Morgan & Pottinger, attorneys and debt collectors, have created havoc for me personally by aggressively going after me for a credit card debt with Capital One from 03 and now have been retained (according to a letter I just got) to collect on the checking account they garnished and overdrew with Republic Bank. This double-whammy is a possible conflict of interest in my opinion.
In 2002 I was earning $35,000 per year and was working to repair credit issues I had incurred in the late 1990's after a divorce. After receiving numerous solicitations by phone and mail I agreed to accept a Capital One Credit Card with a credit limit of $300. I rarely used the card and paid on it regularly until 2004 when I lost my job. Collections were filed and eventually Morgan & Pottinger was retained to collect the debit, now at $900 with interest and late charges.
In 2007 a judgment was filed against me and later I got a petition from Morgan & Pottinger that stated my wages would be garnished. The credit card debt was listed as $980 and legal fees $980, with interested accruing daily the amount owed had jumped to $1900. The original debt was under $300.
I had finally got a promising job and had recently been given a great opportunity at the company. My wages were garnished and over the next several months they collected over $1600 toward the debt. I made numerous attempts to get a payoff I could afford but M&P would not discuss this.
I quit my job in December over the garnishment because of the embarrassment and also because I was going to a commission only status and the company would have had to pay the garnishment out of my draw if my commissions weren't enough. I knew this scenario would be complicated.
During this time I was extremely stressed and depressed over this attack. I was also attending school evenings and online to finish my degree, but had to quit and take a 2nd job evenings to make up the amount of the garnished wages.
In March M&P garnished my checking account at Republic Bank. At that time I filed a small claim against them. The judge didn't care about what I had to say and dismissed me, stating, you can work something out with Morgan & Pottinger to pay off the debt. I maintained that they had already garnished my wages and bank account for a lot more than I had ever charged on the card and that the interest and fees were exorbitant.
In April I made the mistake of depositing funds in my checking account to pay my car payment. Fortunately the car payment, $400, went through, but at the same time Republic Bank held $400 aside for the garnishment. This didn't make sense, since it seemed like double-dipping. The bank fees for each of the two garnishments were $100 a piece. Besides that I had several overdrafts for other checks I had written prior to knowing the garnishment had gone through.in all my bank account was overdrawn for over $700.
At this time I am unemployed and receiving unemployment. Since leaving my last professional position I have only been able to work in lower type positions since I know my wages would be garnished and there is no hope for getting ahead. Last year I worked several temp jobs and finally got a permanent position, only to be let go after 4 months. I'm 57 years old and job prospects aren't great for numerous reasons.
This ordeal has been and will continue to be costly for me. I would like to file a suit against Morgan & Pottinger for the amount of money I would have earned for 9 years, or until retirement from the job they forced me to leave. The collections on the old credit card debt were far too aggressive considering I only charged about $500 total on the account seven years ago. I would like to include pain and suffering to the loss of wages, slander, deformation of character, the loss of health benefits, 401K loss. Also I had just purchased a car in July and because of the job loss eventually the car was repossessed. Now I owe $9000 on that car and I'm driving an old car from a buy here pay here lot and paying almost as much as my original payment.
Because my credit score is lower than ever, everything I purchase for the rest of my life will cost me more. While I caused some of this myself, it was further exacerbated by the actions of this collecting attorney, Morgan & Pottinger. The result is a plummeting of my life where I'll never recover. Recently the credit card debt has jumped to $2400. Bare in mind the original amount owed was $980 and most of that was interest and that I paid $2000 on the debt just last year.
In all I estimate my lifetime financial loss due to the collection efforts of Morgan & Pottinger is $600,000, which includes loss of earnings, health benefits, 401K, car repo fees, school loans, check cashing fees, and other expenses directly related to the domino effect of this course of events. Also my social security will be lower when I do retire since my earnings have been cut. My depression and anxiety has increased potential health risks.
If anyone knows of an attorney or a class action suit against this company I am very interested. One choice I have is file a Chapter 7 which I'm considering. Why should I be forced into doing this when the debt has been intensified by the collector's aggression.
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