: Cancel your credit cards before you die!!

HOW TRUE THIS IS...DEALING WITH THESE TYPES OF PEOPLE...

A REAL SHAKE YOUR HEAD



Now some people are really stupid!!!!

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die.

This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today..

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange :

Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections. '

Citibank: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank: 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank: 'Excuse me?'

Family Member: 'Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank: 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor'

Supervisor gets on the phone:

Family Member: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 balance.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank: (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info was given)

Citibank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member: 'Sure.' (Fax number was given )

After they get the fax :

Citibank: 'Our system just isn't setup for death.. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

Citibank: 'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply

(What is wrong with these people?!?)

Family Member: 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank: 'That might help....'

Family Member: ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery , Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

Citibank: 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member: 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'

(Priceless!! )

























Cancel your credit cards before you die!!

HOW TRUE THIS IS...DEALING WITH THESE TYPES OF PEOPLE...

A REAL SHAKE YOUR HEAD



Now some people are really stupid!!!!

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die.

This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today..

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange :

Family Member: 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections. '

Citibank: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

Citibank: 'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

Family Member: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

Citibank: 'Excuse me?'

Family Member: 'Did you just get what I was telling you - the part about her being dead?'

Citibank: 'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor'

Supervisor gets on the phone:

Family Member: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 balance.'

Citibank: 'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

Family Member: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

Citibank: (Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

Family Member: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' (Lawyer info was given)

Citibank: 'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

Family Member: 'Sure.' (Fax number was given )

After they get the fax :

Citibank: 'Our system just isn't setup for death.. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

Family Member: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

Citibank: 'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply

(What is wrong with these people?!?)

Family Member: 'Would you like her new billing address?'

Citibank: 'That might help....'

Family Member: ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery , Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

Citibank: 'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

Family Member: 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'

(Priceless!! )

It's really funny. :) The moment I read this line, I knew it was just a joke that's being passed around.

<<Citibank: 'Our system just isn't setup for death>>

i'd laugh if it wasn't so close to the truth :)

Not really a joke though. It happens! My grandfather kept getting bill collectors and magazine subscription bill notices 6 & 9 months after he died. My sister verbally told them all that he had died, but it didn't help. Finally she asked for the address to send his change of address to & she then put his address as
"The Pearly Gate.
Heaven
c/o GOD!"

My father died as a result of nursing home negligence. The nursing home sent him by ambulance to the hospital. My father was on Medicare and Medicaid. 6 months after my fathers death, the ambulance billing agency called his brother, my uncle, trying to collect the bill. My uncle explained that my father had passed away and that the nursing home was the person to contact for payment. They collection agency then wanted to know if there was an estate. Of course they were told no because there wasn't one. The collection agency then wanted to know if there were any other living relatives that they could contact about getting this bill paid. My aunt, good ole Kentucky woman, told the people that it wasn't any of their business and that no one with our last name would be paying this bill and to not call again. They then hung up. No more collection calls! Not even sure how they got Uncles phone number as my father was in Illinois and my uncle is in Kentucky.

Just crazy,

Yip -- been known to happen. Kept getting a bill for my MIL for 2 yrs after she died. Tried to tell them, sent a death cert. (certified, too!!!) and STILL they kept contacting us. They wouldn't talk to me about what the bill was for -- said that it was private between MIL and them!!! Finally, we ignored their calls.....they sent her to the bill collection agency. When I got a call from them I told them that MIL was dead, had been dead for 2 yrs, and that I'd tried to resolve it.....they told me the charges had occurred AFTER the date I said she was dead! MIL was murdered --- I sent them a death cert AND a copy of the newspaper articles............never heard from them again!!!!

I'm not suprised!

Wish I could laugh at this, but as with the previous post are are experiencing some of the same stupidity. My mother was on Medicad and Medicare. She passed in May. We are constantly receiving bills for her. One Pharmacy sent us a huge bill because they didn't get their billing to Medicare and Medicad on time-They sent in the bill 3 months after she had died-so now they want us to pay it. Not our problem. There is no estate, and no money. They asked for an address to contact her. I told them Heaven.

This made me laugh - we actually had a situation very similar to his regarding my late father-in-law who had been dead for 9 years.... credit card company was still trying to collect on one of his cards. And the people we dealt with at the cc company really were this stupid!

Wonder where they went to school at.

Sounds doubtful that they attended school. . .

My MIL passed away 3 and 1/2 yrs ago and we still get calls and stuff in the mail alot. Makes me angry mainly because it upsets me and it's like loosing her all over again. I tell them, and my DH tells them, but the catalogs and mostly "will you donate" still keep coming!

Oh my!! That is hilarious!!! I had to copy that and forward it to my friends that are not on the board!!!! Love it!!

I am so sorry some of you are actually dealing with such stupid people! I think we need to teach common sense at school!!! Because obviously it is not being learned anywhere else!!

I worked for Citibank fro 24yrs 17 days ( notice I counted. The story is true. We used to get acts from customer service in fraud just for this reason the card member died. We had to research the chgs before we could remove them. We had to have a death cert. before we could refer it to the deceased dept. So they could remove it from the system. Looking back we had a lot of fraud on dead people acts .....

Sometimes it is difficult to deal with the collection agencies because for some reason they feel that I, as my father's only living descendent, is somehow responsible for his past debts. Wrong Answer! And take me to court, I'll see you there! Yet to receive a summons!!!!

"Hello, my name is Peggy...."



piney

Too funny!

We went through the same crazy stuff with credit cards when my Mom passed away. I can laugh now, but at the time, it was so hard to keep explaining over and over again to them.

I can understand how the credit cards don't want to be taken by frauds, but they need a system in place to keep from putting families through that.

Too funny

As a probate lawyer I have to tell you this happens ALL the time. So frustrating.

And my clients then blame me for not contacting X company to advise of the death because they cannot believe that any company would be that stupid.

So I get to deal with trying to enlighten the stupid company and also calming down the family members, who are (understandably!) upset when their deceased relative is receiving red demands through the post.

Funny thing - it is standard practice here to contact all known companies with whom the deceased had accounts to advise of the death and the fact that I am now dealing with the estate, while requesting that any future correspondence in relation to the account is forwarded to me c/o my firm. So their computers quite happily do this to forward all advertising to me, but the red demands always go to the deceased's home...

Can you tell I have a bit of an issue with this?!?? LOL

I think its horrible how all of us seem to have one of these stories to tell. I've dealt with it a few times as different family members have died. But, they keep popping up every couple of years as one collections agency buys junk debt from another, and I have to go through the entire process again. I now keep photocopied documents that I just send in. Only stops it until the next time.

They true stupidity I dealt with was having one of my own cable company account turned over for collections. I moved from Florida, and gave them my new NY address to send the final bill. They sent it, and I paid it. The next month, I received a bill for $0.00. Then, the month after that, a late notice asking me to pay $0.00 or they would shut off my service. I ignored that one also. Got another one threatening to turn my $0.00 balance over to a collection agency. I called them laughing. The CSR agreed it was a mistake and said she would take care of it. Six months later, I got a call from a collection agency demanding payment (apparently cable company stupidity is contagious)!!! No more laughing matter, because they had tacked on fees of almost $500.00!!! I thought that was a bit excessive. Went back to original cable company and explained the situation. The rep told me I should have paid my bill when I had the chance. I told him to look at the balance on the account. His response was "Oh." In a moment of frustration, I asked if I sent in a payment would that clear up this mess? He said of course. I mailed a check for $0.00 to the cable company with a letter. They cashed my check and sent me a receipt for payment along with a letter of apology. Luckily, enough time has passed since this incident that I can laugh about it now, but it really wasn't funny at the time.

Even 'funnier'is when 'they' cancel everything whilst you're still alive! I had to go to all the authorities and explain to them that my grandmother was still alive and could she please get her pension cards etc issued to her.They said that they assumed she was dead...and she said the bus driver never asked her to show her card when she got the pensioner fare(I guess he was smart enough to think she looked 95..).

An oldie, but a goodie :thumbup:

Wow! Hilarious!

I THINK THAT THESE PEOPLE MOST LIKELY DEAL WITH FRAUDULANT DEATH CLAIMS ALL DAY EVERY DAY. PEOPLE MOSTLY LIKELY GET IN OVER THEIR HEADS, CAN'T PAY THEIR BILLS AND CLAIM THAT THEY HAVE DIED. OR THE CARD HOLDER IS SCAMMING THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES WITH DEATH CLAIMS. I DON'T THINK I'D BLAME THE COMPANY AS MUCH AS I WOULD THE SOCIETY THAT WE LIVE IN.

They have insurance just for that reason. You just got hold of a couple of dump a.........

MAN I CAN NOT BELIEVE HOW STUPID PEOPLE CAN BE DEAD IS DEAD,JUST KEEP BILLING.

I could add our experiences to the list, as we received dunning letters after my MIL died. It was crazy. And that was nearly 30 years ago. I do not blame the credit card companies for wanting proof of death, but surely they could contact the lawyer, as requested, rather than the grieving family.

This same thing happened to us. Our daughter was killed in an accident and her cell phone company kept calling about her bill. I kept telling them she was dead but they kept telling me that she had a contract and was obligated to pay. It was so painfull every time I took a call from them.

Pinecone

Can't stop laughing - probably be laughing all day...

I love/hate that commercial

some times death happens- unexpectedly- it is not possible to cancel in advance-unless you have an expiration date stamped somewhere.

Three years after my mom passed I received a doctor bill from the insurance company. I sent it back with a death certificate and told them if they did not know she was dead after three years that was there problem there was no money left. Never heard from them again.

I had a similar situation, but not with a death. My dad had been in a nursing home in IL (where he lives), but when they moved him to another one (in IL), they started sending me the bills in CA (where I lived).

Since he is responsible for his own bills, I just sent them on to him, but they did have his address, so I was curious why they were sending them to me. Eventually, he got it straightened out.

If it weren't such a nightmare, it would be funny. My mother-in-law died and someone forwarded all her mail to my house. Every place I called was an ordeal. They would ask for death certificates....at $25 per copy here I would give them the address of the clerk of records at the county office. When I called to turn her phone service off they asked if I was taking responsibility for her bill..."No", I answered. The lady said I could ndodt turn the service off unless I was so I told her to forget the call and swallow the charges when someone decides to run up the bill. It took fully 2 years to put an end to everything.

funny but sad at the same time.

OMG - really makes you think !

It seems funny now but this could almost be a verbatim account of issues we had with our Mother's VISA acct after she died!

When my mother passed away, my sister in law got very defensive about her SSN. When I asked "Why?" she informed me that identity theft was rampant and did I know what that was? :lol:

"Yep", I told her, and then asked just how someone stealing Mom's identity now was going to hurt her credit rating, and how that would affect her?

She shut up. ;)