Monterey Financial Services - I was told by representatives of Monterey, that those Laws do not pertain to Monterey and that I was a dead beat

Monterey Financial Services - I was told by representatives of Monterey, that those Laws do not pertain to Monterey and that I was a dead beat

&#160

Subject: Monterey Financial Services I just read two letters posted Aug 15 & Aug 23 2003 from two different individuals with two different transactions. The common thread is that the companies that they originally purchased services/products from both sold the purchase contracts to Monterey Financial, though I have not posted my story the similarities are stunning.

Monterey Financial Representatives are thugs, verbal abuse, repeated telephone calls at all hours, threats of "Destroying Credit," even after being noticed of the Fraudulent Billing. Violate the Consumer Protection Act and Fair Collection Practices as thought they do not exist for Monterey Financial.

I was told by representatives of Monterey, that those Laws do not pertain to Monterey and that I was a dead beat. Further that "I (The Monterey Representative) will ruin your Credit if you do not pay Monterey." Elizabeth, Marina, and I all signed contracts to pay for services or products NEVER RECEIVED the Consumer Protection Laws say that the burden of proof is upon the Collector. It appears that we, Elizabeth, Marina, and I all have paid a portion of a large contract ($5,000.00+) and when we filed complaints for services/products not received (Fraud) the contracts were sold to Monterey Financial. Monterey Financial buys "non-producing" Contracts then proceeds to implement their Scare Tactics to collect money on the fraudulent contracts.

Let Monterey Financial show "why they are deserving of money" just because they bought "non-producing" Contracts is not good enough. The reason the Contracts were non-producing was that NO Service or Product was ever received or if by some chance received the product was NOT as Advertised and returned. The Snake Oil Shows that sell these bogus products and services, getting the public to sign contracts for thing that are never going to be delivered, are being hunted by the various Attorney Generals.

Sadly, most often they just shed their Corporate Skins and move on to another product, selling more useless or nonexistent services and products. Beware the Showman selling his Snake Oil! This is how companies such as Monterey Financial exist. The Consumer Protection Agency and Attorney Generals need more people that stand up and report Monterey Financial to take action. Keep Up the Good work Complaints. Com. With your Website perhaps predators like Monterey can be stopped from feeding on the unsuspecting public. By giving Consumers a forum to register complaints, Nationally, perhaps this will give the Consumer Protection Agency and Attorney Generals enough against Monterey Financial to put them out of business.

Government Agencies are slow to move and the Snake Oil Showmen and the Companies they keep, oh yes check and you will most likely find that the Showman you originally bought from is connected to Monterey or got pennies on the dollar from Monterey for your contract, are very fast shedding their skins and moving on to more unsuspecting and often financially desperate people selling their bogus bag of nothings.

A Y Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: //

Comment On This

I had a similar experience with Monterey when they purchased my time share mortgage. I was informed by my timeshare company of who bought the mortgage and when they would take over. I never received any info from Monterey, so I took it upon myself to call them 2 days before the payment would have been due. They told me that yes, my due date had not changed, and if a payment was not made I would have to pay the late fee.

They bought these mortgages in bulk. They did not inform the mortgage holders in a timely manner as to where to send a payment. Had I not been proactive about making my payment, it would have adversely affected my credit.

I agree that their methods of doing business leave a lot to be desired. I wonder if they're sinking due to all the home foreclosures happening now. Well, one can hope, huh?

Comment On This

I am so glad to know I am not the only one.Friedman's Jewelers closed and Monterey purchased thier accounts. It was 3 months before I heard from them or knew who they were. By then, guess what-----extra late fees, and finance charges, because they had not been paid. I was yelled at and called a thief by a rep named Tia. NO supervisor I got was any better. I was more than willing to pay them what I OWED,but not any more. After all the harrassmant I received, I just payed it, minus 1 late fee to get them off my back. To top it off, after I paid it, I received 3 more harassing phone calls saying I still owed. I turned them over to the BBB, but they could do nothing.I should have expected that when I saw they had over 130 complaints in the past 36 months!!!! I'm hoping that someone finally puts a stop to their tactics. MAybe the lawsuit in Illinois will do some good.Just to add something, they actually do have one good rep., her name is Leah. She's polite and professional!

Comment On This

I don't know what this company is all about, but they sure seem to be ripping people off. My complaint with this company and Yvette (the rep), is that I missed making a payment last year on my time share for maintenance fees, so when I received my income tax check this year I was going to send in my payments for 2 years to catch up. Just before I send in my checks to the resort, I received a letter from monterey financial saying that I owe a lot more than I was supposed to pay. I called monterey and they said that because I was late, they were charging me a 32% collection fees on top of what I owe the time share. That comes to about $550.00 in collection fees alone. That is totally unacceptable and outrageous. I don't know if that is legal or not, but those fees are outrageous. My time share says that I have to go through them to resolve this issue. I tried to send in my payment to the resort, but they sent back my checks saying that they will not work with me. I don't mind paying late fees and interest on this account, but not a collection fee that cost more than my yearly maintenance fees.

Comment On This

This is the most recent eMail I wrote to Monterey Financial Services in response to an ongoing flurry of harassing phone calls from them. An earlier one and the response is posted below.

Dear MFS,

I received another disturbing phone call from one of your reps (Elizabeth) threatening me that I better make a payment schedule right then and there when she called or there would be action taken against me. I informed her that I had just made a payment of $290.00 and would call her office the following week but I was not able to set anything up right now. She would not take no for an answer and began interrupting me and treating me as though I were her kid brother or one of her babysitting kids. I believe I have demonstrated my willingness to pay my debt and that this tactic is not only unnecessary but bordering on harassment.

I don't think it is in your best interest to have your collection agents use strong arm tactics on paying customers. If this continues I may have to consult with my attorney and take some action of my own. Please inform Elizabeth and the rest of your staff at the Monterey Financial office that this type of low class behavior will not be tolerated by me.

Again, I fully intend to pay my debt and do not wish this to be an unpleasant experience for us. I have heard some very encouraging news about consumers who took their cases to the right lawyer (his name was mentioned on Fox news last night and I tivo'd it) and they were able to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from harrassing debt collectors. Let's try and handle this in an honorable manner, shall we?

Sincerely,

me

--------------------------------------

Mr. me -

In reviewing your account, the account was booked in to Monterey with a $2000 balance and due 12 monthly payments of $180.52. We received timely payments in 5/07 through 9/07, the 10/07 and 11/07 payments were late and thus a late fee of $25 for each occurrence was charged. We have not received the 12/07 payment yet and thus there is another late fee that accrued on 12/25/07. You have a 15 day grace period. The 10/07 credit card transaction declined and thus the account has been behind ever since. The payoff on your account as of today is $955.55. Should you have any further questions, please let me know.

Sincerely,

MFS

----------------------------------------

The above was sent to me after the below forwarded from one Monterey office to another

----------------------------------------

Mr. me

We will look into this matter and someone will get back to you shortly.

Ms. J.

Monterey Financial Services, Inc.

-----Original Message-----

Dear J,

This is concerning a very troubling collection call I received on Saturday, 01/05/08, from an agent by the name of "Meribel".

I was contacted only once before by "Meribel" back in November about a payment that did not go through on my credit card.

Regarding our most recent call I attempted to ascertain the source and terms of this payment which I believed to be connected with my Real Estate mentorship program with a company called Prosper Inc. I signed this contract with them in September of 2006.

When I began to question Meribel as to the terms of the contract with Monterey and when it was handed over from Prosper Inc. her tone became very demeaning and discourteous. This attitude was in reaction to my questions about the contract I had signed with Prosper Inc and what the terms and conditions were with Monterey FS. When she became curt and pushy with me, I asked if she would not be concerned if she were in my place and had some unanswered questions about a charge on her credit card.

Meribel's answer to me was, "Well, I would know what I got myself into before signing something..."

I informed her that I did know what I was getting into, that I had my lawyer review the contract and that I would like to see, in writing, the terms of this agreement, which I had not signed.

She continued to argue with me about speaking to her supervisor and finally relented after much "stonewalling".

The next person I spoke to went by the name of Yvette.

Yvette was even more rude and discourteous than Meribel, if that is possible. She continued "stonewalling" me about speaking to her superior, whom she finally disclosed, after much ado, was Jeremy Moen. And to add insult to injury concluded by hanging up on me.

When I told Yvette that I didn't appreciate her tone with me and simply wanted to get information about this finance charge she began to ask me over and over again why I did not contest this back in May of 07 when the charge first began to show up on my credit card. She went on to say that she would not give me any more information until I answered her question, which I had already responded to saying that, I did look into it and believed that it was related to my mentorship with Prosper Inc. She continued to ask me the same question over and over again, "WHY DID YOU NOT CONTEST THIS CHARGE BACK IN MAY?"

Please be assured my only intention was to get clarity on the terms of this finance charge. I intend to make good on any debt which I own and never said anything about contesting charges. Again, I was only seeking clarity as to how much longer my credit card would be charged for this service and as to the specific terms.

I would like to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Please reply to this email or call me on my cell phone at your earliest possible convenience.

Thank you for your time and have a happy and successful New Year!

Comment On This

"This Collection company" could be in the bible, where the good lord talks about snakes.. they called me trash on a collection call one time back 2 years ago... and i told them with a sense of satifaction you will be judged by your own actions i have no reason to judge you "mam or sir or anyother human being" and i qoute very respectfully for all the "deadbeats monterery call its debters" out such as me, who want to make a postive action on others people that "BCTI"&"Monterey Financial Scammed.....

Comment On This

Monterey is harrassing me and my family and we they don't even have the right number. The keep calling me asking for some woman and we've told several reps to stop calling. The calls stopped for a few weeks and then just started up again. The latest was from Nathan, he left a message for "Christine" saying that if she didn't call back by a certain time that "further action would be taken". I left him a nice voicemail telling him that I am reporting Monterey to the MN attorney general and the Better Business Bureau for harrassment. I'm really glad he left his extension because if the calls continue to come he will be the one getting harrassed.

Comment On This

oh MAN!! I'm so glad to hear (read) these reports. The agent which called me, over an item which broke within thirty minutes, and was told by a "NON ENGLISH SPEAKING" agent that a new item would be sent to me, requiring a signature. I recieved no replacement item. I then recieved a HORRIBLY abusive call from Monterey Financial collections. The agent began "SCREAMING" vile remarks at me and when asked for his name he refused initally to give it to me. He finally told me his name was Kevin. I asked for his last name which brought on another tirade and finally he identified his last name as Kennedy. I turned the phone over to my husband as I was truly disturbed by the conduct of this "MAN"...ofcourse when confronted with another man he changed his tactics and eventually hung up on us. I recalled the phone number on my caller ID and was directed to a supervisor who I was assured would review the tape and repremand the agent. NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!! I want his job to be terminated. How a company could train their agents in such tactics is unbelievable. Yes the attorney general will be contacted also. Till then Kevin Kennedy, collection agent of Monterey Financial, I hope your karma catches up with you punk.

Comment On This

This is concerning a very troubling collection call I received on Saturday, 01/05/08, from an agent by the name of "Meribel".

I was contacted only once before by Meribel back in November about a payment that did not go through on my credit card.

Regarding our most recent call I attempted to ascertain the source and terms of this payment which I believed to be connected with my Real Estate mentorship program with a company called Prosper Inc. I signed this contract with them in September of 2006.

When I began to question Meribel as to the terms of the contract with Monterey and when it was handed over from Prosper Inc. her tone became very demeaning and discourteous. This attitude was in reaction to my questions about the contract I had signed with Prosper Inc and what the terms and conditions were with Monterey FS. When she became curt and pushy with me, I asked if she would not be concerned if she were in my place and had some unanswered questions about a charge on her credit card.

Meribel's answer to me was, "Well, I would know what I got myself into before signing something..."

I informed her that I did know what I was getting into, that I had my lawyer review the contract with Prosper Inc and that I would like to see, in writing, the terms of this agreement with Monterey FS, which I had not signed.

Meribel began to accuse me of "never" returning her phone calls and "always" saying I would call but never calling. Note: I had only had one other conversation with this woman (last November).

She continued to argue with me about speaking to her supervisor and finally relented after much "stonewalling".

The next person I spoke to went by the name of Yvette.

Yvette was even more rude and discourteous than Meribel, if that is possible. She continued "stonewalling" me about speaking to her superior, whom she finally disclosed, after much ado, was Jeremy Moen. And to add insult to injury concluded by hanging up on me.

When I told Yvette that I didn't appreciate her tone with me and simply wanted to get information about this finance charge she began to ask me over and over again why I did not contest this back in May of 07 when the charge first began to show up on my credit card. She went on to say that she would not give me any more information until I answered her question, which I had already responded to by saying that, I did look into it and believed that it was in connection to my mentorship with Prosper Inc. She continued to ask me the same question over and over again, "WHY DID YOU NOT CONTEST THIS CHARGE BACK IN MAY?"

Please be assured my only intention was to get clarity on the terms of these finance charges so I would know what I am paying. I intend to make good on any debt which I owe and never said anything about "contesting charges". Again, I was only seeking clarity as to how much longer my credit card would be charged for this service and as to the specific terms.

Comment On This

The company is a big scam. Loans from Monterey Financial will not show up on your

credit report.

Comment On This

I totally agree, I have had the same problems with them, except mine was over some Internet Speedway Company that I have never heard about. The company is a scam from top to bottom and they need to be stopped!

Comment On This

Monterey Financial services has a way of trying to intimidate people over the phone.. These people tried to debit money out of my account without autherization.. Additioannly, one woman by the name of Anna Lao seems to be on a power trip.. Personally, I think she needs to get some........LOL