DCM Services - Watch Out If You Get A Call

****3-2-09 UPDATE Obviously a lot of new visitors will be arriving due to the NY Times story called So You're Dead? That Won't Stop The Debt Collector in which I was interviewed and appeared in the story on DCM Services. The reporter was very professional and the story seems well researched.  However, my post below is 100% accurate and perhaps I might be in the minority on what happened, but it happened as I outlined it below.  Finally, I don't recall being told that I didn't have to pay this debt.*****

I received an odd call today.  It was from DCM Services and they are a collection agency that collects on deceased people's payments.  Seems pretty morbid huh?  Well they called me and refused to give me any information as to why they called.  After digging my heels in and going with some old skills I learned from AT&T (speak with a real supervisor, do not consent to having the call recorded, give zero information out until they identify themselves, get a direct line), it turns out that they are a collections agency for Discover Credit Card.

Hmm, you are probably wondering, well maybe my Dad was late on payments.  Well it turns out that he had a Discover bill that was due on August 6th, 2008 and it has no missed payments on it and the dollar owed amounts to a few cups of coffee.  It seems Discover Card in their infinite wisdom can't even wait 30 days passed when a love one dies and hands over your account to a collection agency who has the phone skills of a 3 year old kid hyped up on too many candy bars. 

Allow me to let that sink in.  For a bill that was not late and totaled a few cups of coffee, Discover Card outsourced my deceased father's account to a collection agency who tried to collect on a bill that wasn't past due.  DCM Services has no prior relationship with me and called a number on a do not call list. 

Discover card is slimy for even handing over a good standing account to a bunch of grave robbers like DCM Services.  DCM Services - avoid them if you can.  They can get your personal information and especially your loved ones.  Discover Card should not be a card you have in your wallet.  They hand over good standing account information to a third party (BTW - that account has been paid in full and closed.  The rep on the phone of course has never heard of DCM Services).

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Comments

[Phoenix Resident]

DCM Services 1(800) 651-8125, but when they call on the phone Caller ID says "Unavailable".

They are calling us now about the debt of a dead relative. This particular relative died with a lot of debt, so they are not the only ones calling us.

We did not co-sign for these debts. We are not legally responsible for paying them. We refuse to pay them. And even if we wanted to pay them, we can't afford to pay them.

We have caller ID on all of our phones and whenever un unknown caller such as "unavailable" or "out of area" or a 1-800 number or any long distance number that we don't recognize, we simply don't answer the phone.

We have finally realized that the main way a collection agency gets paid and stays in business is if it can call people on the phone and then scare them or bully them into providing information or voluntary payment to them. If no one answered an unknown call ever again, the debt collection industry would go out of business.

We assigned all unknown callers a silent ring, so we don't even hear them call, and then we just delete any messages they leave for us on voice mail.

[PardonMyFrench]

Phoenix Resident,

That's rough. I'm no lawyer, but I'd go get one if I were you. If there isn't money in the estate, I think a good lawyer can get these calls to stop.

Good luck.

[Shirlee]

8:00 this morning, also on a DO NOT CALL list, got a call from DCM about my deceased husband's Discover card(we've been legally seperated for 10 years), as above, the lady also wouldn't give me any information, just wanted to talk to the person responsible for his debts, AND I'M NOT THAT PERSON!! My daughter had talked to Discover shortly after the death and they seemed saddened and gave her condolences. What a FARCE!!

[Jennifer Wardell]

My husband just passed away 3 months ago. My two sons (8 and 9 years old) and myself walked into the house yesterday,to hear a message being left "in regards to the deceased _______. This is about a letter that was sent to you regarding the dead persons debt." Well, I do not have a letter, I paid all of our bills except for two credit cards from Home Depot which I had nothing to do with. They were his for work, I dont even know where the cards are. Now today, we hear another message from a female this time, from DCM Services, saying much the same. My sons want to know why they are calling and why they are talking so mean. I just dont need this right now, or at all. Losing him suddenly was enough,now I wish they would leave us alone over the $800.00! I sent in a letter and a copy of his death certificate, but I guess Home Depot does not have the guts to contact me, so they farmed it out... how sad....

[ricky shelansky]

Do not send copy of death certificate to no one or answer any letters. Let the collections calls be unanswered. If the person left a debt, just leave it alone, specially if the person did not live with you. They'll try to intimidate the relatives into paying and by law you are not obligated to pay anything that is not yours.

[SHILOH DREEM]

My mom is 85 years old and on social security, out of which we pay rent. My dad died a few weeks ago, he was also 85 but left a lot of credit card debts which amounts to about $6000. We do not have a pension from him, which we are waiting for so we are struggling. No sooner than after he died I sent out his death certificate to all his creditors in which they responded they would close the account and "we are so sorry about his lost but you might get a call from Estate Recovery," Which simply means, Im sorry he died but we still want out money. Loan sharks! My father has no estate. HE was renting for four years when he died. My mom should not be held responsible at 85 years old, $1400 a month rent and dementia on limited income. I have already contacted our lawyer. Im already paying off his Amex bill cos the balance is not that high, I paid off three cards and he co-signed cards for me in my name. So what do I do now? Can an 85 year old woman with dementia on a limited fixed income paying a high rent be held responsible for credit card debts she did not cosign for?

[PardonMyFrench]

Wow - that is terrible. I'm so sorry. I'd definitely get an attorney. I think you have more control and I would definitely push back. They shouldn't be calling you because unless you co-signed things you are not responsible. They might think your mom is, but under her state perhaps not (again I don't know).

One of the things my Dad did was leave me with two car leases, leased through his company but guaranteed personally so the estate is on the hook. I settled one 75 cents on the dollar but the smaller one ended up with DCM. I didn't give them my real name, told them to talk to my lawyer and unless they settled 75 cents on the dollar that they could wait until the house sells which of course hasnt. They are still waiting and I don't get any calls.

Best of luck,

[Chris Johnson]

Today (11/17/09 AM) I rec'd a call from "Teresa" from DCM Services. She declined to state the nature of her business, so I declined to give any information about my son who died in October. She was professional and dropped the inquuirey promptly. We shall see whether DMC follows up.

[Pam]

My husband died 11/28/09 and I notified our creditors. He had a Discover Card, in his name only. Their probate dept advised me they had notice from Social Security ref his death and since it was in his name only I was not financially responsible for that balance unless there would be an estate. That was a few days after he passed. Since then I have had at least 4 calls and 3 letters from DMC (their collection agency) hounding me for payment, although right on the paperwork it states I am not personally responsible for the debt!!! The last letter I received on 12/28 in the late afternoon, offering to lower the balance if I was able to pay it off by 12/28 - the same day I got the *#+&% thing! Incompetent, pushy and mean spirited! Not to mention the Dec payment was due 12/5 and they got the payment 12/4 and still charged a late payment! He was gone less than a month and they were already calling and writing! I am finished talking to them and no one in my family will EVER get a Discover Card thanks to this!

[Dirty Rat Bastards]

DCM Services 1-877-326-5171
There was a message on my answering machine from DCM Services. The message stated they had previously sent a letter to me in regards to the debt left be a deceased. I am not related to the deceased. I checked the internet for information on DCM Services to find they are dirty rat bastards. I ignored and deleted all messages. Today they called my wife’s cell phone and she answered. I called their office to make them take my numbers off their call list. I requested the name of the manager and was transferred to Amanda Becker. I requested reimbursement for the cost of the minutes used on my cell phones. I was told I had to send a written request to Mary Ellen Weeman, 4150 Olson Memorial Highway, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55422. I will send the request today. I also requested to speak to Amanda Becker's manager. The managers name is Chris Isense, but he or she was not available to take my call.

[Chris Kinghorn]

My Mother died on Sept 7th, 2010. We had two funeral services for her. One in Kansas City and one in Pocatello Idaho. After returning to Kansas City, I called Discover to report her death and ask if they had any type of settlement procedure. The lady I talked to was very nice and offered her condolences. She told me that they had a probate department that handled these matters and they would send some forms in a few days. She also told me that all late fees and interest charges would be stopped immediately. Two days later, I got a call from DCM services saying that they were attempting to collect a debt. Even though only a message was left, the woman making the call was very rude and snotty. We have the money to pay the entire bill off. All I was doing was making an inquiry. After this and reading the above comments, I'm not sure I want to pay anything. The card was in her name only and it seems that her family is not responsible. I do have one question (if anyone happens to know the answer). She does have an estate which includes her home that has approximately $200,000.00 in equity. Can they attatch her property? Or should I just ingnore them completely. I want to tell these bastards to go piss up a rope.

[PardonMyFrench]

Chris from my experience and I'm not a lawyer, DCM can file a lien against the estate. If the debt is high I'm sure they will/did. However, they are not allowed to harass you. They should just send you letters. You may run into issues when you try to sell the house because of the lien; if you can pay it off try negotiating at least 80 cents on the dollar with them.

Good luck,

Eric

[I Know My Collections]

Here is the deal, the debts of a dead person are the responsibility of the estate. Instead of ignorng the calls (becase they will continue) dirrect them to who ever is dealing with the estate if that is not you. Debts do need to be paid. That is why people have life insurance. I have worked for enough collections agencies to know that. Most collections companies are WILLING to work out a payment arramgement within reason. They will not take $5 a month on a $50,000 bill, but they will work out whatever they can with you. Collections agencies are allowed to call you EVERY DAY. Some states say they man only speak to you 2 times in a week or only once a week at your place of employment, but they can call and leave a message EVERY DAY if they want to and think it will be effective. A collections agency will normally file a claim against the estate if noone willing pays it off for any amount over $100. Then you have court and a whole bunch of stuff to go through. Moral of the story is guys that if you have the money to pay your loved ones bills without causing a fight, it will get you where you need to be a hell of a lot faster than arguing and ignoring phone calls. It comes down to this, if you want the calls to stop, pay the bill or set up an arrangement monthly or bi weekly to get it paid.

[eric frenchman]

You know what I've learned - this is a simple process...

1) The estate is on the hook for the bills, not any individual
2) The only one the collections agencies should be bothering is the executor
3) The executor is not personally liable for any debts unless they have done something funny with the estate
4) Before anything goes to court, the collections agencies will file a lien against the estate
5) My father's estate has two unpaid debts one of them is being processed by DCM. They don't call me. I referred them to my lawyer who occasionally emails me. Over 2 years later I still havent gone to court. There is a lien filed but that just means I can't sell any hard assets like real estate without getting them involved

Eric

[Glenn]

My dad had an account with Capital One with a balance of $16,000. My dad's estate had very little in the way of liquid assets and most of the estate was his house. I was contacted by DCM services and I let them know that we planned to keep the house but oterwise gave them little information regarding the estate (they are bill collectors). After a few minutes, I was able to settle for 50% on the dollar. I ended up paying $8,000. The representative was polite and professional. I had no problems.

[eric frenchman]

I'm glad you worked things out and you had a professional exchange with them!

[Denise]

I received a call today from DCM regarding my mother in law, who passed away in October 2010. She was on Medicaid, in a nursing home, and had NOTHING when she died. I would think that if she owed ANYONE money some sort of bill would have come in regarding it, but none have. I'm just ignoring the calls, as I know she has no outstanding debts.

[Denise]

My father passed away 3 weeks ago, with all bills current. I called Citibank March 14 to close the mastercard and pay his final month bill. Yesterday, March 21 I get a call from DCM suggesting there will be a claim in his estate. They asked all kinds of questions about his estate, such as will there be a trust. I told them I felt there call was VERY objectionable as the charge card they called about was paid in full, and that my Fathers estate was none of their business, let alone the intrusive question about a trust, and gave them no information ( Actually I ended up hanging up on them). I followed up with a call to my State Attorney Generals Office (Consumer Protection dept.) and the person I spoke to suggested I file a claim against them as it was not only objectionable, but in a 3 week period since his death, it was an unreasonable call. Maybe if everyone would contact their State's Attorney General, we can eliminate this disgusting company. Just my thoughts.

[Billy Davis]

I recieved a call today from DCM Services, where they we calling about a debt that was made by my brother. I had spoken to the Sears representative the had told me that the account had been closed....so figured closed. When I spoke to the representative from they were very kind in letting me know that the account had been closed so there would be no additional charges. Had also stated that I personally was not responsible, but the estate was. I advsed that my Attorney was handling this, and the representative took there information, and said they would contact them. Now I have spoken to collection agencies before. The representative, advised me that this account was only in there office because the primary user had passed not for delinquent matters. So I had a pleasant experience with them.

[karina faust]

Discover Card is sleazy. They called me about my father-in-law's balance. The rep was very nice , offered his condolences, and said I was not responsible for the debt. He said I did not have to do anything else and he would close the account. That was about 3 weeks ago; DCM just started calling me but would not say what they wanted, other than it was regarding my father-in-law.