Consumer complaint received 2018-02-23
Company: WAKEFIELD & ASSOCIATES, INC.
State: TN
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Impersonated attorney, law enforcement, or government official

Complaint:
NOTE : This website does not offer an option addressing this particular type of problem, so I was forced to choose the one I believe is most accurate. It is worth noting that many of these people are licensed attorneys ; however, they are misrepresenting their capacity as attorneys in this particular case, in addition to numerous other fraudulent activities. 

__ Summary of complaints : __ 1. Wakefield and Associates, a debt collection agency, is forging or altering medical records in an attempt to gain civil judgments against its victims. They are posing as plaintiff attorneys, but upon contacting the alleged plaintiff, the account numbers and associated debt can not be found in their system. 


2. Neither the agency nor the alleged plaintiff will respond to claims of identity theft, requests for documentation, or inquiries as to the nature of the debt. Therefore, even a legitimate debt would be unverifiable. If the account is legitimate, then the agency is delaying a proper investigation and profiting from identity theft. 


3. Upon receiving payment, the self-proclaimed attorney for plaintiff will take the funds, but will not honor the settlement agreement.

4. Hundreds of these suits were filed in Tennessee last year. At least 300 were filed by one attorney, XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Timeline of events : XX/XX/XXXX : I received the first threat of suit from XXXX XXXX XXXX, who, at this point, claimed to be representing Wakefield and Associates, who were supposedly collecting on a debt previously owned by XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX is actually an employee of Wakefield and Associates, but the agency has denied this, possibly to grant her the appearance of legitimacy. Additionally, Wakefield and Associates insisted that they did not own the account and were simply collecting on behalf of the creditor. I responded with a request for documentation, after which I received copies of medical bills which could not be authenticated by the creditor, who laughed when I told them about the threats. 

__ XX/XX/XXXX : I received a court summons for XX/XX/XXXX.  Fearing that I had misunderstood the nature of the situation, I filed a counterclaim. However, I did not follow through, because I was later told by a member of Wakefield and Associates that the account was not actually owned by the plaintiff, but by Wakefield and Associates, making the counterclaim against the plaintiff useless. 
I went to court early and attempted to get the case dismissed for failure to state a valid claim, on the basis that the affiant, XXXX XXXX was not affiliated with the creditor. I was told that stating a claim is not a requirement in General Sessions Court, so the motion was overruled. Becoming increasingly confused and concerned, I reported identity theft to the FTC. 

__ XX/XX/XXXX : I went to court as planned and met with XXXX XXXX XXXX, one of the three attorneys claiming to represent the account. I requested additional documentation and he seemed to comply, but requested a continuance, claiming that he didnt any documentation with him besides the bills. I agreed, not entirely convinced he would follow through. I also asked him who made the decision to file suit, whether the alleged creditor or the collection agency. XXXX responded by saying that the creditor made the decision, upon which I informed him that according the website for Wakefield and Associates, it was in fact one of their members, XXXX XXXX, who had signed the affidavit as creditor or creditors agent. XXXX acted confused at this point, and admitted that XXXX XXXX was a member of Wakefield and Associates, but that he was also a creditors agent. He would not answer further questions as to how the alleged creditor was involved in the case, and contradicted himself multiple times. We reset the case for XX/XX/XXXX. 

__ XX/XX/XXXX : In the two months between court dates, I did not receive any additional documentation. I sent polite but emphatic letters to both Wakefield and Associates and the alleged plaintiff, but received no response. I decided that without documentation that the accounts were fraudulent, I was facing additional threats to my familys future and wellbeing, so I resolved to pay under protest and duress. 
I went back to court, this time to meet with XXXX XXXX XXXX. I negotiated the balance in exchange for dropping the case, to which she agreed, and the account was settled immediately. She reset the case for XX/XX/XXXX to give time for the check to clear, but said she would dismiss it. I told her that I would still pursue her for documentation, and she agreed to comply. 
The check cleared two days later, on XX/XX/XXXX. The case had still not been dismissed a week later, so I called to ask what was wrong. I was informed that XXXX  did not intend to drop the case before the next court date, contrary to our agreement, but that the settlement fund had been received, and I did not need to be present in court at the next hearing. I found this suspicious, and I reviewed the contract I had signed. I noticed XXXX had checked the box agreeing to a judgment after I had signed it ; I had only agreed to the continuance, and realized that I would have to make a fourth appearance in court, at which point I would possibly have to defend against a judgment to which I did not agree. 

__ As of XX/XX/XXXX, I still have no statements from the alleged creditor, and very few from Wakefield and Associates. I plan to send out a final demand letter, and perhaps an update to my identity theft report, but I do not anticipate a response from either company.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation