Did you know credit card companies did this?

[datgh]

My Dad passed away back in October.  Once social security found out it went on his credit report that he was deceased and in response the credit card companies cancelled his credit cards even though Mom was also listed on them but apparently since Dad was the principle on the card they could cancel them.  Not that my parents used them often but they liked their LL Bean one when they were making big purchases, paying doctors bills and for gas because they received LL Bean dollars. The company who manages LL Bean's credit cards immediately turned the account over to a collection agency.  No final bill with a notice that the card was being cancelled.  Nothing!  Mom has been trying to get a copy of the bill for a while.  Now when she calls the credit card company they just automatically forward her call to the collection agency who will be happy to give her five hundred dollars off what she owes if she will give them immediate access to her checking account.  I don't think so!  Luckily Mom was smart enough to tell them that.  She keeps asking for an itemized bill but no one can seem to provide one.  She wants to pay what she owes.  It is all so frustrating at a time when she really doesn''t need it.

 

Point of the story is to make sure your parents are aware this could happen if one of them passes.  Also make sure that your parents not only leave a list of user names and passwords but all the answers to the security questions.  I had tried to get into Dad's account shortly after he passed to give Mom a total but Dad forgot to include the security question answers.  Sorry Dad but I have no idea what kind of car you drove back in the early forties.

 

If anyone has any ideas how to handle this, I would appreciate some advice. 

 

 

UPDATE down on post 25.

[gardenmom5]

yes, we're aware and I have my own cards for things in my name.  there is also a difference between being an authorized user on an existing account, and having administration authority on said account.

 

is there a separate trustee/executor for your father, or just your mom?   has she spoken to an actual person at llbean? even if she has to lie to get to a person before they can forward her on.  does she have last months llbean statement to at least have an idea of what they owed before any spending this month?

if she has proof she is the executor, she should be able to get into the accounts since they already have proof of death.

 

[OrganicAnn]

I think this is one of many reasons that both spouses need at least one card in their own name.   

[QueenCat]

That is why we are both account holders on all accounts, rather than authorized users.

[laundrycrisis]

I would get a lawyer involved to get her documented as the executor of his estate, and all of her dealings with any financial entities should be as the executor, not a person on the account.  They will be more likely to deal with her in a reasonable manner.

 

My brother was the executor of our dad's estate.  They were all very businesslike with him.

 

I would get out of any joint accounts.  As far as  LLBean specifically, she should be calling LLBean directly, NOT the CC company.   I would tell them her intent is to pay the joint account and close it, and open a new one that is only in her own name, and she wants the coupon credits transferred. 

[G5052]

Yes, joint cards are a problem these days.  I had a similar problem with my mom's cards when my dad died, but thankfully she still had a separate card, and I was able to get it straightened out before it went to collection.

 

Just a thought, but I'd write a letter to the CEO of L.L. Bean with your story, particularly noting that there was no notice of the card being cancelled.

 

And you can dispute any bill sent to collections.  I believe that it may affect your credit while it is in dispute, but that's an option to consider.  And I believe that legally they have to provide the details.  Every state's laws on that vary though.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your father and that she is going through this.  :grouphug:

 

Was she actually a joint owner of the account with equal decision making authority or just an authorized user?  I'm a joint account holder on all accounts, not just an authorized user. His name is first, but we are equally responsible and it is on both of our credit reports.  (We only use one credit card. ;)) I would hate to find out that isn't good enough.

 

Thank you for the heads up. 

[QueenCat]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your father and that she is going through this.  :grouphug:

 

Was she actually a joint owner of the account with equal decision making authority or just an authorized user?  I'm a joint account holder on all accounts, not just an authorized user. His name is first, but we are equally responsible and it is on both of our credit reports.  (We only use one credit card. ;)) I would hate to find out that isn't good enough.

 

Thank you for the heads up. 

 

We were told by the CC company that joint was fine for this issue, authorized user was not.

[bettyandbob]

Yes, I knew all credit cards are cancelled on the death of the primary account holder. This is the reason I have one card in which I am the primary account holder. Additionally, we pay our credit card bills at the end of each month, we don't carry over. So, if  card was cancelled midway through the months cycle the bills would not be insurmountably huge.

 

I'd be mad if my LLBean dollars were cancelled. I count on my LLBean dollars this time of year.

 

If I had a record of each time a credit toward LLBean dollars was issued, I think I would try to contact the company directly once the bill paying got sorted out. I'd also let them know how the final bill by the bank issuing the LLBean card was being handled. With proof paying off the credit card, the shoddy handling by the bank and proof of the previously issued LLBean dollars, I would request reinstatement of the credits or some equivalent discount.

 

LLBean has changed banks they used for their points card before. As a business, I would think they would want to know what their quasi business partner was doing. Although what's happened to the OPs mother is not directed by LLBean, it reflects badly on LLBean. I believe the bank is Barclays. No one really thinks about Barclays, but everyone knows LLBean.

[LMA]

I've dealt with this as administrator (similar to executor but was court-appointed). She has to act as executor, not wife. She needs to catalog his debts and his assets. What accounts are his? How much money is due? If she is not sure about joint assets (there are a couple ways joint accounts can be made  - joint tenant and joint with respect to survivorship), she needs to determine how much of the joint accounts is his and how much is hers. She may need to make an estate account from which the bills are paid. This is a summary. She may need to get an attorney to help her. She sends a letter to each debtor explaining his date of death and that it is up to the debtor to send her a final bill for his account. She can ask the attorney if she can give a deadline for the bill to be received (not postmarked) and if the debtor sends a letter received after the deadline, the estate may not owe the money. Don't send to collection agencies. Send to the original debtor of the account. Send it certified. If ever in doubt, please consult an estate lawyer. As executor, she can also take money out of the estate money to pay for her time in doing all of this.

[Woodhaven]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your father and that she is going through this.  :grouphug:

 

Was she actually a joint owner of the account with equal decision making authority or just an authorized user?  I'm a joint account holder on all accounts, not just an authorized user. His name is first, but we are equally responsible and it is on both of our credit reports.  (We only use one credit card. ;)) I would hate to find out that isn't good enough.

 

Thank you for the heads up. 

 

How does one become a "joint owner" of the account?  I suppose one has to go through the approval process with the cc company?

[Tammyla]

My mil used an attorney to walk her through the financial steps after fil passed. 

 

A free copy of her credit report would give her the balances on the accounts.

 

 

 

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[Bootsie]

How does one become a "joint owner" of the account?  I suppose one has to go through the approval process with the cc company?

Some credit card providers will not allow "joint owners."  Much depends on the community property laws of the state in which you reside.

[LMA]

How does one become a "joint owner" of the account?  I suppose one has to go through the approval process with the cc company?

 

You have to apply together as joint applicants. It depends on the account offer from the company. It's just like applying as joint on a mortgage.

[Excelsior! Academy]

This just happened to my mom when her husband died.  Luckily she had a card in her name. 

[Incognito]

I had no idea.  Thanks for the heads up.

 

[bettyandbob]

Can she just get her own card?  If it wasn't really in her name then....

 

I think some people think their account is joint or think they have a card in their own name, but they simply have a card with their name printed on it and the account is issued to another person.

 

If the account was issued to a spouse who is deceased then the whole account is cancelled.

 

I know other people don't think this way, but I believe both spouses should have an account, so each is the primary account holder on a card. For instance I have a visa card for which I am the primary account holder, the bank has given us a second card on the account for dh's use. Dh has another cc for which he is the primary account holder and I have a card from that account with my name on it. One bill comes addressed to me, the other to dh, we pay both bills out of our joint bank account. If something happens to me dh will not be able to use the visa card. If something happens to dh, I will not be able to use the other card.

 

I have only ever applied for credit cards when I had a job. I don't know how easy it is to be the primary account holder if you do not have any income. There was a period of time I was not working and kept a credit card that had been transferred to a bank I did not like. I held on to the card until I decided to get a part time job. Then, I applied for a new card before cancelling the one I didn't like.

[G5052]

 

I have only ever applied for credit cards when I had a job. I don't know how easy it is to be the primary account holder if you do not have any income. There was a period of time I was not working and kept a credit card that had been transferred to a bank I did not like. I held on to the card until I decided to get a part time job. Then, I applied for a new card before cancelling the one I didn't like.

 

Actually they recently changed the rules for non-earning spouses: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100720709

 

As long as you have access to the family income (not sure what that means, a joint checking account?), you should be able to get your own card.

[Bootsie]

Actually they recently changed the rules for non-earning spouses: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100720709

 

As long as you have access to the family income (not sure what that means, a joint checking account?), you should be able to get your own card.

"The CFPB's new rule issued last week, revises the Fed's rule and allows credit card companies to consider the household income for any applicant 21 years or older who can show they have "access" to that shared money."

 

The rule states that credit card companies are "allowed" to consider household income, but they do not have to consider household income.  New regulations had been put into place because people were complaining that it was too easy for people to get credit cards and get themselves into too much debt.  So, protections were recently put in place that limited what credit card companies could consider as income.  This rule loosens that new regulation.  This does not guarantee that a credit card company will consider a spouse's or household income in determining credit card eligibility.

[Pawz4me]

That's what I was thinking.  If anything, I'd see this as a favor.  If they don't want to recognize her as owning the account, then she doesn't have to pay for it!  Not that I generally think that is right, but come on if they want to have stupid policies then ....

 

His estate is responsible for paying any outstanding balance.  So it's not like the account will just be written off.

[Wheres Toto]

And yet, someone who gets a card on someone else's account will have any late payments show up on their credit report.

 

My oldest has a gas credit card that is an extra card, in her name, on a parent's account.  The account has existed for over 20 years and she is just 19 years old.  A period of late payments has shown up on her credit report even though she is only an authorized user on someone else's account.

 

[TranquilMind]

I think this is one of many reasons that both spouses need at least one card in their own name.   

Agreed, totally.  We each still have the single card we got back in the 70's (me) and the 80's (him).   

Keeps your credit score nice and high too. 

[datgh]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Every time Mom tried to call the credit card company she would automatically get bumped to the collection agency without being able to talk to anyone so she finally called LL Bean directly and they got her a live person at with the credit card compay. (Thank you LL Bean for having great customer service as always!) They claimed that Mom got a bill but it was sent electronically.  That isn't helping my computer illiterate mother any.  They have agreed to mail her a bill.  She also told them it better not have late charges and interest added on to it.  We will see what happens on that front.  I am sure she won't be happy if she doesn't get her LL Bean dollars too!

 

On a side note for those of you with aging parents.  Make sure they not only have a list of their user name and passwords with any account they do electronically but also the answers to the security questions.  Sorry Dad but I have no idea what make of car you were driving back in the early forties! This has become quite the stumbling block in trying to help Mom.