What type of message does that send to people? It could unfairly paint responsible people who have genuinely suffered as deadbeats and scam artists. I applaud companies for taking a stance where they try to be sympathetic to people who are in dire straits due to loss of income (unanticipated layoff, health reasons, etc.). But, I am sure there are other people who “pile on” by running up all of their credit cards with no intention to pay their bills hoping that they can settle for a fraction of the true cost.

There will always be a victim and it is not guaranteed to be the right one.

@Troy: as someone else pointed it out it will depend on where jurisdiction in regards to debt being passed on. However you can send them a cease and desists letter (i suggest registered mail) saying that you want them to stop calling you regarding the matter. They legally will have to stop calling you. Other than that I suggest speaking with consumer affairs agency in your jurisdiction.

@Charles in Vancouver: For question 1 it will be Bell’s responsibility to resolve the matter, however if the charge was erroneous than request from the collection agency for proof of debt which they probably would not be able to provide you since the charge was is mistake.
QUESTION 2: The company is required to notify the consumer at the LAST KNOWN ADDRESS which means the address you have given them last time. If you have moved and failed to notify them than it falls on you, if the mistake is on their end than you will need to speak with them to rectify the issue. However this maybe more complicated to resolve.

@existingalalternitaves: Yes you are correct in regards to the debt being charged off, I should have stated that the post mainly applies to 3rd party collection and not 1st party.

@paul: My point was in regards to calls demanding payment not in regards to resolving the issue. Collection agency can NOT call more than 3 times in a 7 day period, nor can they call outside of the times I have stated. before 8am and after 9pm week days, before 1pm and after 5pm on sunday and statutory holidays. I am not sure what part of the times you are disagreeing with.

@Troy W. Unfortunately, once a person passes away, the debt still needs to be settled.
Usually it is the estate, if there is no money left, then next of kin.
Most creditors will not go beyond the estate, but the reality is someone still has to pay.

I don’t remember getting a parking ticket, so I asked for some proof. The first lady I talked to was very nice. I told her I’d pay it if they could show me some evidence that I got a parking ticket. She said she’d issue a request.

The automated phone calls kept coming, so a month later I called back. The guy I talked to was downright rude, he was telling me that it was going to ruin my credit, etc.

I did some research with the Manitoba Consumer and Corporate Affairs, including reading some of the relevant acts and calling someone there. I ended up writing a letter demanding proof and telling them to stop calling until they had proof. The calls stopped.

A few other notes I found on the way

- If you write them a letter telling them to stop calling, they have to.

- If they put something on your credit report, you can write a letter to the credit agency demanding proof of the debt. If the proof isn’t available, the note has to be erased. This is one of the techniques used in those “I cleaned my credit report” eBooks — they just keep writing and demanding proof until someone slips up and forgets to respond.

I think you mean “Dreaded Bill Collector”, not “Dreadful..”. I’m not that scared of the really incompetent ones… :)

Ed

First off, try to be nice to the people you are talking to – in a job surrounded by negativity, when you find the nice people you’re usually willing to go to the ends of the earth for them.

Secondly, tell the people your honest situation(in this job, you get good at sniffing out the lies), make a payment plan, and stick to it! When people made payment plans with us, they usually were a pretty sweet deal (lowest I ever did was $25 a month) and we could even freeze the interest rate as long as the payments kept coming in.

Troy, as far as I knew we were allowed to call and hound whomever we could regarding debt. However, I could only ask them for information – I couldn’t officially ask them to pay off the debt. But, other agents I knew would trick other people into paying, using wording that suggested they were responsible without saying “you are legally indebted to us”. Ex: “Your name is on the loan” means, the name could be nothing more than a reference, but when you use that wording, people assume it means they owe.

As far as I know, whether your mother-in-law owes them or not depends on the province you are in. In Alberta, I believe she would be responsible IF she was the executor of the will. I suggest phoning a lawyer on that one, though. Good luck.

My father-in-law passed away a three of years ago, at 81, and my mother-in-law was NOT joint on any debt. There were only a couple small debts, unsecured department store credit cards. (Sears & The Bay)

My mother-in-law could not afford to pay them when as her income was very little after her husband passed. Although she had cards in her name, the accounts were opened in the 50’s and she had never signed anything and the account was only in her husband’s name. I helped with the estate and immediately instructed her to cut up all credit cards, including hers, so they were never used beyond my father-in-law’s death.

As you might guess, Sears & The Bay passed the debt onto a collections company who hounded her for months after my father-in-law passed away so I finally instructed her to give them my number as I assisted the Executor to the estate (my brother-in-law) who lived out of Province.

After the estate was wrapped up there was only debt, related to the funeral expenses, and no money left. We sold the only asset my mother-in-law had, her car, to pay most of these expenses but we certainly had no intention of paying the credit card debt since there was nothing to pay it with.

The collectors then hounded me for the debt, knowing fully that the estate was bankrupt, but expecting my mother-in-law to pay for it out of her monthly pension which was around $1K/month, barely enough to cover her property taxes, bills, and food costs.

Finally, to get them off my back, I started telling them my mother-in-law died which was untrue but since they were going after debt that wasn’t hers I felt justified. The calls stopped.

My question… what rights to the collectors have to call my mother-in-law or me for her deceased husband’s debt??? Any thoughts???