StaceyMc
08-17-2006, 10:30 PM
A few weeks after my car accident in April, I received a bill statement for $350 because the Township police responded to the accident and I'm not a resident of the Township. It listed services performed, loading patients into the ambulance and directing traffic, etc. My father helped the ambulance guys and an older gentleman took care of directing traffic. I was annoyed, until I read that the bill had been submitted to my insurance company and most of the time, the company pays it. Fine - I figured it was the insurance company's fight.
Fast forward to this past Monday. I receive a large envelope from a cost recovery service. My insurance company refused to pay the claim, so this bill is my responsibility, or so they say. In the envelope is a letter basically bad mouthing insurance companies, i.e., their collection of insurance payments from customers far surpasses the funds paid out, blah blah blah. Also in the envelope is a copy of the Township Ordinance, indicating that if I don't pay it within 60 days, the Twp. Solicitor will file a suit against me. I just sat and cried - I need this bill right now like a hole in my head - I just got my increased auto insurance (not as bad as I thought, but still).
I fired off an e-mail to my insurance claims person about the bill and asked if their explanation was correct. He called last night and told me that they weren't responsible for that charge and neither was I. His advice? Ignore it. I can't ignore it - it will drive me crazy. Besides, it's not him that the suit will be filed against - it's me. He told me if I get a threatening letter, to call him back and he'll deal with it.
I'm just so upset over this whole thing. I talked to my boss, he's no help. I talked to my dad - he told me to call the recovery service and talk to them. If that doesn't get me anywhere, call the Township and talk to them.
I could understand if it was a bill from the fire department (they weren't called, thank goodness) - they're a volunteer service. I would have shut up and paid the costs. But, the police department is a paid service. I spend money in that township, I shop in their stores, I purchase gasoline there (it's the closest gas station). I can't help the fact that it is a horrible intersection and everytime I go through there, there is fresh set of skid marks in the same place. On the day of my accident, a man came over to me (after the second accident in less than an hour, in the same place, same circumstances, except it was a hit and run) and told me not to cry, there are a lot of accidents there.
If I had only traveled less than a quarter mile down the road and turned right and then had an accident, I would have been in my own township.
Fast forward to this past Monday. I receive a large envelope from a cost recovery service. My insurance company refused to pay the claim, so this bill is my responsibility, or so they say. In the envelope is a letter basically bad mouthing insurance companies, i.e., their collection of insurance payments from customers far surpasses the funds paid out, blah blah blah. Also in the envelope is a copy of the Township Ordinance, indicating that if I don't pay it within 60 days, the Twp. Solicitor will file a suit against me. I just sat and cried - I need this bill right now like a hole in my head - I just got my increased auto insurance (not as bad as I thought, but still).
I fired off an e-mail to my insurance claims person about the bill and asked if their explanation was correct. He called last night and told me that they weren't responsible for that charge and neither was I. His advice? Ignore it. I can't ignore it - it will drive me crazy. Besides, it's not him that the suit will be filed against - it's me. He told me if I get a threatening letter, to call him back and he'll deal with it.
I'm just so upset over this whole thing. I talked to my boss, he's no help. I talked to my dad - he told me to call the recovery service and talk to them. If that doesn't get me anywhere, call the Township and talk to them.
I could understand if it was a bill from the fire department (they weren't called, thank goodness) - they're a volunteer service. I would have shut up and paid the costs. But, the police department is a paid service. I spend money in that township, I shop in their stores, I purchase gasoline there (it's the closest gas station). I can't help the fact that it is a horrible intersection and everytime I go through there, there is fresh set of skid marks in the same place. On the day of my accident, a man came over to me (after the second accident in less than an hour, in the same place, same circumstances, except it was a hit and run) and told me not to cry, there are a lot of accidents there.
If I had only traveled less than a quarter mile down the road and turned right and then had an accident, I would have been in my own township.