Consumer complaint received 2017-10-09
Company: Weber & Olcese, PLC
State: MI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Seized or attempted to seize your property

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX Two men pulled up in my driveway representing XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was alone. I answered the door to a man with a badge who identified himself as XXXX XXXX, court processor. He handed me the officers copy of a Request And Order To Seize Property form. He told me if I did n't pay the fee he would be taking my vehicle. 

The document looked official and had a Judge 's signature. XXXX XXXX told me that if I did n't pay him the {$3400.00} he was going to seize my vehicle. Looking over the document I did n't recognize the plaintiff, XXXX XXXX. At this time, I said, well, I guess I need to pay you and went inside to collect my credit card. I asked XXXX XXXX if he could tell me more about the debt. He said we would have to call the Law office of Weber and Olcese and ask them. XXXX XXXX then asked where my XXXX XXXX was. I said it was n't here. XXXX XXXX called and they stated that they could n't give that information to him, only to me. I asked if I could speak with them to which XXXX XXXX said the debt was for a XXXX and hung up. This sent up a red flag to me, as I 've never had a XXXX and I thought maybe this was a case of stolen identity. We walked to his car and he stepped in and I handed him my credit card to which he said hold on to that, he had to draw up some paperwork and that he would be a minute. I told XXXX I was going to make a call to the XXXX district court to see if I could get more information on the debt. I stepped inside the house and started making my phone call. 

In my discussion with XXXX District Court, I discovered the debt was indeed mine for XXXX XXXX XXXX. This debt was over ten years old and was originally {$2400.00}. They told me that my income tax  return had been taken for a garnishment in the amount of {$1700.00}. I now realized this was an old debt shared with an ex-boyfriend, and that under our agreement when we split, he was supposed to settle this debt but failed to do so. I knew I was responsible and realized I would have to pursue that person to settle. The court suggested to me at that time to contact Weber and Olcese and discuss the matter and see what I needed to pay and possibly make arrangements. That Weber and Olcese were they only ones who " could call off the dogs ''. I called and was on hold with Weber and Olcese when XXXX XXXX came back to the door. I told him at that time to give me just a minute I was reaching out to Weber and Olcese to see what I needed to pay and if an arrangement could be made to which he became very upset and told me, he was going to tell me what to pay and, that is was going to be close to {$4000.00}. I tried to explain to XXXX XXXX at this time that I was just made aware of the debt and was trying to rectify it, I had every intention of paying him, that I just wanted to speak with the lawyers. XXXX XXXX then raised his voice and said, " I 'm not playing your games, I 'll tell you what you need to pay! '' Then XXXX XXXX said, " Are we gon na do this or am I taking your car! I want to see what 's in the garage!! '' I again told him that it did n't matter what 's in the garage, I had every intention of paying him, I just wanted to speak to the lawyers first, that I was on hold and should just be a minute. To which he said look, you need to open that garage, that if I did n't he would kick the door in. He then got out of his car, pushed past me and went into the backyard yelling over and over to open the door or he was going to kick it in. I panicked and hung up with the lawyers and called the home owner, my boyfriend, XXXX XXXX, who is a XXXX County Sheriff Deputy to tell him what was going on and ask what I needed to do. Again, I never said at any time I was n't going to pay XXXX XXXX, only that I wanted to verify the debt. XXXX XXXX then told me DO NOT OPEN THE GARAGE. XXXX XXXX continued to threaten to kick in the door if I did n't open it. I handed XXXX XXXX the phone and XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX had a brief exchange. XXXX XXXX handed me my phone back and while I was trying to quickly explain to XXXX what was going on, I was told by XXXX XXXX that the fee was no longer {$4000.00}, but would now be {$4600.00}, and he was going to call a tow truck to take my property. I told him again, with credit card in hand, that I was going to pay him. He went to his car and I heard him on the phone calling a towing company. Panicked and scared I told XXXX I was calling XXXX. 

The first officer on the scene was Detective XXXX XXXX of the XXXX XXXX police department. The tow truck arrived about the same time. I tried to explain the situation and how quickly XXXX XXXX had escalated it. I never raised my voice or became difficult and was cooperating but XXXX XXXX became upset when I tried to verify the debt and was bullying, threatening, and intimidating me. ( I was home alone and scared ) Detective XXXX looked over the document and noticed it was the Officer copy that he had n't properly served me. Detective XXXX tried speaking to XXXX XXXX who at this point had become very combative and argumentative. Officer XXXX showed up moments later and I again explained the situation. XXXX XXXX pointed to XXXX XXXX 's car in the driveway and said he was taking it. I told him it was n't my car, and Detective XXXX had Officer XXXX run the plates, verified it was n't mine ( they billed me to run the plates on the vehicle even though the police officers ran the plates ), and warned that if they moved it they could be liable for any damage. Both police officers, although helpful, were n't able to advise me as to how I needed to handle this as it was a civil matter. The fee had now topped off at {$4700.00}. He told me if I did n't pay him he was going to have my vehicle towed, to which I felt at this point I had no other choices. I heard him tell officer XXXX that he can collect 10x the amount of the debt owed in assets. Feeling against the wall, I gave him my card and he finally ran it twice as he decided the original amount he charged was n't enough and added an additional charge of {$180.00}. The final amount charged was {$4700.00}. The list of charges continued to be inflated and I had no option but to pay him whatever he said, with no other option for payment then my credit card ( which they charged me {$310.00} in fees to charge my card ) I went to the XXXX court on XX/XX/XXXX to investigate the debt and look through the casefile. I saw that there was no Proof of Service, I was never physically served anything regarding this debt. The income tax garnishment breathed new life into the debt and brought XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to my door. Also in my investigation, I found that both court servers that showed up to my home did not possess a valid driver license and have criminal records. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX not only sent them to my house to bully and harass me, but they provided a convicted court officer with criminal record access to my house, onto my property, with a list of my assets. I also discovered that XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX are currently named in a federal racketeering lawsuit and several other shady dealings via news reports and XXXX, none of which I have personally verified but feel, speaks poorly of their character. I am currently filing complaints with the Attorney General, Federal Trade Commision, and Consumer Fianacial Protection Bureau as well as the Better Business Bureau. 

I have never disputed or refused to pay the original debt. It was mine. My fear is XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX are allowed to continue to treat people in this manner and send criminals to peoples ' homes to obtain their assets. It has left me traumatized, anxious and concerned about my property and safety in my home. I have provided the XXXX tape that shows my want to comply and willingness to settle the debt as well as other documents showing I was never served anything regarding this judgement against me from the XXXX district court file. Also included is a statement from Officer XXXX XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation