And where do we go to find this excellent summary? NPR? The New York Times? Time? The Washington Post? NBC News? 60 Minutes?
Nope, the humor site Cracked.com
Folks, I have never asked for anyone to recommend my diary before, but this needs to be read far and wide.
Back in 1996, I was repeatedly called by my Mom's bank about her credit card debt after her death. The bank insisted that I was now personally responsible for the balance since she was dead. I told them this was not so, and invited them to make the claim in writing. (If they had, I would have sued them with an iron clad case). They then changed tack and started the guilt angle, wouldn't my mother want her debts settled? "Nope," I said. "I don't think she'd be the slightest bit concerned about it, being dead and all." They then whined about how they were losing money, and I called shenanigans on that claim. I reminded them that banks routinely have insurance policies to pay off in situations like this, so instead of bothering me they should start filling out the claims form. Besides, my mother had had the card for over 15 years, and during that time they had made several times her current balance on the account, so they could sit and spin. I then suggested to the supervisor (I had demanded to get one after the fifth call) that he take up a more respectable profession, like crack whore, or drug dealer at an elementary school, and give up this ghoulish practice of preying on the relatives of the dead. While not paying your bills wasn't a ticket to Hell in any theology I knew of, I was pretty sure that his current profession was.
He wasn't amused, but I never heard from them after that.
I was lucky, I knew the law. And despite my grief, I wasn't bulldozed by bullies, cheats and liars. I know plenty of folk who were scammed by this method, but now there are new scams aplenty, and folks need to know about them.
Isn't it sad that the most reliable news sources these days are The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and now Cracked?!!!
Here is a quick summary of the methods now being used by debt collection agencies to go after people who legally owe them money, and illegally after people who don't.
• Tosha Sohns, meanwhile, was treated to collection agency Bramacint who... repeatedly used a caller ID spoofer to make it appear as though her mother-in-law was calling. The agency then used photos on her MySpace page to ascertain that she had a daughter. One of its employees proceeded to call her, claiming to be an investigator, and rhetorically asked her (presumably while doing a spot-on Hannibal Lecter impersonation), "Wouldn't it be terrible if something happened to your kids while the sheriff's department was taking you away?"
• One widow claimed she was called 15 times over a six-week period after her husband's death, apparently crying her way through several of the calls. Another widow claimed DCM told her that it had the authority to put a lien on her house for her husband's unpaid debts. But the kicker was the woman who was called by DCM between 45 and 50 times in the four months after her son's suicide.
• Meanwhile, one collection agency targeted thousands of military personnel by calling their family members and threatening arrest by military police and dishonorable discharge if they didn't pony up on old debts. Neiman, Rona & Associates didn't just call the families of military members, either -- it sometimes called their commanding officers.
• In 2008 and 2009, thousands of people across the U.S. were called by law enforcement officials and ordered to make payments on their debt or face jail time. In one case, a couple in Texas came home to a message from the police department warning them that officers were en route to their home at that very moment regarding an unpaid debt.
• Debt collectors had actually invented the entire courtroom. Unicredit America dressed employees up as sheriffs, hired an attorney to draft fake hearing notices and decorated a room near its offices to look like a real courtroom, replete with fake spectator seating, a fake witness stand, tables and chairs for attorneys and defendants, bookshelves full of legal texts, a bench for the judge and, of course, one of the agency's employees dressed up to play that judge.
By the way, if you are dealing with a friend or family member suffering through the death of a loved one, zero in on this area, and offer to help. Check the laws in your state, but in general, banks who offer signature loans (loans with no collateral, i.e. credit cards) can only go after the dead person's estate. Life insurance policies that benefit a spouse or children, are NOT part of the estate. If one of the beneficiaries is a co-signer on the debt, this rule does not apply.
Mortgages, cars, TV sets, etc, are a different matter, as they are collateral and can be seized to satisfy the debt.
My Mom had actually bought an accidental death policy offered by the bank, and named me and my sister as beneficiaries. The bank had the brass to tell me they were entitled to the money.
I laughed and hung up the phone.