Issue with a payment

Clauric

I am currently getting treatment for an ongoing illness. My consultant is in a well known private hospital, and generally sends me for a particular test in the hospital's outpatients services. For the last couple of years, the excess on my VHI has been €75 per go (2-3 times per year).

I went in to the hospital in April, and I was again charged €75, paid, and got the tests done. Fast forward to today, and I got an invoice for €100. I rang the hospital, and they said that they would look into it. They rang back, and told me that they had "mis-assigned" my payment, and that I still owed them €25. When I asked why, they said that my VHI had changed my excess (I checked afterwards with VHI and the excess at my last renewal has increased from €75 to €100). I should point out that the hospital has both my VHI policy type and policy number on file, and has billed VHI over €10,000, in the last 3 years, for treatments and hospital stays due to this illness.

I asked the hospital why I had to pay, as it had been their staff member that had made the mistake. They told me that a contract had been formed, and as such, I owed them the money. When I told them that I have a receipt from them that says that I have paid in full, the agent I was speaking to told me that I had to pay them, or else they would mark it on my records as unpaid, refuse me service in the hospital, and pass the debt on to a debt collector.

Now, my questions are:

1) Do I have to pay them? Surely, if as they put it, it is a contract, then the contract has been satisfied. I went for their service, their agent quoted me a price, I paid the price quoted, and received the service for which I paid. Any mistake has been made by their agent, and it is therefore, their responsibility.

2) Can they pass on the debt to a debt collector? If there is no debt due (from Q1), then there is nothing to pass on. What happens if they do pass on the "debt", and what can I do to stop them pass it on?

3) Can the hospital refuse me service? The only places that do this test are in this hospital or on the public list. The public list will take me 12 months to get seen for test, and it can only be ordered by a doctor on the public list. As I am being treated by a private consultant (who doesn't have rights in the hospital that does the test), what are my options?

Thanks for reading.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Firstly, it would seem to be a genuine mistake and I would expect to have to pay. Excesses often change on health insurance renewals. As for refusing treatment: as it is a private hospital then of course they can, if they feel they are not being paid.