Be sure to cancel your credit cards before you die...

[Mister Wright]

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die .... just in case.



This is so priceless, and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance, which had been $0.00, now is somewhere around $60.00.

A family member placed a call to Citibank:

Family Member: "I am calling to tell you that she died in January."

Citibank: "The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply."

Family Member: "Maybe, you should turn it over to collections."

Citibank: "Since it is two months past due, it already has been."

Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead.

Citibank: "Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!"

Family Member: "Do you think God will be mad at her?

Citibank: "Excuse me?"

Family Member: "Did you just get what I was telling you . . . the part about her being dead?"

Citibank: "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."

Citibank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"

Family Member: "Sure." (fax number is given)

After they get the fax: Citibank: "Our system just isn't setup 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 don't think she will care."

Citibank: "Well, the late fees and charges do still apply."

Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?"

Citibank: "That might help."

Family Member: "OdessaMemorialCemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69."

Citibank: "Sir, that's a cemetery!"

Family Member: "What do you do with dead people on your planet?"

[Robertinho]

hahah ridiculous.

[Simon]

haha quality, you'd have to wonder how that company would stay in business if its really that incompetent...

[Robertinho]

Well to be fair Simon, with thousands of clients, unless they are told by the family or someone else, how are they meant to know if the person is dead or not? I doubt many companies woud have something written in their charter about dead people's accounts.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Robertinho

Well to be fair Simon, with thousands of clients, unless they are told by the family or someone else, how are they meant to know if the person is dead or not? I doubt many companies woud have something written in their charter about dead people's accounts.

obviously, but if they arent equiped to deal with that sort of call that is mentioned in this thread they obviously have some problems....

[Robertinho]

How does one equip himself for that sort of call?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Robertinho

How does one equip himself for that sort of call?

Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?"

Citibank: "That might help."

thats after they know shes dead...
what kind of a comment is that?!?!

[Robertinho]

That was just the Customer Service hotline supervisor. He/she doesn't necessarily reflect the company as a whole, and I doubt they are trained for dealing with a dead client's relative calling up about late fees.

It's a bizarre situation, but something that probably could've been avoided only if the lady's family had called up to say that she'd died. Saying things like "how do they stay in business if they are that incompetent" and "they've obviously got some problems" is a bit uncalled considering the circumstances.

[Dasa]

Interesting: http://www.snopes.com/business/bank/deadcard.asp

[FaaipDeOiad]

Originally Posted by Robertinho

Well to be fair Simon, with thousands of clients, unless they are told by the family or someone else, how are they meant to know if the person is dead or not? I doubt many companies woud have something written in their charter about dead people's accounts.

I'd think, surely, that every bank would have something set up for it. Customers often stay with the one bank for a long time... eventually they die. It seems insane that a bank would never think "well what do we do when they're dead?" And even then, I'm sure if you called up and faxed them a death certificate they'd have the sense to cancel the account for you rather than say "sorry, our system isn't set up to handle death".

[Robertinho]

Like I said, it was some featherweight Customer Service chump, I'm sure they would have something for the death of customers

[marc71178]

Originally Posted by Robertinho

It's a bizarre situation, but something that probably could've been avoided only if the lady's family had called up to say that she'd died.

Yes, because when you just lose a loved one, the first thing you think about is contacting banks etc isn't it!

[benchmark00]

Originally Posted by marc71178

Yes, because when you just lose a loved one, the first thing you think about is contacting banks etc isn't it!

Well sometimes we have funerals at the bank just to kill two birds with one stone.

[Robertinho]

Originally Posted by marc71178

Yes, because when you just lose a loved one, the first thing you think about is contacting banks etc isn't it!

Yeah, what's your point?

[FaaipDeOiad]

Originally Posted by marc71178

Yes, because when you just lose a loved one, the first thing you think about is contacting banks etc isn't it!

Well that's why you have an executor of the estate. That's the sort of thing that they have to do... inform the world that they are dead. It's not a fun job, but somebody obviously has to do it.