Northern Leasing Company - Northern Leasing Systems ripoff dishonest fraudulent billing phantom contracts New York, New York

Read my story.

Everyone,

There a way too many people to thank, but I'll try.

My states Attorney General, Local Law Enforcement, The New York Better Business Bureaus.


I was recently sent a letter from Northern Leasings Attorney, they did not admit guilt, but they did Discontinue coming after me. I still have to regain my credit status, but right now this is a small victory.

PLEASE SEE ALL THE STEPS GIVEN TO ME. USE THEM AND FIGHT!

I love Rip Off.com

Here is a bunch of information that I have compiled on Northern Leasing. It is important to contact law enforcement immediately if you are a victim of forgery or fraud.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit, Pludeman vs Northern Leasing, is already in process. The lawsuit was brought by the law firm of Chittur & Associates on behalf of five clients.

They have already won a cause of action for fraud in the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York. As of July 2006, the lawsuit is going through the inevitable appeals process and Northern Leasing has filed for two appeal extensions in an effort to delay the process.

Chittur & Associates describes this lawsuit: ?A class action against Northern Leasing asserting a fraudulent scheme to entrap small businessmen fraudulently into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms. Plaintiffs assert that Northern Leasing deceptively sells these leases to small businessmen through what appears to be a standard-form one-page lease, complete with signatures, and a personal guaranty. Thereafter, it routinely charges and collects much more than what is specified in the first page, and foists several other liabilities on the unsuspecting small businessmen. When small businessmen raise questions, Northern Leasing finally reveals the existence of 3 additional pages which make the lease irrevocable, onerous, and virtually indefinite. Routinely, these pages and their contents are never disclosed to the small businessmen at the inception, and are not incorporated into the lease. Nevertheless, Northern Leasing saddles small businessmen with all these terms and enforces them strictly. The Court has upheld the fraud claim, and the claim for punitive damages, ruling that the "allegations address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations."

An article in the India Times also discusses the lawsuit:

?The New York Supreme Court has allowed fraud claims contained in a class action suit by small businesses against Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., a leading financier of credit card terminals and other small business items, to proceed to trial.

The suit, brought by New York attorney Krishnan Chittur, alleged that Northern Leasing had a scheme to ?entrap small businesses into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms.?

In an order signed April 7, Justice Shirley Klein Hetiler also upheld claims for punitive damages because the allegations ?address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations.? The suit was brought on behalf of four businessmen, Kevin Pludeman of Dallas, Texas; Chris Hanzsek of Seattle, Washington; Sarah Jane Hush and Ozark Granite & Tile Co., Ozark, Missouri and Deninis E. Lauchman, of Gilbertsville, New York.

?Plaintiffs had signed a one-page document, comprising of a lease and personal guaranty, to lease credit card terminals. They were manipulated to sign in a hurry so that at the time of signing, plaintiffs were kept unaware of allegedly additional three pages of the lease or their contents. This experience was uniform amongst unrelated persons across the country,? a press release from Chittur's office said. It said the plaintiffs were not alerted to the existence of the other pages or terms after the page on which they put their signatures. The lawsuit said the business owners were not given a copy of the lease but instead asked to call a special number and request for it. In certain cases, the signatures were forged, the suit said.

Northern Leasing electronically deducted much higher sums than those represented in the lease and continue the deductions long after the leases were to have expired, it said.

?When small businesspersons eventually discovered the scam and objected, defendants pointed to lease provisions requiring all legal proceedings to be in New York and other hitherto undisclosed provisions. Intimidated with lawsuits in New York, far away from their regular abode, small businesses across the country were faced with travel and litigation costs which easily exceeded defendants' demands,? it said. It said most small business owners succumbed and paid the money demanded. ?It is really rare for courts to uphold claims for punitive damages, and hence we are absolutely delighted that Justice Klein has done so,? Chittur said.

?We have been contacted by dozens of small businesses all over the country who have been victimized by this scam, and look forward to holding Northern Leasing and its principals accountable in court,? he said.

Here is the most pertinent exert from Justice Hetiler's ruling in the Pludeman vs Northern Leasing case:

?As stated earlier, the amended complaint alleges that the plaintiffs were mislead into believing that the four-page lease agreement and personal guaranty was a single page document as both the lease's acceptance and personal guaranty was on the first page; the first page of the document contains nothing incorporating the remaining three pages, which would alert the plaintiffs to the existence of additional pages, the defendant's representatives or salespersons never discussed, mentioned or even referred to the remaining three pages; that they were manipulated into signing in a hurry; that the lease agreement was clipped in a clip-board making it appear that the agreement was a single page document; that they were not given a copy of the lease agreement at the time they singed and that they had to telephone a special number and request a copy.

The law is well settled that a fraud may be committed by concealment as well by positive falsehood or misrepresentation. While mere silence may constitute a fraud if there exists a legal duty to communicate to the other party, the allegations in the amended complaint go well beyond mere silence. In addition to failing to disclose material terms, the amended complaint alleges conduct which might lull a party into a false sense of security that the lease agreement and personal guaranty were a single page document, deliberately concealing the other three pages of the agreement. While it is true that the signature page, contrary to the amended complaint, does refer to paragraph 11, which is found on page three of the agreement, the type size could constitute evidence of intentional deception under such circumstances.

This court finds that the amended complaint sufficiently alleges a cause of action for common-law fraud as against the corporate defendant NLS, pursuant to CPLR 3016(b) as well as the individual defendants based upon the allegations the individual defendants were officers of the corporation and that they participated in the fraud.

Also, contrary to defendants' position, this fraud claim is independent of any contract claim and where a party has fraudulently induced plaintiff to enter into a contract, it may be liable in tort.?

The fact that the court upheld the claim for punitive damages was a huge development. That means that the company can be sued for additional monetary damages beyond the scope of the lease term costs.

Also note that, in the case of fraud, the corporate veil of Northern Leasing will not shield its officers and associates from personal liability. Fraud victims will be able to sue them directly.

BBB COMPLAINTS

According to the Better Business Bureau of New York, ?This company leases various business products, including credit card processing equipment. The majority of complaints against this company pertain to the company's lease, which specifies that the lease cannot be cancelled, and can only be stopped when it is up for renewal. Consumers report that the company does not give sufficient warning of the contract's renewal date, and the lease requires 30 days notice prior to the renewal date in order to cancel it. Many consumers have noted that they either were not given access to the full lease at the time they purchased the company's services, or when presented with a 'copy' at a later date, indicate that the document is different from the one they signed. Consumers report extreme difficulty dealing with customer service, and also indicate that throughout this process the company continues to withdraw fees from their accounts.?

As of May 2006, 126 complaints have been filed against Northern Leasing at the New York Better Business Bureau in the last 12 months.

LEASECOMM

A company with very similar modus operandi, Leasecomm, was recently probed by the FTC. As part of the settlement, Leasecomm agreed to drop 24 million dollars worth of judgments. A couple of years later its parent company, MicroFinancial, abandoned LeaseComm (after being delisted from the NYSE) and has tried to resurrect it's business with a new company ? TimePayment.

?Leasecomm used sellers of highly suspect business opportunities to sell their financing, and then claimed it had no responsibility for their deception,? according to a statement from the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. ?Companies that try to hide behind the fine print in contracts and lie to consumers about what they're signing, whether directly or through agents, simply don't pass muster.?

The legal action against Leasecomm presents a clear roadmap on how to pursue Northern Leasing.

In a case recently decided in the Salem District Court (Massachusetts), Leasecomm Corporation vs Idorenyin Eme Akpaffiong, Akpaffiong won a counterclaim judgment for $164,890.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH NORTHERN LEASING

- Gather up all the relevant paperwork that you have. Obtain a copy of Pludeman vs Northern Leasing and other relevant court decisions. Print copies of fraud reports listed on RipoffReport.com. Print copies of the BBB web page for Northern Leasing. You can use all of this material to your advantage when contacting law enforcement.

- Issue a fraud alert with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax). This will stop everyone from reading your credit report. The first thing that Northern Leasing will do when you stop paying them or issue a stop payment on your bank account is reference your credit report. They will get your current address and phone number from your credit report and use it to harass you. The can also see your current credit card balances in this report.

- Request a copy of your lease from Northern Leasing in writing. Look for any forgeries or discrepancies.

- Do not try to placate them with money (unless you legitimately own them the money). Exercise your legal options listed below instead.

- Do not talk with them over the telephone ? simply hang up. Communicate with them over certified mail only so all communications are legally documented. Save all certified mail receipts and copies of all letters sent to Northern Leasing.

- If Northern Leasing obtains your phone number, they may put you on an auto-dialer that will make harassing phone calls several times per day. If they do this, send them a ?Cease Communications Letter? through certified mail. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they will then only be allowed to call you once per day. Examples of this type of letter are available on the Internet.

- Call your phone company and get the Caller ID feature installed. Most Caller ID systems allow you to place blocks on specific phone numbers.

- If Northern Leasing does manage to obtain a default judgment against you in New York, it is possible to get the three credit bureaus to drop the record from your credit report if you cite fraud.

- Go to your county's District Court web site and search for other victims and contact them. Share this information with them. Search under corporations and use the name "Northern Leasing". You can also search under "foreign judgments". If you know the attorney's name, you may also be able to search by that.

- Contact your local newspaper, business journal and television stations and inform them of the fraud. This will help others from being entrapped in the same scheme.

- Get signed affidavits from any witnesses that were present when the local sales representative presented the Northern Leasing lease paperwork to you.

- Beware of fake legal letters. If you get a letter that seems to be from an attorney, immediately verify their license status at the bar association of the state in which they practice. If there license is invalid or delinquent, report them to the state bar association and the state Attorney General.

LOW AND NO COST LEGAL OPTIONS TO FIGHT NORTHERN LEASING

In cases of fraud or forgery, it is important to notify law enforcement immediately. Do not wait for the results of the class action suit as these types of cases can takes years to work through the system!

- File a fraud complaint with the Federal Trade Commission of Consumer Protection (FTC) against Northern Leasing. Although they may not respond to your needs directly, it is important to file your complaint so they initiate a probe similar to the Leasecomm probe.

- File a fraud complaint with the New York State Attorney General office against Northern Leasing.

- File a fraud complaint with the state Attorney General office where the contract was signed against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a fraud complaint with your local police department against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a complaint with the New York State Consumer Protection Board against Northern Leasing.

- Sue the sales representative for the full cost of the lease in small claims court.

- If you haven't already, fully document your case with the Bad Business Bureau. They help organize class action suits.


STOP NORTHERN LEASING FROM DEBITING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

The first step is to send back the equipment to Northern Leasing. Include an official lease termination letter. Include your lease number if available. Make sure to save a copy of the shipping receipt and tracking number so that you can prove that you sent it later.

Next contact your bank and have them issue a stop payment because of fraud. You will need a copy of your last bank statement so that you can tell them which automatic clearing house (ACH) transaction to block. Make sure to have them block it for a wide dollar range (not just for the amount of the monthly payment) as Northern Leasing has been known to try to get around these blocks by debiting different dollar amounts.

Banks will not typically charge you to issue a stop payment in the case of fraud.

Some banks will also be able to recover monthly payments going back several months. They may ask you to fill out some paperwork (such as a fraud affidavit) to recover money.


NORTHERN LEASING ALSO OPERATES UNDER THESE ALIASES

- Golden Eagle Leasing LLC

- MDF Leasing


NORTHERN LEASING CONTACT INFORMATION

The official address and phone numbers are:

NORTHERN LEASING SYSTEMS INC.
132 West 31st St., 14th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Tel: 800.683.5433
Fax: 212.760.0862
E-Mail: contact@northernleasing.com

The company is also known to have operated from these addresses:

Northern Leasing Systems
525 Campanelli Industrial Drive
Brockton, NY 02301

Northern Leasing Systems
333 Seventh Ave
New York, NY 10001

Northern Leasing Systems
PO Box 1027
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1027

Here is a bunch of information that I have compiled on Northern Leasing. It is important to contact law enforcement immediately if you are a victim of forgery or fraud.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit, Pludeman vs Northern Leasing, is already in process. The lawsuit was brought by the law firm of Chittur & Associates on behalf of five clients.

They have already won a cause of action for fraud in the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York. As of July 2006, the lawsuit is going through the inevitable appeals process and Northern Leasing has filed for two appeal extensions in an effort to delay the process.

Chittur & Associates describes this lawsuit: ?A class action against Northern Leasing asserting a fraudulent scheme to entrap small businessmen fraudulently into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms. Plaintiffs assert that Northern Leasing deceptively sells these leases to small businessmen through what appears to be a standard-form one-page lease, complete with signatures, and a personal guaranty. Thereafter, it routinely charges and collects much more than what is specified in the first page, and foists several other liabilities on the unsuspecting small businessmen. When small businessmen raise questions, Northern Leasing finally reveals the existence of 3 additional pages which make the lease irrevocable, onerous, and virtually indefinite. Routinely, these pages and their contents are never disclosed to the small businessmen at the inception, and are not incorporated into the lease. Nevertheless, Northern Leasing saddles small businessmen with all these terms and enforces them strictly. The Court has upheld the fraud claim, and the claim for punitive damages, ruling that the "allegations address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations."

An article in the India Times also discusses the lawsuit:

?The New York Supreme Court has allowed fraud claims contained in a class action suit by small businesses against Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., a leading financier of credit card terminals and other small business items, to proceed to trial.

The suit, brought by New York attorney Krishnan Chittur, alleged that Northern Leasing had a scheme to ?entrap small businesses into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms.?

In an order signed April 7, Justice Shirley Klein Hetiler also upheld claims for punitive damages because the allegations ?address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations.? The suit was brought on behalf of four businessmen, Kevin Pludeman of Dallas, Texas; Chris Hanzsek of Seattle, Washington; Sarah Jane Hush and Ozark Granite & Tile Co., Ozark, Missouri and Deninis E. Lauchman, of Gilbertsville, New York.

?Plaintiffs had signed a one-page document, comprising of a lease and personal guaranty, to lease credit card terminals. They were manipulated to sign in a hurry so that at the time of signing, plaintiffs were kept unaware of allegedly additional three pages of the lease or their contents. This experience was uniform amongst unrelated persons across the country,? a press release from Chittur's office said. It said the plaintiffs were not alerted to the existence of the other pages or terms after the page on which they put their signatures. The lawsuit said the business owners were not given a copy of the lease but instead asked to call a special number and request for it. In certain cases, the signatures were forged, the suit said.

Northern Leasing electronically deducted much higher sums than those represented in the lease and continue the deductions long after the leases were to have expired, it said.

?When small businesspersons eventually discovered the scam and objected, defendants pointed to lease provisions requiring all legal proceedings to be in New York and other hitherto undisclosed provisions. Intimidated with lawsuits in New York, far away from their regular abode, small businesses across the country were faced with travel and litigation costs which easily exceeded defendants' demands,? it said. It said most small business owners succumbed and paid the money demanded. ?It is really rare for courts to uphold claims for punitive damages, and hence we are absolutely delighted that Justice Klein has done so,? Chittur said.

?We have been contacted by dozens of small businesses all over the country who have been victimized by this scam, and look forward to holding Northern Leasing and its principals accountable in court,? he said.

Here is the most pertinent exert from Justice Hetiler's ruling in the Pludeman vs Northern Leasing case:

?As stated earlier, the amended complaint alleges that the plaintiffs were mislead into believing that the four-page lease agreement and personal guaranty was a single page document as both the lease's acceptance and personal guaranty was on the first page; the first page of the document contains nothing incorporating the remaining three pages, which would alert the plaintiffs to the existence of additional pages, the defendant's representatives or salespersons never discussed, mentioned or even referred to the remaining three pages; that they were manipulated into signing in a hurry; that the lease agreement was clipped in a clip-board making it appear that the agreement was a single page document; that they were not given a copy of the lease agreement at the time they singed and that they had to telephone a special number and request a copy.

The law is well settled that a fraud may be committed by concealment as well by positive falsehood or misrepresentation. While mere silence may constitute a fraud if there exists a legal duty to communicate to the other party, the allegations in the amended complaint go well beyond mere silence. In addition to failing to disclose material terms, the amended complaint alleges conduct which might lull a party into a false sense of security that the lease agreement and personal guaranty were a single page document, deliberately concealing the other three pages of the agreement. While it is true that the signature page, contrary to the amended complaint, does refer to paragraph 11, which is found on page three of the agreement, the type size could constitute evidence of intentional deception under such circumstances.

This court finds that the amended complaint sufficiently alleges a cause of action for common-law fraud as against the corporate defendant NLS, pursuant to CPLR 3016(b) as well as the individual defendants based upon the allegations the individual defendants were officers of the corporation and that they participated in the fraud.

Also, contrary to defendants' position, this fraud claim is independent of any contract claim and where a party has fraudulently induced plaintiff to enter into a contract, it may be liable in tort.?

The fact that the court upheld the claim for punitive damages was a huge development. That means that the company can be sued for additional monetary damages beyond the scope of the lease term costs.

Also note that, in the case of fraud, the corporate veil of Northern Leasing will not shield its officers and associates from personal liability. Fraud victims will be able to sue them directly.

BBB COMPLAINTS

According to the Better Business Bureau of New York, ?This company leases various business products, including credit card processing equipment. The majority of complaints against this company pertain to the company's lease, which specifies that the lease cannot be cancelled, and can only be stopped when it is up for renewal. Consumers report that the company does not give sufficient warning of the contract's renewal date, and the lease requires 30 days notice prior to the renewal date in order to cancel it. Many consumers have noted that they either were not given access to the full lease at the time they purchased the company's services, or when presented with a 'copy' at a later date, indicate that the document is different from the one they signed. Consumers report extreme difficulty dealing with customer service, and also indicate that throughout this process the company continues to withdraw fees from their accounts.?

As of May 2006, 126 complaints have been filed against Northern Leasing at the New York Better Business Bureau in the last 12 months.

LEASECOMM

A company with very similar modus operandi, Leasecomm, was recently probed by the FTC. As part of the settlement, Leasecomm agreed to drop 24 million dollars worth of judgments. A couple of years later its parent company, MicroFinancial, abandoned LeaseComm (after being delisted from the NYSE) and has tried to resurrect it's business with a new company ? TimePayment.

?Leasecomm used sellers of highly suspect business opportunities to sell their financing, and then claimed it had no responsibility for their deception,? according to a statement from the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. ?Companies that try to hide behind the fine print in contracts and lie to consumers about what they're signing, whether directly or through agents, simply don't pass muster.?

The legal action against Leasecomm presents a clear roadmap on how to pursue Northern Leasing.

In a case recently decided in the Salem District Court (Massachusetts), Leasecomm Corporation vs Idorenyin Eme Akpaffiong, Akpaffiong won a counterclaim judgment for $164,890.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH NORTHERN LEASING

- Gather up all the relevant paperwork that you have. Obtain a copy of Pludeman vs Northern Leasing and other relevant court decisions. Print copies of fraud reports listed on RipoffReport.com. Print copies of the BBB web page for Northern Leasing. You can use all of this material to your advantage when contacting law enforcement.

- Issue a fraud alert with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax). This will stop everyone from reading your credit report. The first thing that Northern Leasing will do when you stop paying them or issue a stop payment on your bank account is reference your credit report. They will get your current address and phone number from your credit report and use it to harass you. The can also see your current credit card balances in this report.

- Request a copy of your lease from Northern Leasing in writing. Look for any forgeries or discrepancies.

- Do not try to placate them with money (unless you legitimately own them the money). Exercise your legal options listed below instead.

- Do not talk with them over the telephone ? simply hang up. Communicate with them over certified mail only so all communications are legally documented. Save all certified mail receipts and copies of all letters sent to Northern Leasing.

- If Northern Leasing obtains your phone number, they may put you on an auto-dialer that will make harassing phone calls several times per day. If they do this, send them a ?Cease Communications Letter? through certified mail. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they will then only be allowed to call you once per day. Examples of this type of letter are available on the Internet.

- Call your phone company and get the Caller ID feature installed. Most Caller ID systems allow you to place blocks on specific phone numbers.

- If Northern Leasing does manage to obtain a default judgment against you in New York, it is possible to get the three credit bureaus to drop the record from your credit report if you cite fraud.

- Go to your county's District Court web site and search for other victims and contact them. Share this information with them. Search under corporations and use the name "Northern Leasing". You can also search under "foreign judgments". If you know the attorney's name, you may also be able to search by that.

- Contact your local newspaper, business journal and television stations and inform them of the fraud. This will help others from being entrapped in the same scheme.

- Get signed affidavits from any witnesses that were present when the local sales representative presented the Northern Leasing lease paperwork to you.

- Beware of fake legal letters. If you get a letter that seems to be from an attorney, immediately verify their license status at the bar association of the state in which they practice. If there license is invalid or delinquent, report them to the state bar association and the state Attorney General.

LOW AND NO COST LEGAL OPTIONS TO FIGHT NORTHERN LEASING

In cases of fraud or forgery, it is important to notify law enforcement immediately. Do not wait for the results of the class action suit as these types of cases can takes years to work through the system!

- File a fraud complaint with the Federal Trade Commission of Consumer Protection (FTC) against Northern Leasing. Although they may not respond to your needs directly, it is important to file your complaint so they initiate a probe similar to the Leasecomm probe.

- File a fraud complaint with the New York State Attorney General office against Northern Leasing.

- File a fraud complaint with the state Attorney General office where the contract was signed against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a fraud complaint with your local police department against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a complaint with the New York State Consumer Protection Board against Northern Leasing.

- Sue the sales representative for the full cost of the lease in small claims court.

- If you haven't already, fully document your case with the Bad Business Bureau. They help organize class action suits.


STOP NORTHERN LEASING FROM DEBITING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

The first step is to send back the equipment to Northern Leasing. Include an official lease termination letter. Include your lease number if available. Make sure to save a copy of the shipping receipt and tracking number so that you can prove that you sent it later.

Next contact your bank and have them issue a stop payment because of fraud. You will need a copy of your last bank statement so that you can tell them which automatic clearing house (ACH) transaction to block. Make sure to have them block it for a wide dollar range (not just for the amount of the monthly payment) as Northern Leasing has been known to try to get around these blocks by debiting different dollar amounts.

Banks will not typically charge you to issue a stop payment in the case of fraud.

Some banks will also be able to recover monthly payments going back several months. They may ask you to fill out some paperwork (such as a fraud affidavit) to recover money.


NORTHERN LEASING ALSO OPERATES UNDER THESE ALIASES

- Golden Eagle Leasing LLC

- MDF Leasing


NORTHERN LEASING CONTACT INFORMATION

The official address and phone numbers are:

NORTHERN LEASING SYSTEMS INC.
132 West 31st St., 14th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Tel: 800.683.5433
Fax: 212.760.0862
E-Mail: contact@northernleasing.com

The company is also known to have operated from these addresses:

Northern Leasing Systems
525 Campanelli Industrial Drive
Brockton, NY 02301

Northern Leasing Systems
333 Seventh Ave
New York, NY 10001

Northern Leasing Systems
PO Box 1027
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1027

Here is a bunch of information that I have compiled on Northern Leasing. It is important to contact law enforcement immediately if you are a victim of forgery or fraud.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit, Pludeman vs Northern Leasing, is already in process. The lawsuit was brought by the law firm of Chittur & Associates on behalf of five clients.

They have already won a cause of action for fraud in the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York. As of July 2006, the lawsuit is going through the inevitable appeals process and Northern Leasing has filed for two appeal extensions in an effort to delay the process.

Chittur & Associates describes this lawsuit: ?A class action against Northern Leasing asserting a fraudulent scheme to entrap small businessmen fraudulently into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms. Plaintiffs assert that Northern Leasing deceptively sells these leases to small businessmen through what appears to be a standard-form one-page lease, complete with signatures, and a personal guaranty. Thereafter, it routinely charges and collects much more than what is specified in the first page, and foists several other liabilities on the unsuspecting small businessmen. When small businessmen raise questions, Northern Leasing finally reveals the existence of 3 additional pages which make the lease irrevocable, onerous, and virtually indefinite. Routinely, these pages and their contents are never disclosed to the small businessmen at the inception, and are not incorporated into the lease. Nevertheless, Northern Leasing saddles small businessmen with all these terms and enforces them strictly. The Court has upheld the fraud claim, and the claim for punitive damages, ruling that the "allegations address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations."

An article in the India Times also discusses the lawsuit:

?The New York Supreme Court has allowed fraud claims contained in a class action suit by small businesses against Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., a leading financier of credit card terminals and other small business items, to proceed to trial.

The suit, brought by New York attorney Krishnan Chittur, alleged that Northern Leasing had a scheme to ?entrap small businesses into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms.?

In an order signed April 7, Justice Shirley Klein Hetiler also upheld claims for punitive damages because the allegations ?address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations.? The suit was brought on behalf of four businessmen, Kevin Pludeman of Dallas, Texas; Chris Hanzsek of Seattle, Washington; Sarah Jane Hush and Ozark Granite & Tile Co., Ozark, Missouri and Deninis E. Lauchman, of Gilbertsville, New York.

?Plaintiffs had signed a one-page document, comprising of a lease and personal guaranty, to lease credit card terminals. They were manipulated to sign in a hurry so that at the time of signing, plaintiffs were kept unaware of allegedly additional three pages of the lease or their contents. This experience was uniform amongst unrelated persons across the country,? a press release from Chittur's office said. It said the plaintiffs were not alerted to the existence of the other pages or terms after the page on which they put their signatures. The lawsuit said the business owners were not given a copy of the lease but instead asked to call a special number and request for it. In certain cases, the signatures were forged, the suit said.

Northern Leasing electronically deducted much higher sums than those represented in the lease and continue the deductions long after the leases were to have expired, it said.

?When small businesspersons eventually discovered the scam and objected, defendants pointed to lease provisions requiring all legal proceedings to be in New York and other hitherto undisclosed provisions. Intimidated with lawsuits in New York, far away from their regular abode, small businesses across the country were faced with travel and litigation costs which easily exceeded defendants' demands,? it said. It said most small business owners succumbed and paid the money demanded. ?It is really rare for courts to uphold claims for punitive damages, and hence we are absolutely delighted that Justice Klein has done so,? Chittur said.

?We have been contacted by dozens of small businesses all over the country who have been victimized by this scam, and look forward to holding Northern Leasing and its principals accountable in court,? he said.

Here is the most pertinent exert from Justice Hetiler's ruling in the Pludeman vs Northern Leasing case:

?As stated earlier, the amended complaint alleges that the plaintiffs were mislead into believing that the four-page lease agreement and personal guaranty was a single page document as both the lease's acceptance and personal guaranty was on the first page; the first page of the document contains nothing incorporating the remaining three pages, which would alert the plaintiffs to the existence of additional pages, the defendant's representatives or salespersons never discussed, mentioned or even referred to the remaining three pages; that they were manipulated into signing in a hurry; that the lease agreement was clipped in a clip-board making it appear that the agreement was a single page document; that they were not given a copy of the lease agreement at the time they singed and that they had to telephone a special number and request a copy.

The law is well settled that a fraud may be committed by concealment as well by positive falsehood or misrepresentation. While mere silence may constitute a fraud if there exists a legal duty to communicate to the other party, the allegations in the amended complaint go well beyond mere silence. In addition to failing to disclose material terms, the amended complaint alleges conduct which might lull a party into a false sense of security that the lease agreement and personal guaranty were a single page document, deliberately concealing the other three pages of the agreement. While it is true that the signature page, contrary to the amended complaint, does refer to paragraph 11, which is found on page three of the agreement, the type size could constitute evidence of intentional deception under such circumstances.

This court finds that the amended complaint sufficiently alleges a cause of action for common-law fraud as against the corporate defendant NLS, pursuant to CPLR 3016(b) as well as the individual defendants based upon the allegations the individual defendants were officers of the corporation and that they participated in the fraud.

Also, contrary to defendants' position, this fraud claim is independent of any contract claim and where a party has fraudulently induced plaintiff to enter into a contract, it may be liable in tort.?

The fact that the court upheld the claim for punitive damages was a huge development. That means that the company can be sued for additional monetary damages beyond the scope of the lease term costs.

Also note that, in the case of fraud, the corporate veil of Northern Leasing will not shield its officers and associates from personal liability. Fraud victims will be able to sue them directly.

BBB COMPLAINTS

According to the Better Business Bureau of New York, ?This company leases various business products, including credit card processing equipment. The majority of complaints against this company pertain to the company's lease, which specifies that the lease cannot be cancelled, and can only be stopped when it is up for renewal. Consumers report that the company does not give sufficient warning of the contract's renewal date, and the lease requires 30 days notice prior to the renewal date in order to cancel it. Many consumers have noted that they either were not given access to the full lease at the time they purchased the company's services, or when presented with a 'copy' at a later date, indicate that the document is different from the one they signed. Consumers report extreme difficulty dealing with customer service, and also indicate that throughout this process the company continues to withdraw fees from their accounts.?

As of May 2006, 126 complaints have been filed against Northern Leasing at the New York Better Business Bureau in the last 12 months.

LEASECOMM

A company with very similar modus operandi, Leasecomm, was recently probed by the FTC. As part of the settlement, Leasecomm agreed to drop 24 million dollars worth of judgments. A couple of years later its parent company, MicroFinancial, abandoned LeaseComm (after being delisted from the NYSE) and has tried to resurrect it's business with a new company ? TimePayment.

?Leasecomm used sellers of highly suspect business opportunities to sell their financing, and then claimed it had no responsibility for their deception,? according to a statement from the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. ?Companies that try to hide behind the fine print in contracts and lie to consumers about what they're signing, whether directly or through agents, simply don't pass muster.?

The legal action against Leasecomm presents a clear roadmap on how to pursue Northern Leasing.

In a case recently decided in the Salem District Court (Massachusetts), Leasecomm Corporation vs Idorenyin Eme Akpaffiong, Akpaffiong won a counterclaim judgment for $164,890.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH NORTHERN LEASING

- Gather up all the relevant paperwork that you have. Obtain a copy of Pludeman vs Northern Leasing and other relevant court decisions. Print copies of fraud reports listed on RipoffReport.com. Print copies of the BBB web page for Northern Leasing. You can use all of this material to your advantage when contacting law enforcement.

- Issue a fraud alert with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax). This will stop everyone from reading your credit report. The first thing that Northern Leasing will do when you stop paying them or issue a stop payment on your bank account is reference your credit report. They will get your current address and phone number from your credit report and use it to harass you. The can also see your current credit card balances in this report.

- Request a copy of your lease from Northern Leasing in writing. Look for any forgeries or discrepancies.

- Do not try to placate them with money (unless you legitimately own them the money). Exercise your legal options listed below instead.

- Do not talk with them over the telephone ? simply hang up. Communicate with them over certified mail only so all communications are legally documented. Save all certified mail receipts and copies of all letters sent to Northern Leasing.

- If Northern Leasing obtains your phone number, they may put you on an auto-dialer that will make harassing phone calls several times per day. If they do this, send them a ?Cease Communications Letter? through certified mail. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they will then only be allowed to call you once per day. Examples of this type of letter are available on the Internet.

- Call your phone company and get the Caller ID feature installed. Most Caller ID systems allow you to place blocks on specific phone numbers.

- If Northern Leasing does manage to obtain a default judgment against you in New York, it is possible to get the three credit bureaus to drop the record from your credit report if you cite fraud.

- Go to your county's District Court web site and search for other victims and contact them. Share this information with them. Search under corporations and use the name "Northern Leasing". You can also search under "foreign judgments". If you know the attorney's name, you may also be able to search by that.

- Contact your local newspaper, business journal and television stations and inform them of the fraud. This will help others from being entrapped in the same scheme.

- Get signed affidavits from any witnesses that were present when the local sales representative presented the Northern Leasing lease paperwork to you.

- Beware of fake legal letters. If you get a letter that seems to be from an attorney, immediately verify their license status at the bar association of the state in which they practice. If there license is invalid or delinquent, report them to the state bar association and the state Attorney General.

LOW AND NO COST LEGAL OPTIONS TO FIGHT NORTHERN LEASING

In cases of fraud or forgery, it is important to notify law enforcement immediately. Do not wait for the results of the class action suit as these types of cases can takes years to work through the system!

- File a fraud complaint with the Federal Trade Commission of Consumer Protection (FTC) against Northern Leasing. Although they may not respond to your needs directly, it is important to file your complaint so they initiate a probe similar to the Leasecomm probe.

- File a fraud complaint with the New York State Attorney General office against Northern Leasing.

- File a fraud complaint with the state Attorney General office where the contract was signed against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a fraud complaint with your local police department against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a complaint with the New York State Consumer Protection Board against Northern Leasing.

- Sue the sales representative for the full cost of the lease in small claims court.

- If you haven't already, fully document your case with the Bad Business Bureau. They help organize class action suits.


STOP NORTHERN LEASING FROM DEBITING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

The first step is to send back the equipment to Northern Leasing. Include an official lease termination letter. Include your lease number if available. Make sure to save a copy of the shipping receipt and tracking number so that you can prove that you sent it later.

Next contact your bank and have them issue a stop payment because of fraud. You will need a copy of your last bank statement so that you can tell them which automatic clearing house (ACH) transaction to block. Make sure to have them block it for a wide dollar range (not just for the amount of the monthly payment) as Northern Leasing has been known to try to get around these blocks by debiting different dollar amounts.

Banks will not typically charge you to issue a stop payment in the case of fraud.

Some banks will also be able to recover monthly payments going back several months. They may ask you to fill out some paperwork (such as a fraud affidavit) to recover money.


NORTHERN LEASING ALSO OPERATES UNDER THESE ALIASES

- Golden Eagle Leasing LLC

- MDF Leasing


NORTHERN LEASING CONTACT INFORMATION

The official address and phone numbers are:

NORTHERN LEASING SYSTEMS INC.
132 West 31st St., 14th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Tel: 800.683.5433
Fax: 212.760.0862
E-Mail: contact@northernleasing.com

The company is also known to have operated from these addresses:

Northern Leasing Systems
525 Campanelli Industrial Drive
Brockton, NY 02301

Northern Leasing Systems
333 Seventh Ave
New York, NY 10001

Northern Leasing Systems
PO Box 1027
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1027

Here is a bunch of information that I have compiled on Northern Leasing. It is important to contact law enforcement immediately if you are a victim of forgery or fraud.

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

A class action lawsuit, Pludeman vs Northern Leasing, is already in process. The lawsuit was brought by the law firm of Chittur & Associates on behalf of five clients.

They have already won a cause of action for fraud in the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York. As of July 2006, the lawsuit is going through the inevitable appeals process and Northern Leasing has filed for two appeal extensions in an effort to delay the process.

Chittur & Associates describes this lawsuit: ?A class action against Northern Leasing asserting a fraudulent scheme to entrap small businessmen fraudulently into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms. Plaintiffs assert that Northern Leasing deceptively sells these leases to small businessmen through what appears to be a standard-form one-page lease, complete with signatures, and a personal guaranty. Thereafter, it routinely charges and collects much more than what is specified in the first page, and foists several other liabilities on the unsuspecting small businessmen. When small businessmen raise questions, Northern Leasing finally reveals the existence of 3 additional pages which make the lease irrevocable, onerous, and virtually indefinite. Routinely, these pages and their contents are never disclosed to the small businessmen at the inception, and are not incorporated into the lease. Nevertheless, Northern Leasing saddles small businessmen with all these terms and enforces them strictly. The Court has upheld the fraud claim, and the claim for punitive damages, ruling that the "allegations address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations."

An article in the India Times also discusses the lawsuit:

?The New York Supreme Court has allowed fraud claims contained in a class action suit by small businesses against Northern Leasing Systems, Inc., a leading financier of credit card terminals and other small business items, to proceed to trial.

The suit, brought by New York attorney Krishnan Chittur, alleged that Northern Leasing had a scheme to ?entrap small businesses into equipment leases with undisclosed charges and onerous terms.?

In an order signed April 7, Justice Shirley Klein Hetiler also upheld claims for punitive damages because the allegations ?address more than a private wrong contending that defendants engaged in a course of conduct throughout the United States with such wanton dishonesty as to imply a criminal indifference to civil obligations.? The suit was brought on behalf of four businessmen, Kevin Pludeman of Dallas, Texas; Chris Hanzsek of Seattle, Washington; Sarah Jane Hush and Ozark Granite & Tile Co., Ozark, Missouri and Deninis E. Lauchman, of Gilbertsville, New York.

?Plaintiffs had signed a one-page document, comprising of a lease and personal guaranty, to lease credit card terminals. They were manipulated to sign in a hurry so that at the time of signing, plaintiffs were kept unaware of allegedly additional three pages of the lease or their contents. This experience was uniform amongst unrelated persons across the country,? a press release from Chittur's office said. It said the plaintiffs were not alerted to the existence of the other pages or terms after the page on which they put their signatures. The lawsuit said the business owners were not given a copy of the lease but instead asked to call a special number and request for it. In certain cases, the signatures were forged, the suit said.

Northern Leasing electronically deducted much higher sums than those represented in the lease and continue the deductions long after the leases were to have expired, it said.

?When small businesspersons eventually discovered the scam and objected, defendants pointed to lease provisions requiring all legal proceedings to be in New York and other hitherto undisclosed provisions. Intimidated with lawsuits in New York, far away from their regular abode, small businesses across the country were faced with travel and litigation costs which easily exceeded defendants' demands,? it said. It said most small business owners succumbed and paid the money demanded. ?It is really rare for courts to uphold claims for punitive damages, and hence we are absolutely delighted that Justice Klein has done so,? Chittur said.

?We have been contacted by dozens of small businesses all over the country who have been victimized by this scam, and look forward to holding Northern Leasing and its principals accountable in court,? he said.

Here is the most pertinent exert from Justice Hetiler's ruling in the Pludeman vs Northern Leasing case:

?As stated earlier, the amended complaint alleges that the plaintiffs were mislead into believing that the four-page lease agreement and personal guaranty was a single page document as both the lease's acceptance and personal guaranty was on the first page; the first page of the document contains nothing incorporating the remaining three pages, which would alert the plaintiffs to the existence of additional pages, the defendant's representatives or salespersons never discussed, mentioned or even referred to the remaining three pages; that they were manipulated into signing in a hurry; that the lease agreement was clipped in a clip-board making it appear that the agreement was a single page document; that they were not given a copy of the lease agreement at the time they singed and that they had to telephone a special number and request a copy.

The law is well settled that a fraud may be committed by concealment as well by positive falsehood or misrepresentation. While mere silence may constitute a fraud if there exists a legal duty to communicate to the other party, the allegations in the amended complaint go well beyond mere silence. In addition to failing to disclose material terms, the amended complaint alleges conduct which might lull a party into a false sense of security that the lease agreement and personal guaranty were a single page document, deliberately concealing the other three pages of the agreement. While it is true that the signature page, contrary to the amended complaint, does refer to paragraph 11, which is found on page three of the agreement, the type size could constitute evidence of intentional deception under such circumstances.

This court finds that the amended complaint sufficiently alleges a cause of action for common-law fraud as against the corporate defendant NLS, pursuant to CPLR 3016(b) as well as the individual defendants based upon the allegations the individual defendants were officers of the corporation and that they participated in the fraud.

Also, contrary to defendants' position, this fraud claim is independent of any contract claim and where a party has fraudulently induced plaintiff to enter into a contract, it may be liable in tort.?

The fact that the court upheld the claim for punitive damages was a huge development. That means that the company can be sued for additional monetary damages beyond the scope of the lease term costs.

Also note that, in the case of fraud, the corporate veil of Northern Leasing will not shield its officers and associates from personal liability. Fraud victims will be able to sue them directly.

BBB COMPLAINTS

According to the Better Business Bureau of New York, ?This company leases various business products, including credit card processing equipment. The majority of complaints against this company pertain to the company's lease, which specifies that the lease cannot be cancelled, and can only be stopped when it is up for renewal. Consumers report that the company does not give sufficient warning of the contract's renewal date, and the lease requires 30 days notice prior to the renewal date in order to cancel it. Many consumers have noted that they either were not given access to the full lease at the time they purchased the company's services, or when presented with a 'copy' at a later date, indicate that the document is different from the one they signed. Consumers report extreme difficulty dealing with customer service, and also indicate that throughout this process the company continues to withdraw fees from their accounts.?

As of May 2006, 126 complaints have been filed against Northern Leasing at the New York Better Business Bureau in the last 12 months.

LEASECOMM

A company with very similar modus operandi, Leasecomm, was recently probed by the FTC. As part of the settlement, Leasecomm agreed to drop 24 million dollars worth of judgments. A couple of years later its parent company, MicroFinancial, abandoned LeaseComm (after being delisted from the NYSE) and has tried to resurrect it's business with a new company ? TimePayment.

?Leasecomm used sellers of highly suspect business opportunities to sell their financing, and then claimed it had no responsibility for their deception,? according to a statement from the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. ?Companies that try to hide behind the fine print in contracts and lie to consumers about what they're signing, whether directly or through agents, simply don't pass muster.?

The legal action against Leasecomm presents a clear roadmap on how to pursue Northern Leasing.

In a case recently decided in the Salem District Court (Massachusetts), Leasecomm Corporation vs Idorenyin Eme Akpaffiong, Akpaffiong won a counterclaim judgment for $164,890.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH NORTHERN LEASING

- Gather up all the relevant paperwork that you have. Obtain a copy of Pludeman vs Northern Leasing and other relevant court decisions. Print copies of fraud reports listed on RipoffReport.com. Print copies of the BBB web page for Northern Leasing. You can use all of this material to your advantage when contacting law enforcement.

- Issue a fraud alert with the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax). This will stop everyone from reading your credit report. The first thing that Northern Leasing will do when you stop paying them or issue a stop payment on your bank account is reference your credit report. They will get your current address and phone number from your credit report and use it to harass you. The can also see your current credit card balances in this report.

- Request a copy of your lease from Northern Leasing in writing. Look for any forgeries or discrepancies.

- Do not try to placate them with money (unless you legitimately own them the money). Exercise your legal options listed below instead.

- Do not talk with them over the telephone ? simply hang up. Communicate with them over certified mail only so all communications are legally documented. Save all certified mail receipts and copies of all letters sent to Northern Leasing.

- If Northern Leasing obtains your phone number, they may put you on an auto-dialer that will make harassing phone calls several times per day. If they do this, send them a ?Cease Communications Letter? through certified mail. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they will then only be allowed to call you once per day. Examples of this type of letter are available on the Internet.

- Call your phone company and get the Caller ID feature installed. Most Caller ID systems allow you to place blocks on specific phone numbers.

- If Northern Leasing does manage to obtain a default judgment against you in New York, it is possible to get the three credit bureaus to drop the record from your credit report if you cite fraud.

- Go to your county's District Court web site and search for other victims and contact them. Share this information with them. Search under corporations and use the name "Northern Leasing". You can also search under "foreign judgments". If you know the attorney's name, you may also be able to search by that.

- Contact your local newspaper, business journal and television stations and inform them of the fraud. This will help others from being entrapped in the same scheme.

- Get signed affidavits from any witnesses that were present when the local sales representative presented the Northern Leasing lease paperwork to you.

- Beware of fake legal letters. If you get a letter that seems to be from an attorney, immediately verify their license status at the bar association of the state in which they practice. If there license is invalid or delinquent, report them to the state bar association and the state Attorney General.

LOW AND NO COST LEGAL OPTIONS TO FIGHT NORTHERN LEASING

In cases of fraud or forgery, it is important to notify law enforcement immediately. Do not wait for the results of the class action suit as these types of cases can takes years to work through the system!

- File a fraud complaint with the Federal Trade Commission of Consumer Protection (FTC) against Northern Leasing. Although they may not respond to your needs directly, it is important to file your complaint so they initiate a probe similar to the Leasecomm probe.

- File a fraud complaint with the New York State Attorney General office against Northern Leasing.

- File a fraud complaint with the state Attorney General office where the contract was signed against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a fraud complaint with your local police department against both Northern Leasing and their local sales representative.

- File a complaint with the New York State Consumer Protection Board against Northern Leasing.

- Sue the sales representative for the full cost of the lease in small claims court.

- If you haven't already, fully document your case with the Bad Business Bureau. They help organize class action suits.


STOP NORTHERN LEASING FROM DEBITING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

The first step is to send back the equipment to Northern Leasing. Include an official lease termination letter. Include your lease number if available. Make sure to save a copy of the shipping receipt and tracking number so that you can prove that you sent it later.

Next contact your bank and have them issue a stop payment because of fraud. You will need a copy of your last bank statement so that you can tell them which automatic clearing house (ACH) transaction to block. Make sure to have them block it for a wide dollar range (not just for the amount of the monthly payment) as Northern Leasing has been known to try to get around these blocks by debiting different dollar amounts.

Banks will not typically charge you to issue a stop payment in the case of fraud.

Some banks will also be able to recover monthly payments going back several months. They may ask you to fill out some paperwork (such as a fraud affidavit) to recover money.


NORTHERN LEASING ALSO OPERATES UNDER THESE ALIASES

- Golden Eagle Leasing LLC

- MDF Leasing


NORTHERN LEASING CONTACT INFORMATION

The official address and phone numbers are:

NORTHERN LEASING SYSTEMS INC.
132 West 31st St., 14th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Tel: 800.683.5433
Fax: 212.760.0862
E-Mail: contact@northernleasing.com

The company is also known to have operated from these addresses:

Northern Leasing Systems
525 Campanelli Industrial Drive
Brockton, NY 02301

Northern Leasing Systems
333 Seventh Ave
New York, NY 10001

Northern Leasing Systems
PO Box 1027
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1027

newyork.bbb.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=37657