ABSTRACT: Never be intimidated by a debt collection agency that is trying to collect an old debt of a deceased relative.
CONTENT: I thank my lucky stars that I have my own computer and when need be, all I have to do is a search for just about anything and everything, and this would include finding out if a debt collection agency is one of those scam operations that one should be wary about.
Just today, in the mail, I received a letter addressed "To The Estate Of...(my mother's name)" from this debt collection agency named Estates Information Services. The letter was in relation to an old debt my mother had owed to Beneficial to the tune of slightly over $7,000.00. When my mother died on August 27, 2006, I collected together all letters and correspondences that had been addressed to her. My mother was in debt for quite a bit of money, over $25,000.00 from past-due credit cards, loans and other financial institutions. I wrote letters to all concerned, and mailed off a copy of my mother's death certificate, and indicated that with her death, her financial obligation to pay had also ceased. When Beneficial itself wasn't able to collect on the debt she owed them, they had turned it over to a debt collection agency, which was later to be turned over to yet another collection agency. Thanks to my newly discovered savvy of how debt collectors in general operate, this is a very common practice, that is, where old debts are bounced around from one debt collector to another, and I would say 99-percent of them are scam operations.
First, one has to know one's rights and obligations about any debt that is owed anywhere. If it is you in question, and particularly for a credit card debt, then yes, unfortunately you owe that money to the credit card company. One also has to be aware of the so-called Statue of Limitations and each state in the United States has it's own listing of how long a debt is collectable. This means the length of time a debt can still be collected. One can find out just which debts are collectable and for how long from the Credit InfocenterWebstie. Credit card debts are perhaps the only debt that is considered an "open" debt, and no matter how much time has passed since you accumulated that debt, you still will owe that money.
When it comes to old debts of a deceased person, however, the rules change drastically. Many people are under the impression that all debts belonging to a deceased family member must be paid up. Not so! Unless that debt was a co-signed agreement between any financial institution, such as a credit card company, loan company and so forth, the living family members of the deceased are in no way obligated to pay that debt. Now when my mother passed away, as I mentioned I sent letters and copies of her death certificate to all concerned. Therefore, I actually found it amusing that more than two years have passed and I'm still being in a sense harassed by yet another debt collection agency for an old debt of my mother's. Upon looking up information on this one particular debt collector, that is Estates Information Services, once again I found out that this is but again another scam deal here.
On the Ripoff Report Website, I came across a person who was also being harassed by this very same company. In his case, his entire family were receiving hostile phone calls from Estates Information Services in regard to an old debt that the person's brother had owed for an old credit card debt. This person indicates that he too, as in my case, did not co-sign for this debt and therefore were not responsible for it. He also indicated in this Ripoff Report that he wrote a letter to Estates Information Services demanding that they should cease any further communication to him or his family as to do so was in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and also, should this debt collection agency continue its harassing tactics that he would get in contact with his Attorney General.
So I too, have written a letter to this Estates Information Services to cease any communication to me about this old debt of my mother's, as I too, like the person in his report, was under no obligation to pay off this old debt of my mother's, and I too pointed out that to continue to communicate with me on this matter would also be a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and not only did I write a letter to them, but I included a copy of my original letter to the former debt collection agency (Hudson & Keyse, LLC), that I had written over two years ago, and yes, I have copies of everything, plus I also included a print up of the Ripoff Report made by the person who also complained about Estates Information Services. In other words, I was letting this company know they were scam artist. I also indicated in my letter, that I had found other information that they have been sued by other people who have also been harassed by them. The one thing I didn't do, was sign my letter, as I figured that with having my signature on "file" so to say, they could somehow use it against me.
So, the bottom line for anyone being harassed by any debt collection agency, particularly about an old debt belonging to a deceased family member, I can't emphasize enough...KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. Don't get into a panic thinking you are obligated in anyway to pay off this old debt, particularly, and I can't emphasize this enough, if it's an old debt that was NOT co-signed by any other family member. Also, become familiar with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that protects consumers from fraudulent or harassing collection tactics. At the Expert Law Website I found one statement that particularly holds true for what I'm emphasizing here, under their listing for restrictions that are imposed on Collection Agencies by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and I quote:
Contacting a third party who does not owe the debt, such as a relative, neighbor, or your employer. Co-signers to the debt, however, may be contacted by the debt collector
The Expert Law Website gives a whole listing of vital information for anyone who wishes to know their rights about debt collection policies and practices, and what is specifically prohibited and therefore illegal on part of the debt collection agency. Last, another emphasis is to do research via a search on the web about the debt collection agency involved, and I guarantee you, it will probably turn out to be a scam operation. One can file a formal complaint about a debt collector directly on the Federal Trade Commission website for any debt collector who is violating your rights in any form whatsoever.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Information
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