TPM:
Remember our story from last month about how a Bank of America estates rep tried to guilt-trip the son of a deceased card-holder into paying his mother's credit-card balance, though he was under no obligation to do so?
Well, as we noted last week, the New York Times seemed to like it -- following up with their own report on debt collecting firms that contract with the credit card companies to go after the relatives of deceased card-holders, many of whom don't understand that they're usually not obligated to pay the debt.
And now, according to a press release, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the "deceitful practice that preys on relatives who have no legal obligation to pay their deceased loved ones' bills."
The release says Schumer's call "came on the heels of a high-profile published report last week exposing this practice," -- a reference to the Times story, which appeared to be triggered, in turn, by our own story.
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