My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: New Jersey
I had surgery last September and my insurance only covered part of all the expenses. As of right now I am only working 2 days a week. I have 5 different bills I have been sending them each $10 a month. I understand they don't have to take such small amounts but the checks have all been cashed. I recieved a letter yesterday stating the bill has gone into collections.
My $1,600 bill from the hospital is the one that has been sent to collections. I called the hospital in December and asked for a payment plan. I think they wanted somehting like $800 up front and $200 a month after that. I explained that that was way out of my reach. The woman on the phone said I would have to get together my pay stubs to prove need (I understand this) and all my other bills (this i have a problem with just on principal). Since it is in collections I wanted to call again and try to work something out. My question is can they really ask about my other bills?
I really do not want this on my credit report. I had bad credit out of college and as of 2 years ago my report is clean. It took me so long to straighten that mess out. I really don't want to go thru that again.

