I've stopped receiving collection notices for the dead guy who lived here a long time ago

[slackmaster]

I bought the house from his mother in 1994. The dead man, "Jack", was murdered in 1998 in a botched robbery - The robbers decided to kill Jack and his coworker because they had forgotten to bring rope with which to tie them up. They're in prison now. Jack's mother lives in another city.

About once a year I've gotten dunning notices from a string of different collection agencies. Evidently Jack owed about $150 for some jewelry he'd bought on credit.

Each time, I notify the sender that Jack is deceased, and sometimes provide things like newspaper articles to support my statement. Sometimes I just call them and piss them off by telling them they are suckers for buying cheap debtor lists with dead people on them.

It's been about six months since the last collection notice.

I got a piece of mail addressed to Jack yesterday. It's a pre-approved credit card solicitation. Just $16.2% interest on purchases.

Looks like Jack's name and address have finally reached the bottom of the food chain. I took a Sharpie pen and wrote in big letters on the application "FOOLS, JACK IS DECEASED!", put it in the business reply envelope, and dropped it in the mail box.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

[leftofthedial]

1. must be the end times for sure then

[zanne]

2. My father died in 1963

From time to time, he still gets mail.

[slackmaster]

3. My grandfather died in 1968, and the Rosicrucians kept sending mail

For almost 20 years. He'd ordered a free book from them once, in the '50s.

[zanne]

4. Maybe they think "All things are possible"! nt

[Javaman]

5. If you get a responce, post a follow up, I get a kick out of stories like this. :) nt

[slackmaster]

9. I surely will, it's a SubGenius thing

The SubGenius sees the entertainment value even in tragic situations. Even dumbness can be great in its own way.

[bigtree]

6. I used to get phone calls from overseas for years from someone who once had my number

Finally the dude actually called and apologized, years later. You can imagine the arguments I had with the folks who called for him who wouldn't accept the number had changed hands.

[Tyler Durden]

7. I feel your pain: my number was recycled TWICE before it got to me...

The other two holders are listed in AUTOZONE under the same number. Every time I get a call for one of them from a collection agency I go out of my way to show them they don't live here.

[SheilaT]

8. Someone did a piece

several months ago, in Newsweek I believe, about how their son, who died at age 10 nearly a decade ago, is getting all kinds of college solicitations. Talk about heartbreaking. It's not enough to lose your child, but to get that kind of crap in the mail years later is truly awful.

My older son is getting all kinds of solicitations to borrow money for graduate school, simply because he enrolled in a public university about three years ago. He hasn't graduated, probably won't (no sad story here, just a young man whose educational plans have taken a different turn), and it's only annoying to get these, nothing worse.

[DearAbby]

10. I have had this same phone #, 10 years

I still get calls for the elderly gentleman, who had this number previously. Last one was from the Dept of Wildlife, "a permit to kill" Bambi was waiting for him. I assume Mr Forsythe had passed on. At least I dont get calls from the GOP pleading for cash from Mr.F.


One strange message on my machine..."MOM! Call me!" click. It wasnt one of mine. She sounded distressed. I still wonder if she got a hold of Mom.

[slackmaster]

11. Sometimes the collection notices for Jack have nine-digit case number

That looks suspiciously like a Social Security number that would have been issued in California in the late 1950s or early '60s.

I suppose I could register Jack to vote as a Republican and have him pick the goofiest candidate in their primary.