Worrying Trend ?

[gettingsorted]

NOt really asking for advice here but more making a point and wondering about the legality of this.

 

We are currently acting as Executors in a friend's Estate and we have noticed something which to me seems quite worrying.

 

We contacted everyone that we needed to as soon as we could after the death

- you know the usual - water, council tax, phone, utilities and the financial institutions.

 

 

He owed about a £1000 to MBNA and the phone company Talk Talk said they couldn't shut down the phone line for a month.

 

 

Shortly after we received a bill from Talk Talk with a note on it saying that if we didn't pay it within 7 days then they wouold charge us £10.

This was for around £30 ? I rang them and they said it was a standard letter.

 

Yesterday morning we received two letter from two different Debt Collection Agencies

- although one of them called themselves Probate specialists both Talk Talk and MBNA had sold the debts on to these people.

 

 

I rang the Talk Talk one and they were very sympathetic but they began to quiz me on whether the deceased had a property,

asking when we could settle the bill and so on;

 

 

well as some of you know I've had many years of experience of dealing with DCA's and

I have dealt with a couple of estates previous to this and

 

 

I put a flea in their ear and said that we were waiting for probate and as soon as we were able to release funds then they would be paid;

they still pushed and were asking about funeral costs, but I told them to go away.

 

 

I haven't bothered to ring the other one yet.

 

What actually worries me - is this a trend and as both the letters were standard DCA legalese

- although a lot less threatening in tone I think someone who is more innocent in their ways

and who is grieving then it would scare them to pay the debt from their own funds (if they had them)

before the legalities of administering an estate would be completed.

 

Thanks

GS

[citizenB]

It might be worth a complaint to their Registered/Head office with a copy sent to the Financial Conduct Authority.

 

I find it quite disgraceful that MBNA have sold the debt on, when they are fully aware of the circumstances, but I think this is so they personally don't get a worse reputation for badgering grieving relatives.

 

I would say that you have sussed out that is exactly what they are doing, trying to bully people into paying a deceased's debt. They are also trying to prioritise their debt above others.

 

Why are talk talk not able to close the account down for so long ? I think that is very wrong.

[ericsbrother]

They havent sold the debts on, just loaned them to other companies to make a few quid form the ignorance of the bereaved. They have no rights to add anything to the debt of the deceased (nor anyone else but there are special laws to protect the dead and their executors) so just ignore these clowns and pay the bills when you are allowd to. If there is no money then they dont get any. ass you have done this before it wont be necessary to tell you what is someones estate and what are their effects. These "specialist" people at the telecoms companies like to confuse the 2 or even transfer the account to your name.