Paying bills from beyond the grave
Have they come for his credit card payment?
It seems odd that people who are not legally obligated to pay off a deceased family member’s debt would do so, but often they do.
At DCM Services in New York, agents are charged with the task of calling up a debtor’s next of kin and asking them to pay up.
Why pay when you don’t have to?
In most cases the person who ends up paying a deceased relative’s death doesn’t have to do so. After all, people generally don’t bequeath their credit card debt or overdue payday loans to their loved ones in their wills.
But still, the agents at DCM often get promises that the person they’ve contacted will pay off as much of the debt as they can. Some relatives might pay because they feel a sense of loyalty to the credit card or bank. Some feel a sense of morality and just believe that all debts should be paid.
Most of all, though, people feel they are honoring the wishes of their loved ones.
Strange obligations
Surprisingly, this story from The New York Times seems to indicate that debt collectors who are seeking to collect on dead people’s debts have more success than those collecting from the living.
Though debt collectors can go after property that relatives inherited from the deceased, they have no right to the surviving relatives’ cash or other property. Still, people pay.
Company perks
Agents at DCM are trained in “empathetic active listening.” Apparently the company is aware that debt collecting from the dead isn’t the easiest or most uplifting job. The office is equipped with foosball tables, free snacks, and a masseuse shows up regularly. The company also offers yoga classes.
What a job
Still, most DCM employees don’t last more than 90 days. But Brenda Edwards doesn’t seem to mind her job. She tells a story about a recent caller. She told the woman “I’m not telling you it needs to be paid at all,” in regard to her deceased mother’s credit card bill. Still, the woman said she’d speak to her siblings, and they’d pay the bill.
It’s too bad debt collectors go beyond their call of duty. I think when they try to collect from the next-of-kin of the dead, they are really taking advantage of their vulnerability. Of course they will be forced to pay not only because they will feel it is an obligation but also it will feel like it’s a dishonor to the dead not to do so.
Evelyn Guzman
Debt Challenger
The HELL you don’t! The benefactor of the estate is liable for ALL bills. They are paying my grandmother’s bills on a house she lived in (utilities, etc.) it is the inheritor’s duty.