Received a summons from a debt collector and was wondering if I could pay the debt before the 20 days to respond are up? If I can pay the debt who do I pay it to? (The debt collector or the hospital?) If I do this will I still have to pay court fees and service fees? If I pay this do I still answer the summons? Help would be much appreciated.

If you are being asked by a collection agency to pay a debt, you should pay the collection agency. The hospital may not likely take your money if you pay it to them since they are not handling your account anymore. Chances are that since your account was turned over to collections, that the hospital is only going to be getting part of the money owed to them anyway.

If you pay off the debt quickly, there is the possibility that the collection agency may drop their action in court.

If you go to court, there are going to be some costs for that. If you pay off the debt before your court date, and bring proof to the court that you have paid the debt, it will be up to the judge as to whether you will have to pay any court fees.