Cancel your card before you die... or not?

Cancel your credit cards before you die This sounds like as good advice as don’t rent a casket when you die. It's not just the government... Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die. This is priceless, and 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 then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, now is somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank:

Family Member: "I am calling to tell you that she died 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 the 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 in January."
Citibank: "The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply."
Family Member: "You mean you want to collect from her estate?"
Citibank: "Are you her lawyer?"
Family Member: "No, I'm her great nephew."
(Lawyer info given)
Citibank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"
Family Member: "Sure." (fax number is given)
After they get the fax:
Citibank: "Our system just isn't set up 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. I don't think she will care."
Citibank: "Well, the late fees and charges do still apply."
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: "What do you do with dead people on your planet?"

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

Ahhhh - thats brilliant! I'll have to store that one!

So funny

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xx

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StudentMidwife.NET Administrator (aka The Welsh One )
PAB Support Worker

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misscurious x
JLS to win x

:laugh ing1:

Sad fact that customer services departments are actually this bad!

I had a similar situation when we bought our house. they guy who lived here before emagrated back to australia where he was from originally. He didnt cancel any thing like his mobile phone, sky, etc.

Sky was easy enough to sort out but his mobile phone company were a night mare - initially, we returned the bills un-opened with a note on the back saying the person had moved.

they carried on sending them so i opened the bills (i know its naughty but its coming through my front door!), phoned the network provider, 3, who said they couldnt take the info from me as im not authorised on the account. explained i wouldnt be would i but they still refused to accept it (kinda fair enough due to data protection) but they asked me to put it in writing which i wasnt happy with but did all the same.

two weeks later, we receive another letter from them so i call again, they confirm they have received my letter but cant accept this as confirmation that the account holder has moved as im not registered on the account and wait for it .... was Mr x available to confirm it was ok to speak to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a lot of trying to explain (it was an indian based call centre ) speaking to a manager who still didnt understand a) what i had written and b) what was in my letter. They said that if Mr X didnt call them to resolve they would be passing to collections.

They did this and i received a letter from a collections agency who i promptly called and let rip to who apologised for the incompidence of 3 and assured me i wouldnt hear anything else in respect of the matter.

just drove me mad that they couldnt understand a) why i was calling and b) what needed to be done.