Consumer complaint received 2024-03-15
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: Forster & Garbus LLP (NY)

My bank account with XXXX was frozen/restrained on Monday XX/XX/XXXX. The bank told me a phone number to call Forster & Garbus LLC a debt collection law firm in state of New York. ( XXXX ) XXXX. I placed numerous calls to them before finally someone there would speak to me. I was told " they are out to lunch from XXXXXXXX XXXX  to after XXXX '' and " try calling later '' etc. Finally spoke with someone named XXXX XXXX and asked him what this was about. He said a XXXX XXXX credit card. I asked him to send me all documentation on this because I don't owe XXXX XXXX anything. He laughed and said no but I can pay this off and THEN they'll unfreeze my account. I told him I don't owe it and don't even know anything about it. So then I went to the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX office in XXXX and they said that XXXX XXXX XXXX and Forster & Garbus have a judgment on file for this dated XXXX. I had paid XXXX XXXX in full in XXXX of XXXX when I refinanced the house and took out a HELOC that was a debt consolidation loan that paid off all my then existing credit cards through XXXX, which now called XXXX. They dispersed the payments to the original creditors on XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted the holder of that loan, XXXX XXXX XXXX. The customer care agent worked with us on the phone for two hours digging through paperwork from XXXX XXXX ago and found the notarized copy of the dispersement of payments to the HUD as the house was XXXX at the time. She emailed us a copy of that. The bank then sent me in the mail list of exemptions. I qualified for the one that allowed me to keep XXXX XXXX of the last 60 days income. I sent that verification and forms to both Forster & Garbus and to XXXX. They still have not released my money. I tried calling XXXX to find out why they hadn't released this freeze as I qualified in exemptions to far more than what is in the bank currently and they just said 'call that attorney ' meaning Forster & Garbus so they have not honored the legal exemption the state allows on this. 
So XXXX and Forster & Garbus have frozen my bank account and refuse to send me any documentation for a credit card loan to XXXX XXXX credit card number XXXX that was PIF in XX/XX/XXXX by XXXX, XXXX XXXX ago. XXXX changed to XXXX XXXX since then. A fraudulent default judgment was placed on it four years in XXXX. I don't believe they ever legally renewed it after 10 years either but I didn't even know it existed until this week. Never was serviced then or notified after that this was an issue. I've tried contacting XXXX XXXX XXXX and they use a 3rd party company XXXX XXXX to handle all correspondence and phone calls so I wrote to on their website and have spoken on the phone to them several times trying to this judgment from XXXX that was placed against an account already paid in full of XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  no one will help. I've given the bank and the Forster & Garbus, and XXXX through XXXX all the proof. The account is still frozen but I need that judgment vacated as it was illegally placed.