David Says : Is Debt Settlement Like Bankruptcy?

Is debt settlement like bankruptcy? How do they compare? What are the drawbacks?

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Dead People and Credit Cards

Found here:(Original Post)

Received this as a forward. I don't know how far this is true… but it sure was fun reading!

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die. This is so priceless, and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.
A lady died this past January, and The Bank billed her for February March for their annual service charges on her credit card, added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance of $0, is now somewhere around $60. A Family Member placed a call to The Bank.

Here is the exchange:

Family Member: "I am calling to tell you she died in January."
The Bank: "The account was never closed, and the late fees charges still apply."
Family Member: "Maybe you should turn it over to collections."
The Bank: "Since it is 2 months past due, it already has been."
Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?"
The Bank: "Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau. Maybe both !"
Family Member: "Do you think God will be mad at her?" (I really liked this part !!!!)
The Bank: "Excuse me?"
Family Member: "Did you just get what I was telling you? The part about her being dead?"
The Bank: "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."
The Bank: "The account was never closed, so the late fees and charges still apply." (This must be a phrase taught by The Bank!)
Family Member: "Do you mean you want to collect from her estate?"
The Bank: (stammering) "Are you her lawyer?"
Family Member: "No, I'm her great-nephew."
The Bank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"
Family Member: "Sure." (fax number is given)

After they get the fax:
The Bank: "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 really don't think she will care."
The Bank: "Well, the late fees charges do still apply."
(What is wrong with these people??!!)
Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?"
The Bank: "Yes, that will help."
Family Member: " Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69."
The Bank: "Sir, that is a cemetery!"
Family Member: "What do you do with dead people on YOUR planet?!!

DA Says Collection Scam Netted Two New Yorkers $1.6 Million

Prosecutors in Manhattan have charged two men with defrauding clients of over $1.6 million in a series of debt collection scams spanning six years.

by Patrick Lunsford
insideARM
March 31, 2008

The Manhattan District Attorney charged two New York City men with collecting more than $1.6 million on behalf of clients but failing to remit any of the money collected over the course of six years.

In a press release issued Friday, Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said that 73 year-old Lionel Fuhrman and 43 year-old Steven King used more than a half-dozen different aliases and company names to target local businesses for collection contracts. After the businesses turned over their debtor records, they typically never heard from the defendants again, according to Morgenthau.

The DA’s office charged the two men with conspiracy to defraud, grand larceny and possession of stolen property. Both pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in New York Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Morgenthau said that Fuhrman and King used the business name Levy Fitzgerald & Associates or Levy Fitzgerald Inc. from 2001 to 2004 and ripped off more than 100 clients. During that time, the DA’s office said the pair pocketed nearly $1.2 million in collections without ever paying their clients.

The pair allegedly operated from small offices in Manhattan using telephone and fax solicitations to drum up business. When clients began to ask about the status of the debts, the two disconnected their phone lines and started over in a new location.

Fuhrman is alleged to have also operated on his own from 2005 to July 2007, soliciting business under the names Harris & Klein, Solomon & Bailey Inc., Ross, Hollander & Associates, Inc., Michael Roberts & Associates and Collection Solutions. Morgenthau said that Fuhrman racked up an additional $400,000 in fraudulent collections in that time.

The DA’s Special Prosecutions Bureau began investigating the pair after receiving complaints from local businesses.