Widow speaks out about debt collection tactics

Posted on 04. Jan, 2012 by in Collection News, Press Releases

Linda Long’s husband suddenly died of cancer in March 2010. After his death, debt collectors began calling.

After an eight month battle with cancer, Millard Long succumbed. It wasn’t long after that debt collectors started calling.

“Two months,” said Linda Long.

Millard Long owed more than $16,000 on a Bank of America credit card when he died. He had no estate, and Linda Long, who lives with her aunt, says she only had $2,000 to her name when the debt collectors hired by Bank of America called, requesting she to pay whatever she had.

“I had $2,000 left, that’s all I had,” says Long. “I told [the debt collector] Jason. He says ‘Well, can’t you send it to me?’ I said, ‘Well, what am I going to do? I’ll have nothing then.’ It broke my heart.”

The calls started with a disclosure.

“First, this is an attempt to collect a debt, any information obtained will be used for that purpose,” Jason Shea of West Asset Management says in a recorded debt collection call. “Be advised as a family member, you are not personally responsible to pay this debt.”

“Bank of America knew she didn’t owe this money and Bank of America should have never gotten a debt collector to come after her for it,” says Long’s attorney, Billy Howard of Morgan and Morgan.

Howard represents Long and other individuals in a battle to change the collection tactics of those attempting to collect a debt owed by a deceased individual.

Howard says the debt collectors intentionally prey upon the vulnerabilities of grieving family members.

“It’s causing a lot of damage to a lot of families throughout the country,” says Howard.

A Lee County judge ruled last month that Long can pursue punitive damages against Bank of America and its debt collector, West Asset Management.

“The only way to stop a bank is to hit them in the pocketbook,” says Howard. “It’s the only language that they understand.”

For Long, it’s personal.

“You feel hopeless. You feel helpless, and I hope I can help other people from doing this.”

Bank of America and West Asset Management would not comment on the pending litigation for this story.
By Elizabeth Billingsley
All content © Copyright 2000 – 2012 WorldNow and WZVN. All Rights Reserved

Tags: , , ,

One Response to “Widow speaks out about debt collection tactics”

  1. RBDC

    13. Jan, 2012

    How to reverse boycott debt collectors.

    When a debt collector/debt collection/debt buyer company can repeatedly call with the intent of getting money their customers can repeatedly answer or call back with the intent of not giving them any. They need people to pay with as little talk as possible. They don’t want to talk with people who know they are never going to pay. Be all talk and no pay. Answer when convenient. Call back. Give no information. Verify nothing. Ask as many questions as you can. Answer none.

    Don’t ignore/block/report them. It doesn’t work. These folks want you to ignore them for as long as you can stand to or until you give them something valuable like money or information. Ignoring them is being their good customer. Sending a cease and desist is giving information. It lets them know you are still alive and remain their good customer. Preparing to initiate unlikely individual legal battles is being their good customer.

    Be their bad customer. Make them talk to you fruitlessly for as long as they can stand to or until they stop selecting you as their customer. These companies cannot spend seconds much less minutes on the phone with every person who will never send them a dime. But they don’t know who that is. You do. That knowledge is power. Every second you can keep their staff on the phone will render their business less profitable giving them a reason to never call you again.

    Calling will not reset your SOL. Making a partial payment will.

    One person who does this likes to ask general questions they should but usually won’t answer, “May I have the name and address of your agent for service of process?” Calmly and slowly ask them to spell every word in the address. Read it back for verification. Control the pace. If they are rushing then politely ask them to slowly repeat. “Are you a corporation and if so in which state are you incorporated?” Repeat your questions when you don’t get direct answers. When they won’t answer a question ask, “Would you like to comply with the business and professions codes of your state?” That is usually the point when they hang up on me but if they say they want to comply then begin your questions again.

    Repeat while you have the spare time. These folks have many victims and few operators. If everyone calls back but pays nothing the mass auto-dialer business model becomes unprofitable. Don’t aid and comfort the enemy by ignoring them. Call! Have a nice long slow friendly chat! Make them hang up first.

    Press 2 for Spanish.

    There are certainly enough victims to take down debt collectors so ignoring/blocking seems downright Orwellian. Really? We’re just going to passively submit and go with a block list or however we manage ignoring an endless stream of unwanted phone calls day after day? No! Unite or remain conquered. Answer/return every call – become well practiced at keeping these folks on the phone – or count yourself not amongst the free.

Leave a Reply