O.K. all you lawyers

[TeamCasey]

Here's the deal.

My mom died about 6 months ago.

My brother just started receiving nasty phone calls from a company called Allied Interstate. They ask for my mother.

They don't say why they're calling, they don't leave a call back number or name. He hasn't received anything in writing. They threaten to call daily. My brother is also ill.

A little internet research tells me that this is some notoriously evil collection agency.

We don't think my Mom had any outstanding debt other than the usual bills.... or just aren't aware of it.

How should I proceed, other than telling my brother to demand to speak to a supervisor of the company?

[919191]

Not a lawyer, never even played one on TV. If he just tells them she can't be reached at that number and not to call back, they might stop. I would log the date and time of every call. If they haven't been told she is deceased, I wouldn't provide that info. I think it is required by law to notify anyone an estate might owe of the death od someone who owes, but there might be a time limit on which they can collect from the estate. Maybe one of these legal types ill chime in here and give you better advice than I have. I am a printing press operator, so legal advice probably isn't my strength.

[MrCinatit]

(also not a lawyer, but this thread caught my eye).
From what I understand about AI, 919191, even that might not work.
From the sounds of it, they are basically a company which buys old debts for pennies, then tries what has been described as "borderline illegal" to collect those debts.
Only problem is - many of the people they call do not owe those debts, either having paid them off more than a decade ago; the debts are so old, they have been "wiped" with time; or the debts simply do not belong to those people. To compound that problem: if they have the wrong person, they simply do not care.

[919191]

We have had 2 calls recently for my wife's first husband's second wife. My wife was his first. I hate vermin.

[TeamCasey]

I've been reading a bit more this morning. This company has a horrid reputation for harrasment and collecting false debt. Unless they send me something in writing, they can sit and spin.

[registerthis]

Originally Posted by TeamCasey

I've been reading a bit more this morning. This company has a horrid reputation for harrasment and collecting false debt. Unless they send me something in writing, they can sit and spin.

You should document all of the calls you receive, TC. If the agency has been told that the person they are looking for is deceased and--by default--not available, they are (or should be) aware of the proper channels by which they may collect on an outstanding debt, if such debt exists. Continually attempting to contact an individual they know to be unreachable--be it via phone calls, mail, or otherwise--can constitute harassment.

Additionally, any lawyer working in the field of debt collection, bankruptcy or some similar area should be able to advise you here. You also might try the local bar association, who frequently maintains attorneys on retainer to answer such questions received from the general public. Just remember: a collection agency has a right to attempt to collect an outstanding debt, but they do not have a right to harass.

[TeamCasey]

If there's debt we'll pay it, but they need to tell me the details of that debt in writing.

[FoReel]

First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your mother. On the other note, I once saw a 60 minutes in the likeness of this. A young college student got herself in so much debt that she took her own life. After the funeral the credit card companies and the collection agencys kept hounding the poor girls family, even though they weren't cosigners or anything like that. I don't know of the legal issue, but there is defiantly a moral issue there.