Is this fair?

[Rantz]

A friend of mine owed a Dr about R380, she was not aware that the medical didnt pay the docter until she got a letter of final demand from the docter stating that the debt was over a year, by the time she got the letter she did not have money but phoned them and aranged to pay it all in the next 2 months, 2 weeks later she got a call from the Dr's lawyers saying she now owes R1890 for the same debts that is including legal fees and all, so now its even more difficult to repay so much money and she was told to sign an agreement that she will pay R200 per month until its finished, but on the agreement that she must sign its not stated that she has to pay up R1890 but only the R380 and says the attorney reserves a right to add any moneys as he deems fit?

Now my question is that the way its done by attorneys, this money is not even double what she initially owed.

[Dave A]

by the time she got the letter she did not have money but phoned them and aranged to pay it all in the next 2 months, 2 weeks later she got a call from the Dr's lawyers saying she now owes R1890 for the same debts that is including legal fees and all

I'd tell them there is already a settlement agreement in place and they should revert to their client.

She should make sure to stick to that agreement too, although with the possibility of the bill doubling if she defaults there should be enough incentive.

Classic illustration of the problem with collecting small bills though.

[garthu]

Not so sure about the recourse here as havnt familiarised properly with the act, but be very wary of signing that AOD. It is a full AOD no doubt, if she had an agreement in place already my understanding is it is fine. Even the emails that are sent need caution as they could be used to "confirm" her debt. This can become really complex. On the AOD there will be an interest clause as well. I have seen one with 15% per month!!! She needs to be very wary... maybe even legal aid advice here if they persist with the AOD if the situation is that desperate and calls for it.... but that takes time

[BuyNoEvil]

Simple. Pay the doctor the R380 as per the original settlement agreement which was entered into verbally and forget about it. Anybody who hassles you thereafter should be referred back to the original creditor as the debt has been validly settled.