John Oliver forgives $15,000,000 in debt for 9,000 people in Texas

[Eurodriver]

He paid $60,000 for the rights to collect $15,000,000 in debt.

By my math:
If the 15 million was distributed evenly among the 9,000 people, the debt company figured the debt was worth less (not more, or they wouldn't have sold it) than 400 people repaying their $1667 debt. :confused:

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/06/06/john-oliver-stages-largest-one-time-giveaway-on-tv-by-forgiving-15m-in-debt.html?intcmp=hpbt4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c

[austinN4]

And he just triggered a taxable event for the debtors on the whole 15 million, as debt forgiveness is treated as taxable income and a 1099 is supposed to be sent.
Way to go, John!

But I admit, few are likely to even report it, let along pay it.

[ggammell]

The way this guy sticks it to the man sometimes is hilarious. 3rd world dictators, the New York Yankees and now this...

Pardon the pun.


He's got an angle but his stunts like this are usually ones that anyone can get behind.

[austinN4]

The way this guy sticks it to the man sometimes is hilarious. 3rd world dictators, the New York Yankees and now this...

Who did he stick it to? The company/companies that sold the debt got what they wanted out of it, no? If they thought it was worth more they would have held onto it. Seems he stuck it to himself (he is out the $60,000) and the debtors by triggering a taxable event for them, but admittedly I didn't watch the whole video.

Maybe our resident CPA soon to be sheriff can explain it to me.

[donlapalma]

Sure does grab headlines huh? I didn't know what "zombie debt" was but now I do.

[ggammell]

Who did he stick it to? The company/companies that sold the debt got what they wanted out of it, no? If they thought it was worth more they would have held onto it. Seems he stuck it to himself (he is out the $60,000) and the debtors by triggering a taxable event for thet, but admittedly I didn't watch the whole video.

Maybe our resident CPA soon to be sheriff can explain it to me.

I was referring in a general sense to how he does things to upset the status quo. Putting fans in costumes behind home plate at Yankee stadium, not going against the traditional norms of debt collection and so forth. Screwing with Chechnyan strong men on Twitter etc.

[Eurodriver]

Who did he stick it to? The company/companies that sold the debt got what they wanted out of it, no? If they thought it was worth more they would have held onto it. Seems he stuck it to himself (he is out the $60,000) and the debtors by triggering a taxable event for thet, but admittedly I didn't watch the whole video.

Maybe our resident CPA soon to be sheriff can explain it to me.

He actually "sent" the debt to a debt relief agency that specifically assists in reducing the tax burden for struggling people when their debt is forgiven. Additionally, tax is not owed if the debt is forgiven as a gift. I'm not sure if this qualifies as such, but that is probably what the company is for.

ETA: I agree with your post, FWIW. The company got their 60k. No one really won. And it wasn't even his money. It was HBOs.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

These people didn't have on average $187 or 0.4% of the loan value to pay their debt off?

I thought he was going to be interesting to watch, but while he is better than Bill Maher to watch, he is still just a Brit telling us what is funny and what to think. Another HBO Progressive wet dream.

[Crow Hunter]

I hope that as part of this, those that got the "debt relief" also got some form of education that will help them to not go right back out and get into the same debts again.

I understand why people don't like debt collectors and "zombie debt" but I can guarantee you that anyone that got this "debt relief" that went to Wal-Mart and bought something for $100 but got charged $267 for it would be standing in the customer service line and would be yelling at the top of their lungs at the poor customer service rep about how they got charged that extra $167 and they wanted their damn money back and they weren't leaving until they did, if not threatening violence.

They, however, don't feel at all bad about "sticking it to the man" by not paying what they owe to someone else.

Personally, if I owe you, I am going to pay you back and not try to get out of it.

[KingsideRook]

These people didn't have on average $187 or 0.4% of the loan value to pay their debt off?

I thought he was going to be interesting to watch, but while he is better than Bill Maher to watch, he is still just a Brit telling us what is funny and what to think. Another HBO Progressive wet dream.

Well, he'd have to offer them that deal individually to find that out. The company that owned the right to collect the debt before, clearly wasn't interested in dealing with thousands of people to make back only $187 of their $187 investment, they want to pay for their time, energy and salaries. Selling it as a lump portfolio at $60k is a lot less work than hiring employees to deal with 9000 people on debt that, by any business standards, they want to do better than break even upon with $187.

I do appreciate the idea of debt forgiveness as a charitable act, as the cash price tag of medical care is warped all out of proportion by health insurance paying a damn sight less for that $400 Tylenol than the individual would when billed directly. Even if you have insurance, there's no guarantee it covers your $100,000 worth of care for some damn emergency. This act is a net good for those people whose debt has been forgiven. I can dislike John Oliver as the shifty, biased socialist he clearly appears to be on his show, and still think that his act of forgiveness, publicity stunt or not, is a Good Thing for the people who received relief. On the other hand, I believe that if you have a debt, you ought to pay it. I have medical bills I'm sure I could de-prioritize by out-waiting them, but I'm making every effort to pay my monthly minimums or better, because I want to be free and clear.

[caporider]

I hope that as part of this, those that got the "debt relief" also got some form of education that will help them to not go right back out and get into the same debts again.

I understand why people don't like debt collectors and "zombie debt" but I can guarantee you that anyone that got this "debt relief" that went to Wal-Mart and bought something for $100 but got charged $267 for it would be standing in the customer service line and would be yelling at the top of their lungs at the poor customer service rep about how they got charged that extra $167 and they wanted their damn money back and they weren't leaving until they did, if not threatening violence.

They, however, don't feel at all bad about "sticking it to the man" by not paying what they owe to someone else.

Personally, if I owe you, I am going to pay you back and not try to get out of it.

Have you been in debt due to medical expenses...? It's not like you can "avoid" cancer or a hundred other curveballs your health can throw at you. Even with decent insurance coverage it's easy to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in expenses, especially since no one is obligated to tell you if a specific doctor or service is in or out of network -- and few people are in the frame of mind to ask, then wait for an answer, when they're bleeding out or vomiting up their guts in an ER waiting room.

Heck, I can't even get a straight answer about a simple question like how much it will cost in deductibles for my wife to see an OT about her plantar fasciitis. No one - not the doc, not the insurance company, not the clinic - knows how much things cost because "everything depends."

[TAZ]

Didn't see the segment, but I seriously doubt that Oliver was trying to stick it to anyone aside from making a mockery of the debt collection business. I really don't mind him doing his best to make those asshole-robo-calling ****heads look like the turd sandwich eating retards they are. And I dont even have any past due bills, never have either. I still receive daily calls for these assholes who think I know where my third cousin twice removed on my mothers gandfathers side is. No matter what you tell them they never stop. Every 6 months to a year they sell KNOWN bad loans to another group of ****ing assholes who then start up with the phone calls. I hope those people spontaneously combust.

[Eurodriver]

Didn't see the segment, but I seriously doubt that Oliver was trying to stick it to anyone aside from making a mockery of the debt collection business. I really don't mind him doing his best to make those asshole-robo-calling ****heads look like the turd sandwich eating retards they are. And I dont even have any past due bills, never have either. I still receive daily calls for these assholes who think I know where my third cousin twice removed on my mothers gandfathers side is. No matter what you tell them they never stop. Every 6 months to a year they sell KNOWN bad loans to another group of ****ing assholes who then start up with the phone calls. I hope those people spontaneously combust.

Amen. I haven't spoken to most of my drug dealing SSI collecting POS family members in at least 5 years, yet for some reason they think having my name as a reference on a car loan will help them.

You know you don't even have to consent to that? All I need is a name and number and I can go to Drivetime and set up Firefly and IraqGuns for constant annoying phone calls once I stop making payments. Insanity.

When the calls begin, I always say the same thing,

"If you had bothered to call me when they listed me as a reference I would have told you from the beginning this would happen. No I don't know where they are."

[Renegade]

And he just triggered a taxable event for the debtors on the whole 15 million, as debt forgiveness is treated as taxable income and a 1099 is supposed to be sent.
Way to go, John!

But I admit, few are likely to even report it, let along pay it.


See 19:35

[JoshNC]

Amen. I haven't spoken to most of my drug dealing SSI collecting POS family members in at least 5 years, yet for some reason they think having my name as a reference on a car loan will help them.

You know you don't even have to consent to that? All I need is a name and number and I can go to Drivetime and set up Firefly and IraqGuns for constant annoying phone calls once I stop making payments. Insanity.

When the calls begin, I always say the same thing,

"If you had bothered to call me when they listed me as a reference I would have told you from the beginning this would happen. No I don't know where they are."

Wow seriously? Does that make you liable or affect your credit in any way?

[Eurodriver]

Wow seriously? Does that make you liable or affect your credit in any way?

Not that I've seen, but you'll get tons of phone calls.

[glocktogo]

I pay what I owe in this life, if for no other reason than peace of mind. However, I've seen medical debt destroy people. It's not a debt you take on willingly. It is a debt assumed under duress. Look at it this way. Someone wants to sell you a car. It's a pretty good car, but you already have a car and don't really want this one. Unfortunately, someone is in the process of stealing your current car and recovering it isn't an option. You couldn't afford full coverage, so insurance won't cover your stolen car. Did we mention the new car should cost $20K, but they can't tell you what it will cost right now? Now, you don't really want it, but they tell you if you don't agree to buy it, you'll never walk again. As a matter of fact, you may die if you don't buy their car. Are you under duress? Regardless of the duress, do you sign so you can continue to walk? Of course! BTW, after you agree to buy the car, they ultimately bill you $100K for it. So, how do you feel about that deal?

From the consumer perspective, that's medical debt in a nutshell. I'm sure someone in the medical field will come along and explain it from their perspective and they're entitled to see it from their viewpoint. That doesn't change how the buyer of their service under medical duress feels. Not even slightly. :(

[Crow Hunter]

Have you been in debt due to medical expenses...? It's not like you can "avoid" cancer or a hundred other curveballs your health can throw at you. Even with decent insurance coverage it's easy to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in expenses, especially since no one is obligated to tell you if a specific doctor or service is in or out of network -- and few people are in the frame of mind to ask, then wait for an answer, when they're bleeding out or vomiting up their guts in an ER waiting room.

Heck, I can't even get a straight answer about a simple question like how much it will cost in deductibles for my wife to see an OT about her plantar fasciitis. No one - not the doc, not the insurance company, not the clinic - knows how much things cost because "everything depends."

As a matter of fact, yes I have. I paid what I owed once I established that I owed it.

I was also my Mom's Power of Attorney and the executor of her estate after her diagnosis of lung cancer and subsequent death 3 months later.

I dealt with 4 different hospitals (multiple visits at some), multiple different procedures, a couple dozen or more different doctors and specialists and 2 different ambulance companies and a rehabilitation center. I dealt with hospitals that didn't know their own billing systems, I dealt with insurance companies that didn't know their own rules, I dealt with people who didn't know how to do math, I dealt with hospitals that billed the wrong person.

I had a stack of EOBs that literally were over a foot high if you could stack them up. I paid each and every single one of them that was owed with the exception of one. I continued to do so for over six months after my Mom died, even though I technically didn't have to. Because of the way we set up her accounts and the intestate laws in my state, there was no estate after she passed. It all went to myself and my brother outside of probate which means that all the people she owed money to were SOL. Instead, because of how I was raised and per the request of my Mother, all her debts were paid by myself and my brother. We could have inherited significantly more than the $167 mentioned above and just told her debtors to go jump in the lake.

The one debt that didn't get paid went to a hospital that I would like to commend publicly, St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville TN. There was a discrepancy on their billing versus the EOB. I called to talk to them about it. The nice gentleman in their billing department talked to me about it and then asked if he could talk to my Mom about it. I told him that she had passed away several months earlier. He said, "Then never mind about the bill, it is taken care of." I said, "No, I want to pay the bill, it was my Mom's wish that she not owe anyone." He said that they wouldn't accept payment and that he wished to give myself and my family his condolences and his prayers.

That is why I don't believe that most of this debt is medical related. All but a few hospitals are more than willing to work with people either giving them a reduced rate or eliminating the debts completely in a seriously indigent situation. I bet most of this debt is related to cell phones, cable service, and credit card bills in that order. Most people can "find a way" to pay for something that can be repossessed.

And I want to state that I firmly believe that our medical system is in dire need of reform and streamlining for the very reason that you have stated. I also think that our bankruptcy laws should be strengthened, particularly as it relates to to medical debt.

[brickboy240]

Odd that Oliver would go on about how medical bill debt is killing people with NO MENTION of how Obamacare (which I am sure he was all for) is NOT helping anyone out in this area.

The Democrats and Obama sold everyone on how Obamacare was going to "fix" all that was wrong with the US healthcare system. The coverage and yes....the expenses that most people could not handle.

Granted, the debt collection business is slimy but why was there no mention of how govt run healthcare is doing NOTHING to help those that fall on hard times due to unexpected high medical bills?

...odd how that got completely left out of the smear...isn't it?

[JC5188]

Amen. I haven't spoken to most of my drug dealing SSI collecting POS family members in at least 5 years, yet for some reason they think having my name as a reference on a car loan will help them.

You know you don't even have to consent to that? All I need is a name and number and I can go to Drivetime and set up Firefly and IraqGuns for constant annoying phone calls once I stop making payments. Insanity.

When the calls begin, I always say the same thing,

"If you had bothered to call me when they listed me as a reference I would have told you from the beginning this would happen. No I don't know where they are."

I have s former friend who put me thru this. I finally told the woman calling me that if they found him, get the $1100 he owes me and I'll split it with them.

And to your point, nobody called me for said reference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Benito]

Odd that Oliver would go on about how medical bill debt is killing people with NO MENTION of how Obamacare (which I am sure he was all for) is NOT helping anyone out in this area.

The Democrats and Obama sold everyone on how Obamacare was going to "fix" all that was wrong with the US healthcare system. The coverage and yes....the expenses that most people could not handle.

Granted, the debt collection business is slimy but why was there no mention of how govt run healthcare is doing NOTHING to help those that fall on hard times due to unexpected high medical bills?

...odd how that got completely left out of the smear...isn't it?

No, not odd at all. Oliver, Stewart, Noah, Colbert and gang are propagandists for the Democrats hiding behind supposed apolitical "humour". Oliver did an entire episode from start to finish dedicated to lying about Trumo even. Eat while Obama and Hitlery get a pass on everything. But hey, it's just comedy, right?

Perhaps when he starts doing entire episodes (during election season) about Hitlery's crimes, treason, selling influence to Saudi Arabia, letting Americans die while she blames it on YouTube videos, etc. then I might take him for anything other than a Democrat shill.

[brickboy240]

He can go back where he came from.

We fought a war to rid ourselves from his people's political rule.

[cbx]

Oliver is a retard. Jon is a political hack, but at least he's funny.