Robbery without a gun (contract scam)
Complaint
Stu Chisholm
Country: United States
NEVER DEAL WITH THESE CROOKS! I had a decent credit card processing company, but got a better offer from a competitor. They set me up with a cool wireless terminal and promised total support. Everything went well for quite a while, but two things happened: the economy tanked and my terminal stopped working. When I called the company, I was told that they wouldn't replace it, and any repairs would be out of my pocket. (NOT as promised.) I told them I didn't want it anymore and they gave me an RA number to return the unit. Several months later, I noticed that they'd still been sucking the lease fees out of my account! My bank branch manager got them locked out and even managed to get back some of the money they took. Shortly afterward, they threatened legal proceedings. Their contention: regardless of whether or not I GET anything for my money, they want to force me to pay them for the originally agreed upon term. I refused, as business has been so bad, I simply couldn't afford it anymore.
They scheduled a hearing in NY. I live in Michigan. Per the instructions, I submitted a letter to the arbitrator and the company. The following month I get a default judgment against me, saying that my letter didn't constitute an "appearance," and apparently was flat out rejected. Still, all communications came through LeaseSource, not from a court, which all looked bogus to me. Profanity-laced phonecalls and harrassment continued. Then, this AM, my branch called to say that my bank account is frozen and money is on hold. The timing is suspicious: my tax return just arrived.
Although I'm purchasing nothing from them, they insist that I owe them some $1,500.00. If they'll do all of this for my paltry little sum, imagine what they might do to your much larger business! STAY AWAY from them AND their lawyer lapdog, Joseph Sussman.
They scheduled a hearing in NY. I live in Michigan. Per the instructions, I submitted a letter to the arbitrator and the company. The following month I get a default judgment against me, saying that my letter didn't constitute an "appearance," and apparently was flat out rejected. Still, all communications came through LeaseSource, not from a court, which all looked bogus to me. Profanity-laced phonecalls and harrassment continued. Then, this AM, my branch called to say that my bank account is frozen and money is on hold. The timing is suspicious: my tax return just arrived.
Although I'm purchasing nothing from them, they insist that I owe them some $1,500.00. If they'll do all of this for my paltry little sum, imagine what they might do to your much larger business! STAY AWAY from them AND their lawyer lapdog, Joseph Sussman.
Comments
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/lease-sourceinc-northern-leasing-golden-eagle-leasingmdf-leasing/new-york-new-york-/lease-sourceinc-northern-leasing-golden-eagle-leasing-mdf-leasing-fraud-shakedown-and-437692
They have small business complaints of this "distant venue" tactic to enforce inequitable or fraudulent "terms", often not even disclosed, going back years. For a while, they were using New York courts for this purpose, but lawsuits and NY AG actions started catching up with them.
For example, the NY AG recently settled with Northern Leasing, only a month ago:
http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneid ... over-11m-scheme
"...
A.G. Schneiderman Reaches Settlement With Manhattan Equipment Leasing Company Over $11m Scheme To Steal From Customers’ Bank Accounts
Companies Drained Millions From Bank Accounts; Settlement Provides Restitution For Tens Of Thousands In New York And Nationwide
A.G. Schneiderman: Deceptive Practices Will Be Uncovered, Perpetrators Will Be Penalized And Victims Made Whole
NEW YORK – As part of National Consumer Fraud Week, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office has reached a multi-million dollar settlement with a group of New York City-based business equipment leasing companies that schemed to drain nearly $11 million from the bank accounts of small business customers in New York State and across the country.
Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., and its affiliates provided credit card processing machines and other equipment to small businesses – many of them mom-and-pop stores.As part of a coordinated effort, these companies siphoned over $3.6 million in unauthorized fees from the bank accounts of nearly 110,000 former customers before the scheme was discovered and they were stopped – preventing them from completing their plan to steal nearly $7 million in additional funds.This settlement concludes a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General in Manhattan Supreme Court in April 2012 against NLS and its partners.
“My office will go after companies who cheat the marketplace and use shell companies to pick the pockets of unsuspecting and hard-working business owners in New York and across the country,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “This settlement sends a clear message that deceptive business practices will not be tolerated in New York, and we will take action to help protect consumers and small businesses from fraud.”
As part of the settlement, the companies agreed to fully refund the more than $3.6 million they drained from their customers’ accounts in the spring of 2011.They also agreed to refrain from any efforts to collect the remaining approximately $7 million from customers targeted in the scheme – in some cases, up to 11 years after their victims’ equipment leases had expired.The companies are required to make automatic refunds to certain former customers and there will be a claims process for all other customers.Each customer participating in the settlement will receive 100% of the amount debited.
The companies will also pay $575,000 in costs, penalties and fees to the State of New York.
To disguise the scheme, Northern Leasing used a shell company, SKS Associates LLC, to mislead customers and avoid harming its business reputation.The scheme came to light when former customers, from New York to Texas and California, discovered automatic debits from their bank accounts by a company they had never heard of.
The settlement agreement with Northern Leasing and its affiliates - Lease Finance Group LLC, MBF Leasing LLC, Golden Eagle Leasing LLC and Lease Source-LSI, LLC - is the result of the Attorney General’s investigation into the SKS collection scheme. All of the companies operate out of 132 W. 31st St. in Manhattan.
..."
Several years ago, a debt collection conglomerate got caught with common ownership ties to an arbitration firm, NAF, along with ownership of their largest customers, Axiant and Mann Bracken, which used NAF to railroad through arbitration awards against consumers on an expedited basis. The Minnesota AG got wind of this undisclosed conflict of interest, as a result of some lawsuit, sued them, and within a week NAF settled and left the consumer credit card debt arbitration business, while Mann Bracken went into bankruptcy.
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/PDF/PressReleases/S ... tionCompany.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Arbitration_Forum
http://www.insidearm.com/daily/debt-collectio ... n-receivership/
Other bogus "kangaroo courts" have been employed by deceptive debt collectors, notably Unicredit in PA, which actually constructed a fake "court room" used to convince alleged debtors that they had lost in a "legal proceeding".
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010310309944
It isn't surprising that they might now try playing a fake "arbitration" game to accomplish the same thing, since they have become rather untrusted plaintiffs in NY courts.
You may be right, as it would be a strange practice for a supposedly "impartial" arbtrator to only respond indirectly through the plaintiff. If they are fake, that would be consistent with other deceptive tactics they have been caught engaging in.
Who is this "arbitrator" operating apparently to ensure that defendents not only lose, but lose by default through failing to meet undisclosed "personal appearance" "rules"? The major national arbitration firms don't have this requirement, and indeed if they did, it would destroy their credibility as a "less expensive way to resolve disputes" and undermine their claims of impartiality. It implies that this "arbitrator" is not one of the recognized national organizations, so who are they?
Since the NY AG just settled with them over deceptive and fraudulent practices, contact the NY AG to forward copies of the "arbitration award" and the finnagling they used to get it (if it's even an arbitration at all) for their investigation.
You aren't the original poster.
You aren't being scammed.
Or are all long posts meaningless to you?