New York Couple Harassed by Creditors Trying to Collect Debt Their Dead Son Owed

Foxnews.com ^ | 1/15/2009 | Puppage

[Puppage]

A New York couple is haunted by calls from credit agencies wanting to collect debt their dead son owed.

Roco and Laurie Crimeni's 27-year-old son Vincent collapsed and died nearly a year ago of a sudden heart attack while he was playing softball.

[mgc1122]

Inform the creditors to NEVER call again, and tell them you will be filing a complaint with the state AG.

[MahatmaGandu]

They need to contact the NY State Attorney General’s office to assert their protections under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA).

[Dixie Yooper]

They need to go after the people he was playing softball with, not the parents.

[theFIRMbss]

Yeah, well, that happens.
I've got to pay off the debts
that my mother left.

(The only "good" news
is that lawyers can settle
for reduced totals.)

[ravingnutter]

Easy answer, contact their state Consumer Credit Commission and file a complaint. This type of harassment is illegal.

[Badeye]

‘Laurie Crimeni said her son had no assets or estates to pay the debt he left behind, and all of the accounts were exclusively in her son’s name.’

I have some doubts about this statement.
If this is true, how did the creditors end up calling them in the first place?

[Mark was here]

They need to pass on a forwarding address to keep the collectors occupied.

[2banana]

Laurie Crimeni said her son had no assets or estates to pay the debt he left behind, and all of the accounts were exclusively in her son’s name.

At first I thought they may have co-signed some of the loans.

[silverleaf]

sad story but if they are paying a lawyer, he isn't earning it

They need to send copy of death certificate to creditors and follow federal debt collection laws to exercise their rights to tell creditors to stop contacting them

depending on state/county law, father needs to get himself appointed as executor of his son's estate and file paperwork noting it has no assets, or otherwise as executor notify creditors of same

[Puppage]

If this is true, how did the creditors end up calling them in the first place?

Same phone number as the parents because he lived at home?

[rabscuttle385]

If this is true, how did the creditors end up calling them in the first place?

The son probably lived at the same address as his parents, so when the creditors called for the son, guess who picked up the phone. Debt collectors will do anything to collect debts owed, even if it means guilt tripping relatives into paying the debts, even if they have no legal responsibility to do so.

[Red_Devil 232]

In some instances they may have to actually do the informing in writing and not just in a phone conversation.

[rabscuttle385]

*Ping!*

[ontap]

If someone owes money and there is no cosigner then when he dies the creditor is out of luck!

[rabscuttle385]

The Money, Banking, and Financial Markets Ping List. "Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations." —Thomas Jefferson FR Keywords: moneylist, bankinglist, financelist Please tag all relevant threads with the aforementioned keywords. This can be a very high-volume ping list at times. Ping list jointly pinged by rabscuttle385 and TigerLikesRooster. To join the ping list: FReepmail rabscuttle385 with the subject line add  moneylist. (Stop getting pings by sending the subject line drop moneylist.)

[ex91B10]

You might be correct. From the article:

Laurie Crimeni said her son had no assets or estates to pay the debt he left behind, and all of the accounts were exclusively in her son’s name.

[Chet 99]

What I don’t understand about stories like these - who answers their phone anymore? Everyone I know either uses caller ID, screens through an answering machine or does not even have a land line at all (cell phone only).

[DJ MacWoW]

A friend of ours got in over his head and took an overdose on Christmas. He lives modestly but tries to help everyone else. I believe he may have learned he can’t do that. Hopefully he will get help in straightening out his dilemma. We haven’t talked in depth as he’s still recovering. Collection agencies are relentless and do not follow the law.

[dman4384]

ummm no.

You can’t bequeath debts.

You can voluntarily pay someone debts who has passed. Generally the only reason this is done is so that the assets that are encumbered by the debt is freed up, or to close out probate.

In this case, the poor kid had no assets, and the debt was only in his name.

The parents have zero responsibility to pay those debts.