Debt collectors love the dead. In Minneapolis, DCM Services (that’s “Deceased Collection Management”) specializes in shaking down grieving relatives for cash. Those relatives usually have no obligation to pay, but they often do, just to stop the collector from calling.
“Dead people are the newest frontier in debt collecting, and one of the healthiest parts of the industry” says the New York Times. DCM Services says it collects with the utmost sensitivity to the grieving human being on the other end of the line.
But, of course, it will not come right out and tell the innocent victims that they have no obligation to pay, and they will not stop calling.
The worst part?
DCM executives say some of the survivors not only gladly pay but write appreciative notes. They offered up a stack, with the names deleted, as proof.
One widow wrote that a collector “was so nice to me, even when I could only pay $5 a month a few times.” Saying that money was “so tight” after her husband died, she added: “It was very hard for me, and to get a job at my age. Thank you.”
Ohforchrissakes.
You’re Dead? That Won’t Stop the Debt Collector | New York Times
(photo: Curious Expeditions)
If you are in Minnesota, contact The Glover Law Firm, LLC, for a free case evaluation. In any other state, you can find a consumer rights lawyer using the National Association of Consumer Advocates lawyer database.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s absolutely disgusting.
Sadly, this is a “growth area” that my former employer is looking into. Yet another reason for my recent career change.
I hear similar stories at my firm. Often a simple letter from me to the creditor can make all the difference. It can also give those who are grieving some comfort to know there’s someone dealing with the creditors rather than trying to do it themselves at an already stressful time.
The more I think about this the more convinced I am that what they are doing is a violation of the FDCPA.
My position is that if anybody contacts you about paying the debt of anybody else, living or dead, they have very likely violated federal law, and you should contact a consumer rights attorney.
It’s sleazy, but they tend to hit you at a bad time when you just aren’t up to resisting. It took more than a month after my mother’s death before I was back in fighting form and I got an awful lot of nasty “pay us” notes during that time.
This is where an estate lawyer is worth every penny. I paid for one and they have a nice “go away and file it with the court” letter they respond to all of these with.
My mother died in December. My 80 year old Aunt is receiving harrassing collection notices from the Nursing Home responsible for my mother’s death. My Aunt was simply a “contact” person. How does that make her responsible for any monies due?