Handling the debts of a deceased family member can often become a stressful ordeal, particularly when creditors insist on speaking with someone who has passed away. Recently, Reddit user u/georgetgwtbn shared her unusual experience, detailing how she carefully managed almost all of her late father's financial obligations. However, things took a strange turn when a debt collection agency demanded to speak directly to her father—despite him having passed away several years earlier. This peculiar insistence prompted her to grant their request in a uniquely memorable way.
"Some months after my mum sold up and downsized, I got a letter from a debt collection agency saying I owed them £134 (approximately $174) and some pence, including interest and fees," she recounted. Bewildered, she reached out to the agency, having "no idea" what the charge was for. During the call, it became clear the outstanding charge related to broadband services at her mother’s previous residence. She explained that the broadband was bundled with the phone line—services she had canceled before her mother moved out.
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Her explanation initially fell on deaf ears. According to the collections agency, the broadband service had not been properly canceled "because the cancellation had not come in from the account holder," the Redditor explained. She was certain all accounts had been transferred into her name after her father’s passing. However, the agency disagreed, claiming the account was still registered under her deceased father’s name. "I explained that there really must have been a mix-up as he had died a few years earlier," she noted.
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She clarified further, "I took over control of the telephone line and broadband account, paying that single bill for my mother since she no longer had my father's income to cover expenses." Still, the representative insisted on speaking directly to the account holder—her late father—and refused further communication with her.
Repeated collection letters, legal threats, and ongoing frustration led her to creatively address their demand. At her father's graveside, she placed a call to the agency, announcing that the account holder was now available to talk. "I left the mobile by the gravestone while I wandered around the quiet," she wrote. "I heard some irate voices at the end of the line, so picked up the phone and asked if they'd had any joy speaking with the account holder."
"An angry voice asked what was going on, so I explained where I was and that I would love to know if my dad had said anything to them. I had been unable to reach him under six feet of churchyard dirt since we buried him a couple of years earlier," she shared, leaving the agent speechless. The situation was quickly escalated to the agency’s senior manager, who issued a swift apology and assured her the matter would be fully resolved. About a month later, she received official confirmation from the creditor that no debt existed.
When questioned about why she didn't simply pretend to be her father, she mentioned feeling uncomfortable with the idea, even humorously using voice-altering software or a friend. User u/Honigmann13 related, "I had a similar experience with my mother, who had been deceased for four or five years at that time. Some companies insisted that they needed to contact my deceased mother. Fed up with this, I provided them with the address of the cemetery." Similarly, u/Diligent-Touch-5456 shared, "I occasionally receive offers for life insurance for my mom and dad. First, they have been gone for over 25 years, and second, neither of them ever lived in the house where I currently reside."
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