Steve
St Helens,#2Author of original report
Tue, September 18, 2007
I am the plainiff of the above dispute. As of 9/13/07 all charges have been removed from my credit card. After a discussion with the CEO of Lear Financial I was given a full refund in accordance with our agreement that the gold coins in question were never received and were never meant to be purchased.
Bill Nelles
Santa Monica,#3UPDATE Employee
Tue, September 11, 2007
On 3/9/07 Mr. Howell contacted Lear Financial from an advertisement . On 4/26/07 Mr. Howell make a purchase of coins on a recorded confirmation line. A copy is being sent to the customer. In that recording Mr. Howell was explained the exact coins that he was purchasing and the exact price. He was asked if he agreed to purchase and he clearly states YES. Not a hold on the coins but a purchase. He is then asked how he would like to pay for the order and HE states a credit card. We never coerced him into giving the credit card, he offered it. We did not receive our agreement from Mr. Howell after the sale. The credit card was run and we even received an authorization number from his bank. There was NEVER a forged signature on the credit card. The credit card slip was faxed over to the credit card company with Mr. Howell's name printed into the signature field. The reason that it was placed there is that there is no place on the printed credit card form that indicates the credit card number is Mr. Howell's. This credit card form is our internal form and never sent to the bank unless requested. Thus, EVERY slip has the customers name on it so we can find the person in a case like this. The bank was NEVER told that the name was placed there by Mr. Howell. The reason that the charge was held is that his bank authorized the transaction. We feel that the forged allegation and the fact that we coerced him into the credit card payment is false. The tape clearly illustrates that both the purchase and the use of the credit card was clearly his idea.
John Q.
Woodland Hills,#4Consumer Suggestion
Fri, September 07, 2007
We represent a former employee of Lear Financial, Inc., a company that sells gold coins, other metals to individuals for their personal accounts and also for their IRA and other retirement accounts. Our client has sued Lear and Kevin DeMeritt, its President, and other employees of Lear alleging that Lear and DeMeritt wrongfully terminated his employment in retaliation for his complaints about the widespread and systematic fraud and illegal tape recording of customers' phone calls perpetrated against Lear's customers, among other wrongful acts. In lawsuits, our clients contend that Lear systematically misled its customers about the amount of commissions they were paying and overcharged them. Our client also contends that Lear also systematically violated the California Penal Code by unlawfully recording and eavesdropping on conversations between Lear salesmen and Lear customers without the customer's knowing consent. Under California law, Lear is subject to a $5,000 civil penalty payable to the customer for each such violation. We have obtained a declaration from one Lear customer who has stated under oath that he was told that he was only being charged a 7% commission to purchase coins. The Lear documents we have obtained, however, reflect that he was charged 40%. We have obtained from Lear other documents reflecting that it charged another client 40%. We are investigating whether you had a similar experience at Lear and would greatly appreciate it if you could call us to so that we could determine if you also were subject to Lear's wrongful conduct alleged by our client. Peter R. Dion-Kindem P.C. at Dion-Kindem & Crockett Office, Woodland Hills California. We look forward to hearing from you in this regard.