montreal mike

Since my last post I have been thinking about your predicament. I reason that it is going to cost the UK people good money to collect. Plus you are willing to pay. You are not running away. Debt collectors don’t come cheap. They might take as much as half of what they collect. I suggest therefore you propose to meet them half way, Explain you thought you were covered for your lad and, tough, but you simply don’t have the means to pay. I take the view that half a loaf is better than none. Take the initiative and try to negotiate a settlement. You have absolutely nothing to lose. Do not accept the status quo that inevitably you are stuck paying the full amount and there is bugger all you can do. My guess is that the UK authorities have already a budget built in for bad debts or for uncollectible accounts.

After all, the worst that can happen is they say NO and then you are back to square one.

montreal mike

I tend to agree here that she won't be chased to Canada. Yes they may make attempts to collect from her but I doubt if they will employ any unreasonable pressure tactics or outright intimidation.

As to a summons (and a subsequent arrest warrant) surely you jest? And this is no laughing matter. After all, this is an unpaid hospital bill, which would not have happened had the info given by quebec medicare been accurate in the first place, not some heinous crime!

Alberta_Rose

I just came accross this site:

http://www.nrcentre.org.uk/advice/health/nhscharges.htm

From which I excerpted the following .... read Bold print.

3. Is the overseas visitor exempted from charge?

The following categories are exempt – not all are listed – see the regulations for full details:

* lawful employees and the lawfully self-employed (including such employment in another EU country)
* voluntary health workers
* those taking up permanent residence.
* those with 1 years lawful residence in the UK (except as a visitor for private medical treatment) [Previously anyone who had lived in UK for over 1 years was exempt, whatever their status]
* students on a course of 6 months or more
* refugees
* asylum applicants
* prisoners inc. those detained because of their immigration status
* those who can be treated under reciprocal arrangements made with their country*
* EU/ECSMA nationals not covered by reciprocal agreements (accession state countries) but who do not have the resources to pay
* EU nationals on visits who have the completed form E128 (all treatment) or E112 (for specific conditions)
* Those receiving retirement pension in UK who are here for in excess of 6 months who spend the rest of their time in the EU

and, where the need for treatment arose during the visit, also (*see full list below):

* EU/EEA nationals
* Refugees recognised as such by EU countries and their family members
* Those who have had 10 years lawful residence in the UK at any time
* Schedule 2 nationals - significantly this includes former USSR (excluding Baltic States), Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, former Yugoslavia (will include Kosovars)
* ECSMA nationals without the funds to pay for the treatment
* Authorised family members /companions of those exempted under Q5 below.

Does that not read as though we can, as visitors back to UK, be entitled to treatment without charge if we have lived in the UK for more than 10 years??
Would that apply to you?? Maybe it would for you personally, but not for your son?

montreal mike

Then I would have been covered while there in 1999 since I lived there from 1943 to 1952 and from 1960 to 1962.

In the case of her son she might still have a problem if one goes strictly according to what you quoted above.

Another thought: She might consider involving the quebec medicare people who, in my view, have a responsibility. Perhaps they might be able to pay part of the the bill.

Govts., at all levels, always have discretionary contingency spending budgets. It is unlikely they will chip in but since she has nothing to lose, one never knows?

Biiiiink

In the link I gave upthread it said dependents of the 10yr rule people are eligible too, but I assume the Trust have already gone through all this with the OP and established it doesn't apply in this case?

Mike, why would she get arrested? It would be a CCJ granted in England and enforced over here I'd have thought.

Do you get arrested for defaulting on payments here?

montreal mike

No, I can't see how, or why, she would be arrested even if she sets foot in the UK. My comment above was made to refute a suggestion made by another poster, wearsider.

Nobody will get arrested for overdue bills. Otherwise we would have to build a thousand extra prisons.

This isn't something involving fraud. It arose out of simple misunderstanding.

This is not something which has gone before a court of law, where a trial was held and where a verduct was handed down. I am no lawyer but the whole notion of potential arrest is absurd.

This is a civil matter not a criminal one methinks!

iaink

The ten year rule does not apply in many cases... see the bold bits


normally work in the UK, but are temporarily working abroad, have at least 10 years continuous residence in the UK, and have been abroad for less than 5. However, if you are studying abroad you are not entitled to free NHS treatment .


you have lived in the UK for at least ten years in the past, but now live in an EEA state, or in a non-EEA state with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement. (canada has no such agreement)

I agree with Mike about negotiating a deal...thats the responsible way to go. and I dont think anyone will be arrested for non payment on returning to the UK anyway...the worst thats going to happen is a collection agency comes after you in canada and that really buggers up your credit score for a while.


The problem seems to stem from the accent and the belief you would not have to pay...so you probably didnt try to hide your alien nature by giving a UK address

zalaben

well, just heard from the lady at the Hospital via Email . She asked that I pay 100 quid a month but at this point I find it too high. When I move to montreal in july I will have stable work and will be able to pay it, but not now. I think that I will pay 50 quid a month until July but not sure that they will accept it. I am not very good t negotiating business deals .

I wish I had kept the name of the person at Quebec medicare who gave me the wrong info. They paid a small sum as another had posted , equivalent to a hospital stay in Quebec but i think it was something like $30.00 per day.

My brother in London told me not to worry, that many people dont pay the system but the staff were so unbelievably kind that i feel I should pay. I am not planning on returning to the UK any time soon so if it takes me a long time to pay it doesnt matter. He also told me that I wouldnt be arrested but maybe held at the airport until I paid and then released. Anyway, I am sitting here stressing.One part of me says... look, you are far way from them, you havent got a house, a boat ,a car ,a chalet for them to be seized. I live in a 3 bedroom apt with 3 kids , a dog and a cat . I have minimal savings ... what the hell are they going to do?? then the other half ( probably my concience) says you got services at an excellent hospital now pay for it!

i intend to pay for it , but cant they wait until i move and get a stable job?

iaink

Yes, they can.

Dont sweat it, none of your apocolyptic visions of asset stripping or detention are ever going to occur, even if you owed 1000 times as much.

Im just glad you intend to pay, a lot of less decent people would cut and run.

zalaben

thank you for calming me down. My blood pressure has gone through the roof. Anyway, I wrote them today asking that they postpone my debt until I get a proper job. I will let you know what they say. Thanks a bunch.

montreal mike

go check your messages. I just sent one

Yoong

Perhaps you could write to your Assemblee national ?or MLA for assistance.
Hopefully you will be directed to a social worker who would negotiate with
the UK hospital on your behalf and also help you with short term assistance
until you find a stable job. Good luck.
Yoong

zalaben

funny you should write that as i was thinking the same thing about writing my MNA. I pled my case yesterday by writing a rather blunt letter to the hospital saying that I fully aware that I owe this money and that I fully intend to pay it but they are just going to have to wait until July . I am a nurse and I have a job waiting for me in Montreal.

They wrote back with a very nice letter understanding my situation and saying that she has forwarded my letter to the bosses in the finance department to get approval for a later payment. Quite honestly, I think they are going to wait.If they agree, it would give me until july to figure something out.

It would be stupid of them not to agree for me to pay later.( atleast this is what i am convincing myself). for them to pay collection agencies and all the trouble of having to collect from me would just be ridiculous and a huge waste of time.

Anyway, I am calmer now. This is the only debt I have in the world, except for a student loan that I pay monthly. I havent got a credit card and pay everything cash. I am sure there are people much worse off in debt than me.

But it does make you feel like a failure.