[geeks] Re: [edoc at citicom.com: [cfgeeks] Re: Red Cross Bills?] (Bill Bradford)

[Ken Hansen]

On The Red Cross, I have no answers, only information and opinions:

Information:

The Red Cross has openings in their collections department (see
http://www.redcross.org/jobs/finance.html#CreditCollections ), and I can't
for the life of me think what an external customer is if not a victim in an
emergency.

Opinion:

*IF* the Red Cross ofers aid, then presents a bill for the delivered
services, well, that worries me, but I don't know enough to make a decision.
I mean, the local fire company/first-aid squad has been known to send bills
to folks they transport to the hospital, and that's OK (Insurance will
typically pick up the tab I suspect, allowing the fire squad/first-aid to
continue to operate). If the Red Cross "bill" is handled as guideline
document for future giving, then that seems reasonable ("We provided you
with $500 in services, how much would you like to contribute? $________").

Now, if failure to "contribute" winds up on your credit report, well, that
is bad...

Ken
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Bradford" <mrbill at mrbill.net>
To: <geeks at sunhelp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2001 5:29 AM
Subject: Re: [geeks] Re: [edoc at citicom.com: [cfgeeks] Re: Red Cross Bills?]
(Bill Bradford)


> On Mon, Sep 17, 2001 at 10:51:52PM -0500, Robert Slover wrote:
> > It is true.  In the mid-70s, my family lost everything in a flood.  I
> > was 8 years old IIRC.  The Red Cross 'gave' my mother a pushbroom and
> > sturdy rag mop, and some other cleaning supplies (which all came to
> > naught, since the house itself was useless after the basement walls
> > caved in).  Shortly thereafter, she was surprised to get a bill from the
> > Red Cross.  My grandmother verified that this was 'standard' procedure
> > for them.  They are not a charity, but I don't think they expect to turn
> > a profit either.  I'm not sure if all chapters do this, and it is my
> > understanding that chapters function fairly independently.
>
> With all the money that has been raised with donations (something like
> $35+ million so far, since Tuesday, I've heard) I certainly wont be
> happy if I hear them sending out bills after this incident...
>
> Bill
>
> --
> Bill Bradford
> mrbill at mrbill.net
> Austin, TX
> _______________________________________________
> GEEKS:  http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/geeks


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