendix they should had gone to the nearest public hospital, these are normal procedures with highly any risk and is done very safe up to my knowledge and I am saying this because the same thing happen to my cousin and they took to the local public hospital and was in and out the in 24 hours. Got in at around 10pm and was out the next day at about 4pm.

Harleysrock · May 29, 2013

KateP said:
I've never heard of credit cards being consolidated but it's normally possible to reach a legal agreement with banks on how much will be paid on a monthly basis.

This happens all the time in Canada, had it done when i was younger, consolidated all my debt and paid smaller monthly payments with little to no interest.

Have they tried talking to their credit card companies/banks managers? Or are they really not helpful here all?
it's too bad if the banks can't help out people who are obviously trying to pay off their debt.
Hopefully they find a solution!
If they aren't to proud, the Facebook donation/paypal thing really has helped out some of my friends. $5 from lots of people adds up.

Berzin · May 30, 2013

Stop the bickering and stay on-topic.

You've been warned.

-Berzin

ffritz · May 30, 2013

KateP said:
I've never heard of credit cards being consolidated but it's normally possible to reach a legal agreement with banks on how much will be paid on a monthly basis.

"Unsecured" credit cards are frequently secured these days ..... it's a myth that credit cards are unsecured since 2008!

MerengueDutchie · Jun 4, 2013

appendix cost

What was the original hospital bill? And how did they finance it?

From my experience in Santiago a hospital with decent care costs about DR$ 700-900 per day for stay, excluding meds or medical treatment. The operation and the use of medicines is covered apart by the surgeon but that also runs in the thousands not in the tens of thousands of pesos..

I can't image the cost of the total operation on a 1 day in-and-out basis to over 25K pesos when done at a public hospital, using a normal surgeon, using normal medicine and a normal clinic..

Furthermore there would have been cover if the woman was policia interior - this is a govt position; they have mandated insurance..

Do they have a moto or car that was financed?

I am sorry but I smell a fish...

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