I came across this NYT article via CalCPA's member news clipping service. Our financial institutions have set new lows for how low they'll stoop to make a buck, but this is too much.
Dead people are the newest frontier in debt collecting, and one of the healthiest parts of the industry. Those who dun the living say that people are so scared and so broke it is difficult to get them to cough up even token payments.
Collecting from the dead, however, is expanding. Improved database technology is making it easier to discover when estates are opened in the country’s 3,000 probate courts, giving collectors an opportunity to file timely claims. But if there is no formal estate and thus nothing to file against, the human touch comes into play.
More after the fold...
Let me start by saying, as an accountant, credit and defaulted accounts are a business reality. In fact, defaults are so much a part of doing business that generally accepted accounting principles require accounts receivable to be discounted (allowance for bad debts) as part of the financial reporting process. Any business that extends credit accepts that collecting delinquent accounts is a necessity in our credit driven economy. Businesses of all kinds extend credit to generate business revenue and profits - doctors, utility companies, lawyers, and so on. That there is business risk by doing so is a given.
All that being said, I believe dunning relatives who are not responsible for the debts of the deceased is, at best, tasteless and at worse, potentially illegal. While I'm not a lawyer, perhaps one of the Kossack legal eagles would care to comment. Anyway, what got my dander up is how this practice is yet one more attempt by the financial services sector to generate a profit by making other people miserable and guilty. We bail them out with our tax dollars, lose our jobs because they've mismanaged their business, and now they are coming after us for debts that aren't even ours. Enough already!
Here's my solution - tell 'em go to hell and make it clear that if they call again trying to dun you for debts that are not yours by using saccharin concern and guilt, that they will be reported to the state AG's office. What's your solution?
Update: h/t to mediaprof. His diary is here.