BOSTON -- When Paul Kelleher's 52-year old mother died of cancer at the end of January, she left no estate. As a courtesy, Kelleher said he called her creditors, including Bank of America, where her debt was about $1,000.

After getting an expression of condolence, Kelleher said the bank representative asked him how he planned to take care of his mother's balance. He told her he wasn't obligated to pay the debt, and added the bank should follow the necessary probate procedures.

"She told me that if it were her mom she would pay for it. And then she added insult to injury, and said that this is why we're in the financial crisis that we're in, that banks were having to write off defaulted loans," said Kelleher.

The bank issued a statement saying its estate associates are educated on how to handle sensitive calls. The statement said, "Many times, family members desire to make arrangements on the credit card balance."

Newscenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that Kelleher e-mailed his story to a popular political blog and the blog posted it. He said he was stunned to read comments from other people who had been in similar situations, and felt so much pressure from Bank of America and other companies that they actually paid bills they were not legally responsible for.

"It's outrageous and unfair to be told that cases like my mom's are partial causes of the financial crisis that we're in. I'm concerned that collection agents are pressured into saying the sorts of things that she said as company policy," said Kelleher.

Which is why Kelleher was speaking out. In these tough economic times, he said people don't need added pressure to pay debts they are not legally obligated to pay.