This company is in the business of collecting debts from people who have died -- or any living relatives they can find. They work for some of the largest credit card companies. The instant they are notified that an account holder has died, the credit card company will pass the account to unscrupulous bottom feeders like Phillips & Cohen Associates.
With some narrow exceptions the estate is legally responsible for any debts that the deceased owed, but only to the extent of whatever assets the person had at the time they died. The proper role of a law firm in resolving a debt owed by an estate would be to inform the administrator of the estate about the debt and to determine if assets exist to resolve the debt. In writing, Phillips & Cohen maintains the pretense that they are reasonable people simply performing this difficult task.
BUT before you ever get a letter from the company you will already have received a high pressure call from one or their associates using all the same tactics as the worst unscrupulous debt collectors - the associate called me one business day after the credit card company knew my wife had died, this associate had a balance that was more than twice what the credit card company had told me, then she lied that the debt was past due (in fact the "due date" on the bill was still almost a month away and a check for the full balance was already in the mail within an hour after I had talked with the credit card company).
This sort of high pressure attack is intended to upset and confuse a bereaved widow or widower, trying to get them to pay off the "debt" immediately rather than waiting to find out if there even is any estate and if that estate actually has assets to pay all its debts.
This tactic is unscrupulous, at best, and is intended to bypass the probate process and let Phillips & Cohen rake in a tidy profit by preying on people who have just suffered a most difficult loss.
Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd. Reviews
This company is in the business of collecting debts from people who have died -- or any living relatives they can find. They work for some of the largest credit card companies. The instant they are notified that an account holder has died, the credit card company will pass the account to unscrupulous bottom feeders like Phillips & Cohen Associates.
With some narrow exceptions the estate is legally responsible for any debts that the deceased owed, but only to the extent of whatever assets the person had at the time they died. The proper role of a law firm in resolving a debt owed by an estate would be to inform the administrator of the estate about the debt and to determine if assets exist to resolve the debt. In writing, Phillips & Cohen maintains the pretense that they are reasonable people simply performing this difficult task.
BUT before you ever get a letter from the company you will already have received a high pressure call from one or their associates using all the same tactics as the worst unscrupulous debt collectors - the associate called me one business day after the credit card company knew my wife had died, this associate had a balance that was more than twice what the credit card company had told me, then she lied that the debt was past due (in fact the "due date" on the bill was still almost a month away and a check for the full balance was already in the mail within an hour after I had talked with the credit card company).
This sort of high pressure attack is intended to upset and confuse a bereaved widow or widower, trying to get them to pay off the "debt" immediately rather than waiting to find out if there even is any estate and if that estate actually has assets to pay all its debts.
This tactic is unscrupulous, at best, and is intended to bypass the probate process and let Phillips & Cohen rake in a tidy profit by preying on people who have just suffered a most difficult loss.