Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd. (PCA) is a third-party debt collection agency specializing in estate collections – recovering debt from the accounts of deceased individuals and, in some cases, contacting surviving family members. They operate in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, collecting on behalf of major banks, including Citibank and other financial institutions.
If you received a letter or call from Phillips & Cohen, the debt may relate to a deceased family member’s account, which creates a specific and important set of rights you need to understand before responding.
PCA is also searched as Phillips and Cohen Associates, Cohen and Associates, Phillip & Cohen, and Cohen and Phillips. They are not a law firm despite sometimes being referred to as one – they are a debt collection agency regulated by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Their letter practices have been the subject of five federal class action lawsuits in a single year. Call +1-844-638-1122 – The Wood Firm PLLC works on contingency.
Key Takeaways
- Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd. specializes in estate collections – contacting surviving family members about a deceased person’s debt
- Family members do not automatically inherit a deceased relative’s debt obligations – receiving a PCA letter does not mean you legally owe anything
- Five federal class actions filed in the same year all targeted PCA’s letter practices: deceptive balance language, IRS reporting references, missing validation notices, and undisclosed interest accrual
- PCA collects for major banks including Citibank and operates across the US, UK, and Canada
- Whether you owe the debt or not, The Wood Firm PLLC can help you – free consultation, contingency basis
Who Is Phillips & Cohen Associates?
Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd. is a debt collection agency headquartered in the United States with operations in the UK and Canada. They specialize in post-mortem debt collection – purchasing or managing delinquent accounts belonging to deceased individuals and contacting estate executors, administrators, and surviving family members.
Their major clients include Citibank and other banks and financial institutions that hold consumer accounts at the time of a debtor’s death.
Their contact information is not widely published, but their collection letters typically include a return address, a toll-free phone number, and a reference number for the account. Common reported numbers include:
- Toll-free: (800) 458-5089 / 800-458-5089 / 8004585089
- Also reported: (800) 579-3380 / 800-579-3380 / 8005793380
If you received a letter or call from PCA, document the return address, phone number, and reference number shown in their correspondence – these are essential for validation requests and any legal action.
Why Is Phillips & Cohen Calling or Writing to Me?
If PCA is contacting you, one of two situations almost certainly applies. Either you are the executor or administrator of a deceased person’s estate and the deceased had an outstanding debt, or PCA has contacted you as a surviving family member – spouse, child, sibling – in an attempt to recover a debt that belonged solely to the deceased.
The second situation is where the most important legal protection applies: in most cases, family members do not inherit a deceased relative’s unsecured debt obligations. Credit card debt, personal loans, and most consumer accounts belong to the individual who signed the agreement. Unless you were a joint account holder or co-signer, you are generally not legally responsible for paying that debt. PCA’s business model depends on grieving family members not knowing this distinction. If PCA is contacting you about a deceased family member’s debt and you were not a joint account holder, you may have no legal obligation to pay – and responding in the wrong way could create one.
PCA also collects on standard consumer debts for banks including Citibank across the United States. If you are receiving calls about your own debt – not a deceased relative’s – the same FDCPA protections apply to you as with any other collector.
Whether You Owe The Debt Or Not, We Can Help You!
Federal law protects you from abusive estate debt collection. You may be entitled to:
- Up to $1,000 per FDCPA violation
- $500 to $1,500 per unauthorized automated call or text under the TCPA
- Attorney fees paid by PCA if we win
✓ Free consultation • No upfront costs • PCA pays our fees if we win
FREE Case Review: +1-844-638-1122
How to Handle a Phillips & Cohen Letter or Call
Given their five class actions targeting letter content and their documented practice of contacting family members about deceased relatives’ debts, reading any PCA letter carefully before responding is essential. Their letter practices have been challenged in court for using language that misrepresents the balance, implies IRS consequences, and fails to disclose whether interest is accruing.
1. If the Letter Concerns a Deceased Family Member’s Debt
Do not acknowledge the debt, make any payment, or enter any agreement before consulting an attorney. If you were not a joint account holder or co-signer, you may have no legal obligation to pay. Any acknowledgment or payment may create or restart legal liability where none previously existed. Contact +1-844-638-1122 before responding to PCA about a deceased person’s debt.
2. Scrutinize the Letter Against PCA’s Documented Violations
Five class actions from the same year targeted specific defects in PCA’s letters. Check your letter against each documented pattern: Does it clearly state the current balance owed, or does it use vague “current balance” language? Does it reference IRS reporting to create fear of tax consequences? Did it arrive more than five days after first contact without a validation notice? Does it disclose whether interest or fees are continuing to accrue? Each of these may be an independent FDCPA violation. Under the FDCPA, collection must pause if you request validation within 30 days of first contact.
3. Request Written Debt Validation
Send a written validation request via certified mail to the return address on their letter. Request the original creditor’s name and account number, the complete balance breakdown, including any fees added since account opening, documentation of the deceased’s sole liability versus joint liability, and confirmation that PCA has legal authority to collect from the estate. Keep your certified mail receipt.
4. Document All Contact Attempts
Log every call – date, time, number, and content. If PCA calls multiple times daily or contacts third parties including other family members, those contacts may be FDCPA violations. If any call uses a prerecorded message, each one may be a separate TCPA violation worth $500 to $1,500. Learn more at the FTC’s debt collection rights resource.
5. Send a Cease-and-Desist Letter
Send a written cease-and-desist via certified mail. Under the CFPB’s debt collection rules, PCA must stop all contact except to confirm cessation or notify you of legal action. For estate-related contacts involving non-liable family members, a cease-and-desist is especially powerful.
6. Hire an Attorney
The Wood Firm PLLC works on contingency. Call +1-844-638-1122.
Lawsuits Against Phillips & Cohen Associates
Five federal class actions were filed against PCA in a single year – all targeting specific defects in their letter practices. The consistency of this pattern across different plaintiffs and courts in the same year signals systemic letter compliance failures rather than isolated incidents.
- Polak v. Phillips & Cohen Associates (2017): Class action alleging PCA failed to accurately disclose debt amounts and used deceptive “current balance” language that misrepresented what the consumer actually owed.
- Bruno v. Phillips & Cohen Associates (2017): Class action targeting PCA letters that referenced IRS reporting – implying tax consequences to create pressure to pay, without adequate legal basis for that implication.
- Bower v. Phillips & Cohen Associates (2017): Alleged PCA failed to send the required written validation notice within five days of initial contact, depriving consumers of their 30-day dispute window.
- Felberbaum v. Phillips & Cohen Associates (2017): Proposed class action alleging PCA letters failed to disclose whether interest and fees were continuing to accrue – leaving consumers unable to determine the true amount they owed.
- Gajewski v. Phillips & Cohen Associates (2017): Alleged PCA sent misleading form letters regarding automobile debt.
- Rumpler v. Phillips & Cohen Associates (2002): An early case specifically concerning PCA’s attempts to collect debts from relatives of deceased individuals – the foundational legal precedent establishing that survivors are not automatically liable for a deceased person’s unsecured debt.
How to Remove Phillips & Cohen from Your Credit Report
To remove PCA from your credit report, the estate debt context creates specific grounds that standard disputes may miss.
- If the entry is for a deceased person’s debt and you are not a joint account holder – dispute immediately with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion with documentation that the debt belonged solely to the deceased. This entry should not appear on your personal credit report
- If the balance is inaccurate – the Polak and Felberbaum class actions establish that PCA has documented problems with balance disclosure. Compare their stated balance against original account documentation and dispute any discrepancy
- If validation was not provided within five days – the Bower case establishes this as a documented PCA pattern. Reference the missing validation notice in your bureau dispute
- Pay-for-delete – negotiate written deletion from all three bureaus before any payment. Get it in writing
- FCRA grounds – inaccurate PCA reporting gives you a separate Fair Credit Reporting Act claim
Why The Wood Firm PLLC Is the Right Call Against Phillips & Cohen
Contacting grieving family members about a deceased relative’s debt – and doing so with letters that courts have found misleading about the balance, the IRS consequences, and the validation window – is a documented pattern that requires specific legal knowledge to challenge.
Five simultaneous class actions against the same agency’s letter practices tell you this is not accidental. We know exactly what to look for in a PCA letter and exactly which defects give rise to actionable FDCPA claims.
The Wood Firm PLLC has handled FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA cases exclusively since 2010. Whether you owe the debt or not, we can help you. Contact stops within 48 hours of legal notice. You pay nothing unless we win.
Call +1-844-638-1122.
About Attorney Jeff Wood
Jeff Wood founded The Wood Firm PLLC exclusively for consumer protection – FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA cases. With over 15 years of experience and Of Counsel relationships in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia, he has never represented a creditor or collection agency.
We Have Helped People Like You
“Phillips & Cohen sent me a letter about my late husband’s credit card debt. I assumed I owed it. The Wood Firm PLLC confirmed I was not a joint account holder and had no legal obligation. They sent a cease-and-desist, the letters stopped, and they pursued a claim for the misleading letter language.”
— Client, Florida
“PCA called my workplace repeatedly after I told them my employer did not allow personal calls. The Wood Firm PLLC documented each call after that notice as an FDCPA violation and filed the claim. The calls stopped within 48 hours and I received statutory damages.”
— Client, Texas
“The PCA letter implied I could face IRS consequences if I did not pay my father’s debt. The Wood Firm PLLC identified that as matching the Bruno class action pattern – using IRS language to create false urgency. The claim settled and the credit entry was removed.”
— Client, New York
Whether You Owe The Debt Or Not, We Can Help You!
Free Consultation • No Upfront Costs • PCA Pays Our Fees If We Win
Common Questions About Phillips & Cohen Associates
Is Phillips & Cohen Associates a law firm or a debt collector?
A debt collector, not a law firm. Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd. is a third-party collection agency regulated by the FDCPA – the same federal law that governs all debt collectors.
I received a Phillips & Cohen letter about a deceased family member’s debt. Do I owe it?
Not automatically. Unless you were a joint account holder or co-signer, you generally have no legal obligation to pay a deceased relative’s unsecured debt. Call +1-844-638-1122 before responding or paying anything.
Who does Phillips & Cohen collect for?
Major banks including Citibank, financial institutions, and other creditors holding accounts at the time of a debtor’s death. They operate across the US, UK, and Canada.
What should I look for in a Phillips & Cohen letter?
Check for vague “current balance” language, IRS reporting references, missing 30-day validation notice, and failure to disclose whether interest is accruing – all documented in their five class actions. Each defect may be a standalone FDCPA violation.
Can I sue Phillips & Cohen even if the debt is real?
Yes. If their letter violated the FDCPA – misleading balance, missing validation notice, IRS reference, undisclosed interest – those are actionable regardless of whether the underlying debt is valid.
Is Phillips & Cohen legitimate or a scam?
Legitimate – a real collection agency operating since the 1990s. However, five simultaneous class actions targeting their letter practices and their documented pattern of contacting non-liable family members of deceased debtors make “legitimate” and “compliant” very different things.
