Avon Requesting Deceased Mothers Debt

Bookkeeper6573

Hello,

I am new to this forum, although I have used MSE in the past for help with other matters.

My mother died a few weeks ago and I am the executor, as her eldest son.

I knew she had an Avon round, but I expected a letter from Phillips & Cohen associates requesting her estate to pay £200 for the balance on her Avon account. My mother had no debts, no car finance, her mortgage was paid many years ago, to receive mail from a solicitor in Manchester requested an account be settled is strange. She has had no correspondence from Avon.

I have no records of her dealings with Avon, and I have combed through all her financials. I thought this might be a scam letter, as probate has just been made public, and this solicitor, is based in Manchester, far away from where my Mother had her Avon round.

I thought Avon ladies, like my mother bought and sold products to make a profit, I would have thought if anything Avon might owe my Mother money.

Has anyone had any experience with Avon?

Thank you

DullGreyGuy

Avon operate credit and deferred payment schemes so when a customer orders from a rep the rep doesnt have to pay Avon up front for the order. They can also send stuff on a sale or return basis and on the basis of no return they are put through as a sale and charged. 

A quick google will show you hundreds of stories of people having a low value debt with Avon and being chased for it as former reps. 

KxMx

Phillips & Cohen are a debt collection agency. 

British Gas engaged them after my Nan died as a bill allegedly hadn't been paid- it had and we had proof.

If you haven't found any association between your Mum & Avon I'd be asking P&C for proof of monies owed. 

Brie

I wouldn't be much bothered by the fact that the solicitor isn't near Manchester or where your mom had her round.  Remote working is everywhere and companies contract work to others in any location.  

That said if you think the letter is suspicious why not contact Avon yourself.  Same idea as is said when you get a call from someone who says they are with your bank - find a number you trust and ring that instead.

Sorry for your loss.

TripleH

Sorry for your loss.

Yes, follow @Brie's advice and contact Avon directly requesting a full statement of account for her.

Although I'd state you are the executor in correspondence and do it in writing. It may be slower but you protect yourself and fulfil your duties investigating any debt.

I may be inclined to send a letter to the debt collectors attaching a copy of the letter to Avon just so they are aware of the situation and it protects you if they decide to pull a dickish move by taking your mother to court whilst the debt is being queried.

Bookkeeper6573

Thank you Dullgreyguy, KxMx, Brie, and Triple H for your help.

I have written to Avon Cosmetics Limited informing them that I am the executor for my Mams estate, requesting that they contact me directly, if their is a genuine debt they should be able to send me any supporting financial documentation, and I can pay the debt swiftly.

I have put their main address below, in case any one needs to contact them in the future, as there were a few addresses for Avon when googled:

Sales Service Centre
Avon Cosmetics Limited
Earlstrees Road
Corby
Northamptonshire
NN17 4AZ

Bookkeeper6573

One year update.

In October 2024 I wrote to Avon asking for them to contact me regarding the letter from Phillips & Cohen associates, no reply.
I started to receive phone calls from Phillips & Cohen associates every week, I did not answer these phone calls, so they would leave a voicemail.

In December 2024 I wrote again to Avon asking for them to contact me. I received a reply with condolences, they acknowledged my Mother's 20 years of employment and that Phillips & Cohen associates were "specialists" who they use to chat to families with outstanding balances. They concluded the letter "As we hope you can appreciate, as difficult as it is in these types of situations, we have to ask for the balance on accounts to be cleared."

Later in December I replied: "Thank you for your condolences. In order to authenticate the account balance, please send your supporting financial documentation, including goods received notes, invoice breakdown, and order details, to the address above, where it will be given due consideration. Going forward the estate will be happy to deal with Avon only and not a third party."

I did not receive a reply from Avon, or any supporting documents, I therefore did not pay the balance from the estate. I continued to receive voicemails from their specialists, 36 in total, until 12 months after my Mother passed. All communications then stopped.

I though my experience might help anyone who feels hounded or pressured into paying money from family estates to large companies. 

Keep_pedalling

Phillips & Cohen are indeed specialists who are appointed by quite a lot of large companies to handle the accounts of deceased clients. They are actually not actually difficult to deal with and they should have been able to provide you with full details of your mother’s account had you engaged with them. 

GDB2222

Bookkeeper6573 said:

One year update.

In October 2024 I wrote to Avon asking for them to contact me regarding the letter from Phillips & Cohen associates, no reply.
I started to receive phone calls from Phillips & Cohen associates every week, I did not answer these phone calls, so they would leave a voicemail.

In December 2024 I wrote again to Avon asking for them to contact me. I received a reply with condolences, they acknowledged my Mother's 20 years of employment and that Phillips & Cohen associates were "specialists" who they use to chat to families with outstanding balances. They concluded the letter "As we hope you can appreciate, as difficult as it is in these types of situations, we have to ask for the balance on accounts to be cleared."

Later in December I replied: "Thank you for your condolences. In order to authenticate the account balance, please send your supporting financial documentation, including goods received notes, invoice breakdown, and order details, to the address above, where it will be given due consideration. Going forward the estate will be happy to deal with Avon only and not a third party."

I did not receive a reply from Avon, or any supporting documents, I therefore did not pay the balance from the estate. I continued to receive voicemails from their specialists, 36 in total, until 12 months after my Mother passed. All communications then stopped.

I though my experience might help anyone who feels hounded or pressured into paying money from family estates to large companies. 

If it’s a genuine debt that your mother had, then it’s your responsibility as executor to pay it. You seem to have got away without paying it, but I am not sure that is fair to Avon.

Marcon

Bookkeeper6573 said:

One year update.

In October 2024 I wrote to Avon asking for them to contact me regarding the letter from Phillips & Cohen associates, no reply.
I started to receive phone calls from Phillips & Cohen associates every week, I did not answer these phone calls, so they would leave a voicemail.

In December 2024 I wrote again to Avon asking for them to contact me. I received a reply with condolences, they acknowledged my Mother's 20 years of employment and that Phillips & Cohen associates were "specialists" who they use to chat to families with outstanding balances. They concluded the letter "As we hope you can appreciate, as difficult as it is in these types of situations, we have to ask for the balance on accounts to be cleared."

Later in December I replied: "Thank you for your condolences. In order to authenticate the account balance, please send your supporting financial documentation, including goods received notes, invoice breakdown, and order details, to the address above, where it will be given due consideration. Going forward the estate will be happy to deal with Avon only and not a third party."

I did not receive a reply from Avon, or any supporting documents, I therefore did not pay the balance from the estate. I continued to receive voicemails from their specialists, 36 in total, until 12 months after my Mother passed. All communications then stopped.

I though my experience might help anyone who feels hounded or pressured into paying money from family estates to large companies. 

You mean expected to pay a debt which is due? If the estate has money, and you're the executor, why wouldn't you settle it?

Spendless

Marcon said:

Bookkeeper6573 said:

One year update.

In October 2024 I wrote to Avon asking for them to contact me regarding the letter from Phillips & Cohen associates, no reply.
I started to receive phone calls from Phillips & Cohen associates every week, I did not answer these phone calls, so they would leave a voicemail.

In December 2024 I wrote again to Avon asking for them to contact me. I received a reply with condolences, they acknowledged my Mother's 20 years of employment and that Phillips & Cohen associates were "specialists" who they use to chat to families with outstanding balances. They concluded the letter "As we hope you can appreciate, as difficult as it is in these types of situations, we have to ask for the balance on accounts to be cleared."

Later in December I replied: "Thank you for your condolences. In order to authenticate the account balance, please send your supporting financial documentation, including goods received notes, invoice breakdown, and order details, to the address above, where it will be given due consideration. Going forward the estate will be happy to deal with Avon only and not a third party."

I did not receive a reply from Avon, or any supporting documents, I therefore did not pay the balance from the estate. I continued to receive voicemails from their specialists, 36 in total, until 12 months after my Mother passed. All communications then stopped.

I though my experience might help anyone who feels hounded or pressured into paying money from family estates to large companies. 

You mean expected to pay a debt which is due? If the estate has money, and you're the executor, why wouldn't you settle it?

Presumably because they were not sent any evidence of the debt?