AAA Collection Agency/ Marc D. Wasserman "Attorney At Law" Harrassing phone calls/ Inaccurate info/ Sending threatening "Lawsuit letters" Anaheim California

Only a collector would use the word "debtor" in that context, as well as being a "legal expert". Being that you are an "attorney", you should have people who take care of these things for you, or you should have learned enough in law school to read a contract before signing.

I love the way that "collection professionals" use the word "debtor" like it is a curse. EVERYONE is a debtor. If you have a mortgage, rent, a cell phone, a credit card with a balance, an electric bill, or even if you owe $5 to the cubicle jockey next door to you, then that makes you also one of the vilified debtors.

To the OP, do stay on top of things; Wasserman is infamous for "sewer service".

I had the same situation with Verizon and another one of these little cell phone places in a mall.

I, too finally received a letter from this attorney, as well as letters from the collection agency. Being a lawyer myself, I went back and thouroughly researched the agreement I made with this cell phone store to get a verizon phone. I realized that when I was purchasing the phone I didn't really read all the fine print (most people don't read all the fine print on these contracts).

I concluded that I did in fact owe the $300. I was upset. But I only had myself to blame, I should have paid more attention when I bought it. Caveat Emptor, as they say in 1L, "Let the Buyer Beware"!

As for the letter you got, I received the same one and I must correct you. The letter states that if this debt is not paid you could be subject to a lawsuit. It is not a lawsuit in and of itself. You are correct, whe you are being sued, it is in the form of a legal complaint, either on a Judicial Council Form or a Pleading, however just the mere fact of getting a letter from an attorney does not mean you are being sued.

The letter gives you the opportunity to dispute the debt (as is afforded under the Fair Debt Collection Act) or gives information about where to make payment to the collection agency.

You were not being sued, you got a letter telling you, that you could be sued. This attorney is doing his job going after valid debts. In fact, he gives the debtor the opportunity to dispute or make payment arrangements before filing a lawsuit.

In my opinon, all of these complaints against this attorney are misplaced. You are all debtors and owed the money. You should not take your anger out on this Attorney who is just doing his job and who is doing it ethically and fairly.

J
Los Angeles

It sounds like the same thing that happened to you happened to us. The real compaint should be directed to Mobile Tron and not the collection agency. Mobile Tron hired them to collect the $300.

When you signed up at Mobile Tron they actually had you sign 2 contracts: one with Verizon and one with Mobile Tron. (Mobile Tron is not Verizon - it is an "authorized dealer" who is not affiliated with Verizon at all. It is a separate company) What they did with us is they never gave us a copy of the contract with Mobile Tron at the time of purchase of a new phone. So we never knew about the additional $300 early termination fee. They are very sneaky. They also upgraded my company phone saying I was eligible for an upgrade even though the 2 years were not up. They used a different phone number on our account to upgrade me. I noticed a different phone number on the sheet they wanted me to sign and advised them that was not my number. They told me they will change that number but to sign so they could hook up my phone. I signed. I asked them 3 times while I was there about this and they assured me it was changed. It never was. So a few months later our company decided to change to ATT and we knew we would be paying a couple of early termination fees with Verizon. And like you, a couple of months later received a bill from Mobile Tron for $300 for an early termination fee on top of the Verizon early termination fee of $175, which we already paid.

I called Verizon and they were the ones that advised me that we signed 2 contracts. I advised Verizon that these people represent themselves as Verizon and make us feel that we are dealing with a reputable company and to find out they are not Verizon at all. I said the these people are really making Verizon look bad when it's not Verizon's fault at all. Not good business. I let her know that they never mention you are signing 2 contracts. The gal at Verizon got a bit huffy with me after that comment, but it does make them look bad.

I was very upset as you are and I really wanted to notify Turko Files or Marty Emerald to let them know how these "authorized dealers" operate and to alert all San Diegans how these businesses conduct themselves. I may still do that.

So the real culprit here is Mobile Tron and not the collection agency. The report should be about Mobile Tron and their sneaky business practices. I'm sure there are a ton of people victim of this.

""Funny though, civil suits would not have lawyers present really...hmmmmmm""

Not accurate. Many small claims jurisdictions do not allow lawyers, but many do. You need to check the rules in your jurisdiction.

Also, there are SEVERAL different civil courts where one would be foolish NOT to have a lawyer present; district court, supreme court, etc.