Please Make Dead Friend's Creditors Stop Calling My Mom
Kevin’s mom is the executor of a family friend’s estate. Chase, the company that holds this family friend’s mortgage somehow got hold of her phone number, and is now calling her incessantly, looking for…. the dead person? Chase reps claim that they’re not allowed to speak with the executor of the estate, yet they keep calling back despite pleas to leave her alone.
A family friend of ours recently passed away, and my mom is the executor of her estate. Chase mortgage keeps calling her house at all hours of the morning and evening (the most recent being at 8:26 AM), looking for our deceased friend. [Kevin sent this e-mail around 9 AM -ed.] We think they got her number from something involved with being the executor of the will, but the problem is that they won’t talk to my mom. She’s been getting these calls non-stop, and every time she answers she explains to them that ‘[friend] is deceased, but she is the executor of the estate’. The first time, the guy got really snippy with her and hung up immediately, then someone called back the same day. That person said “Hang on. I need to see if I can talk to you.” He comes back on the phone a few minutes later and says that he’s not authorized to speak to her, even though they keep calling. She’s started to ask that they not call her anymore, since they refuse to talk to her, but they keep calling.
I’m not sure if this would fall under the FDCPA in any way, so she can’t really quote the laws associated with it for requesting a collector to stop since 1. They’re not calling for her, and 2. Chase IS the original creditor. I told her next time they call and she tells them to stop calling, to let me know, and I was going to file a complaint with the attorney general and the FTC, but I’m not sure if that’s the right way to go about doing it.
Any information you might be able to provide, or if you can at least just point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.
Now another bank has joined in. Kevin sent this update last night:
Sadly, the calls have not stopped. And I was informed that it’s now not only chase, but bank of america too. She keeps telling them she’s the executor of the will, but they still refuse to talk to her OR stop calling her.
Who are they allowed to talk to, if not the executor? If Chase and Bank of America will tell her, she should provide them with the phone number of that person,
FDCPA-like rules do come into play for the original creditor in some states, so it depends on where Kevin’s mom and the family friend live(d).
We compiled this list of executive customer service numbers for Chase mortgage customers with people in need of modifications in mind, but someone at those numbers might have the power to make the calls stop, or know who can. Barring that, taking the banks to small claims court for harassment might help, but it will be a difficult fight.
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