Avon Requesting Deceased Mothers Debt

Claude_and_Eustace

It’s a shame that you didn’t engage with Phillips & Cohen and if you’ve posted this update to inform others then I would urge them not to follow this advice! Phillips & Cohen handled a number of my (estranged) late husband’s debts and were extremely professional and sympathetic throughout. I initially thought that he had died insolvent but was waiting to hear about some shares. It took about a year to have the shares transferred to me, sell them and pay the debts. Phillips & Cohen made it clear throughout this time that the debt was his and not mine to pay and always gave me a time frame when they would phone back to check in with me - usually about 8 weeks between so certainly not hounding me.

One of the debts was from an energy company that were billing for energy after his death. His girlfriend still lived in the house and hadn’t told the energy provider of his death and I couldn’t as I didn’t know who they were (as she refused to pass on paperwork). I had already raised a dispute with the energy company but they wouldn’t accept that it wasn’t the estate debt and passed the details to Phillips & Cohen.  After I explained this to Phillips & Cohen they agreed that it was ridiculous to charge the estate after death and took the complaint off my hands. They engaged with the energy company and got the charge wiped. 

All of this is a long winded way to say that had you engaged with Phillips & Cohen they could have disputed the charge on your behalf and saved you a lot of hassle. I hope anyone else reading this will have a more sensible approach to dealing with them. I’m not sure that ignoring estate related phone calls is an approach you should be celebrating.