the unexpected
i would have never imagined working in Collections, would have taught me some really cool stuff. it was really nice to be able to provide peace of mind to people, who are mourning the loss of a husband, a father and a bread-winner of the family.
imagine a man passing away, leaving behind his wife and 3 kids. one studying medicine in India. another in college and secondary school, respectively. matters would be better if he had an insurance policy, but he did not. what’s to happen to the family now? they have just lost their sole bread-winner. to make matters worse, he had a credit card debt amounting to around 18,000. this was not on foolish spending mind you. it was medical bills, which the man charitably paid for close relatives and acquaintances.
thankfully, i still remembered the legalities involved in this scenario. for the benefit of my readers, here goes. the bank can NOT force the family of the principal card holder to take responsibility of this debt. even if they were supplementary card holders, the bank can only request if they are able to pay back whatever sum owing in the principal’s account. the procedure, is to bring the original death certificate of the deceased (principal card holder) to the mentioned bank and informed them that, they are either able to pay what they can afford or that they are unable to do so. the bank cannot and should not pressure them to pay the outstanding amount. if there are threats and force involved, they can take legal action against the bank.
some banks do offer some credit shield services, which means that insurance will cover whatever amount is owed to the bank, in the eventuality of death. this of course incurs a small monthly fee, but it will provide ease of mind to the family members.
funny how a plastic card can bring so much pain and suffering to people. i have seen too many ugly things brought by this. so is it all worth while? my answer is, do you really need it?
