Obviously not the right answer

[tollbaby]

Had a woman phone in this morning. The account number she had entered into the computer was under a man's name - uh-oh number one. Confidentiality laws prevent us from sharing any account details with anyone other than the account holder or a legal proxy (and we have to have the proxy on file). It was her husband's account. Her dead husband's account. Her husband had been dead for two years - we closed his account ... three weeks ago. Opened a new account in her name (we never transfer an account from one name to another - we close the old account and open a new one), leaving a credit of $37.

Lady was phoning to have us transfer the $37 from his account to hers. Only one problem with that. We require proof of payment (in other words, she has prove that the money is rightfully hers). So begins the merry go round:

Me: Well, ma'am, I have two options here. If your husband died recently, I can send out a cheque in his name, and you should be able to cash it
SC: (SCREAMING over me) I WANT THAT MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW, YOU STUPID IDIOT!
Me: ... or, you can provide us with a proof of payment and we'll credit the funds to your new account.
SC: (still screaming) WHAT??? You never asked for proof of identity when cashing my cheques! I've been paying this account for FORTY YEARS, and I'll be damned if I'm going to provide a proof of payment for MY money!!!!

Note the lack of logic there. It gets better.

Me: Well, ma'am, we require the proof of payment when transferring a credit from one account holder to another, to protect both customers from fraud and ...
SC: FRAUD??? This is MY ACCOUNT, paid with MY MONEY, and you
Me: (interrupting, since for 15 minutes by this point, it's been nearly impossible to get a word in) Ma'am, it's NOT your account, it's MR. Whatsit's account, and you're requesting a credit that is in HIS name. I can't simply transfer it over on your say-so until you send us a proof of payment. Incidentally, you didn't advise us of his death when it occurred either, so there's no proof of death on the account.
SC: Proof of death! It was in the newspaper! How much more proof do you want?

errr... certificate of death, maybe?

Anyway, lather, rinse, repeat, ad infinitum, with my boss standing right behind me for the last 15 minutes of it. I told her on several occasions that if she didn't stop screaming at me, that I would end the call, so she might as well just calm down.

Her little diatribe about how this was how we made our money (by bilking little old ladies who just wanted their due) was endlessly amusing, but finally I had to just put my foot down and tell her that either she provided us with proof of payment or she wasn't getting the credit.

SC: Fine. Just send me the cheque in his name then. If I can't get the money (YOU CAN, you rotten old bag! Just follow the procedure)... then YOU GUYS WON'T HAVE IT EITHER!!!!!

.......

think about that for a second.

Cheques are not debited from the account they're drawn upon until the person the cheque is made out to cashes it. In other words, if she can't cash a cheque made out to someone who's been dead for two years, the money will never leave our hands. And yet, she thinks she won. All she had to do was fax her bloody bank statement showing the payment she made, and we'd have gladly transferred the credit. But no, she shouldn't have to prove that she paid, because (say it with me, kids)... it's the PRINCIPLE of the thing (she threw that at me five times). It's a simple procedure, and it's for her own protection, because any idiot could call up, request the credit and then she'd be out $37. (oh yeah, this whole fuss was for less than $40). We require proof basically to prevent fraud. Cause you could just call up with any account number and request a credit, and if there was one on the file... well, you can see what a slippery slope that is.

SO that was my funnest call this morning

[Boozy]

SC: Proof of death! It was in the newspaper! How much more proof do you want?

What's her theory, here? That your company should employ someone to scan the obits every day to see if one of your customers has passed?

I love the cheque thing. She'll probably post that uncashed cheque on the fridge as a reminder of her "victory".

Let's hope no one explains the banking system to her.

[Apathy]

For 37 bucks? Geez, calm down lady. If you're that nuts over that much money, I'd say you have more problems than having to fax over a bank statement.

[tollbaby]

My boss actually jokingly suggested that I should now spend my days combing daily obits to update our records (this is funnier because I have tracked down six delinquent accounts by finding the next-of-kin listed in the obits in the last few months LOL)

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

Obviously somewhere along the way in her miserable life, she's been given leeway after throwing unholy fits - most likely on more than one occasion - and getting what she wanted just to shut her up.
"If I scream...I get my way! Poo-poo to your LOGIC! SCREECH!!"

I've dealt with her sort before and it never ends well (especially if you have a weak manager), though you certainly had the upperhand in this one.
Cheers!

[Blisskat]

I think I might be a little confused. Was the credit created by the customer sending in more than was due on the account at some point in time? Do you have a check number to reference this occurred?

If the credit was created some other way, I can't see how she will be able to provide a "proof of payment".

Also, if you have had this credit on the account for a long while, then it has been established that this is money due to the customer. Why does she have to provide additional proof that this money is due to the deceased husband?

God spare me from becoming a confused old lady, cause I'll probably make a terrible customer, LOL

[Apathy]

especially if you have a weak manager!

Which most people do.

[Sheldonrs]

Now you know why her husband died. To get away from her!

[LifeCarnie]

For what it's worth....

My father died in 1984 and my mother still has her phone bill in his name. She may still have some other things still in his name as well.

To her, it's a small way of keeping him alive.

It's always fun when teller marketers call and ask for my father, especially when they make statements like:

"I'm returning his call."

or

"I just talked to him, I know he's there!"

Sorry....you lose.

[Boozy]

My father died in 1984 and my mother still has her phone bill in his name.

My grandmother has done the same thing with my Grandpa's name.

Its a bit unsettling for those of us with call display. Seeing his name come up like that when she calls me.

[Luna Baby]

I'm curious now. Hubby's father passed away. Telephone company sends out some sort of co-op payment every year based on the amount of service you had paid for for the year. They didn't send them for a few years (while he was living), so when they got the money to be able to send them later, we still get a check each year in deceased f-i-l's name (this will continue until they are current with those payments). Hubby was the executor of the estate. So, he takes the check to the bank, signs it as executor of the estate. Can the OP's company not issue a check to the 'estate of the deceased'? If so, if the wife is the legal executor, she can then cash the check and do with it as needed.

[draftermatt]

My father died in 1984 and my mother still has her phone bill in his name. She may still have some other things still in his name as well.

My grandmother is the same. Except she left many of the things in his name so that people couldn't look in the phone book and think "woman living alone" and come and rob her.

Sadly this is how my family thinks.

[Bramblerose]

Not looking like a female living alone is not just your family.

Our situation is reversed. Things tend to be joint or in my name, mostly because I am the one who can get the time to set stuff up, but partially because of teh fratching war and my husband's remaining commitment to the Nat'l Guard, it is important for all teh accounts to be accessible by both of us.

[tollbaby]

I think I might be a little confused. Was the credit created by the customer sending in more than was due on the account at some point in time? Do you have a check number to reference this occurred?

Yes, it was paid by cheque, but to an account that was not in her name. We don't care who pays, but we do care who we send refunds to... Woman could have divorced her husband or she could be anybody. That's why we require proof of payment (a bank statement in her name showing the payment would or a copy of the cancelled cheque - she could have even had the bank fax us a note saying the payment had been made from that account.

If the credit was created some other way, I can't see how she will be able to provide a "proof of payment".

Well, see, then she would have had to send us proof of death and had the executor of the estate request the credit on her behalf if it wasn't her.

Also, if you have had this credit on the account for a long while, then it has been established that this is money due to the customer. Why does she have to provide additional proof that this money is due to the deceased husband?

Well, the credit is only a few weeks old. She phoned in to bitch about her bill, and at that point we realized the account wasn't in her name, we asked her if Mr. whatsit was around, and she said he died two years ago. The credit was only as old as that call

For what it's worth....

My father died in 1984 and my mother still has her phone bill in his name. She may still have some other things still in his name as well.

To her, it's a small way of keeping him alive.

The thing is, legally, it's fraud. You're essentially racking up debt in another person's name - in this case, a deceased person - while you're enjoying the services those debts represent. Our company does not permit it, and the second we know that the account holder is deceased, we need to close the account, whether the occupant wants to take responsibility for it or not. If they don't want to, we send a letter to the address on file stating that either the occupant inform us of their identity, or we cut off the electricity.

I'm curious now. Hubby's father passed away. Telephone company sends out some sort of co-op payment every year based on the amount of service you had paid for for the year. They didn't send them for a few years (while he was living), so when they got the money to be able to send them later, we still get a check each year in deceased f-i-l's name (this will continue until they are current with those payments). Hubby was the executor of the estate. So, he takes the check to the bank, signs it as executor of the estate. Can the OP's company not issue a check to the 'estate of the deceased'? If so, if the wife is the legal executor, she can then cash the check and do with it as needed.

Thing is, she never sent us proof of death, and didn't even advise us of his death until WE called HER on it a few weeks ago. Buddy died in 2006. She literally said to me that if we wanted to know, it was in the paper for all to see, and all we had to do was check. Errr.... no, that's not how it works lady.

[KitterCat]

I’ve worked for V*****n in the past and had to deal with things like that from time to time. I have to say that if she’s the executive of the deceased she should be able to cash the check even if it is in his name. I can sympathize with her plight though, she’s been sending in money for the past 2 years and services have been working. So in her mind it should be perfectly reasonable to keep the account without any fuss. Doesn’t matter that there SC’s out there that will ruin a bit of reasonableness for all and screw anybody they can by committing fraud. Doesn’t make her reaction to the whole deal any less suckie though, what with all the yelling and all.