- Report: #254846
Complaint Review: LFG Finance Group - Chicago Illinois
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LFG Finance Group
233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1800 Chicago, 60601-5802 Illinois, U.S.A.
Phone:
866-781-0411
Web:
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LFG Finance Group - Leasing Finance Group - CIT Financial Services Of Chicago - I-Payment Valencia Of California & Merchant Lynx Of Maryland Fraudulent, deceptive merchant service providers - modified contractual agreeement adding post signature equipment to order and are now harrassing for debt collection by abusing automatic debit bank agreement to commit fraud and threaten persecution and prosecution ripoff Chicago Illinois
06/2007
LFG Leasing Group, AKA - CIT Financial Group, AKA - I-Payment of Valencia, and Merchant Lynx of Annapolis, MD are nothing more than being equivalent to modern day extertionists.
LFG Financial Group (CIT Financial Services) did far more than make a concentrated collection effort with us as many others have noted here, they have made actual recorded threats now.
We also like many complaints show here, originally received the daily and multiple harrassing phone calls which were answered only to hear a briefly recorded message stating "no operator is available to take your call at this time". Assumably on my cell phone this has been done to waste my cell time minutes.
Unfortunately they recently escalated the message to a recorded song, that contains a threat of violence.
They are now calling my cell phone between 10-20 times daily and playing a recorded message in the form of a song (which I find extremely strange by itself).
Now - when answered, the message is a sonfg that has lyrics in the form of a "Patsy Cline" like song that says "we're going to find you, and we'll get you -no matter where you try to hide"!
I can't imagine that anywhere in the world this is actually legal, much less a US based company? The message clearly shows their 866-781-0411 phone number which is easily identifiable, and what amazes us the most is that they don't even bother to try to mask this fact.
I had never bothered to not answer the message since it wastes hours of massage time to retrieve every message left with the "no operator is available totake your call message".
Until now I had just considered a nuisance, but took the calls because our so called debt has also been documented as being assumed under a forged contract.
Basically, I have nothing to hide in the matter and have more than enough easily provable documentation to show our contract was modified post signature to add equipment the contract that was never ordered.
LFG even knows this, since they were the ones who sent us copies of what they had on record for "our contracts as signed", showing us that the contract when put up to the one we have "as signed" shows what amounts to be a "white out" effort and subsequent modification to add machinery.
The equipment shown on their end that was never ordered, receieved or signed for inlcluded a machine called a "check verification processor", and a "verifone" device being added to our order of a "credit card processor" and ATM pinpad as listed.
Our contract clearly shows no modification, theirs couldn't be more blatantly altered than if it was written in crayon!!
To add insult to injury, we called them and verified they had a serial number on the check processing machine and that it had been delivered to a company that is not even in our county, but it got even better.
The equipment "they stated" was signed received and signed for at a known destination which isn't even in our county. It was (they claim) received at an equpment provider called Groundhog Communications in Annapolis, MD.
Since our compnay is located in Westminster, MD I decided to call the number (yes, they even had a phone number that worked). I called it. Again, oddly enough someone answered?
After a brief conversation with the technician at the other end, I learned that they were an equipemnt provider that was often contracted for to provide equipment installations through my original merchant provider (Merchant Lynx of Annapolis, MD)?
T also said they had no problem saying they were on record as being such - but then also said they had no record of the check verification machine or verifone equipment ever being ordered, receieved or installed or signed for on their end! I notified LFG to that note, and said with one simple phone call to their own recorded receievr of the equipemnt ehy could clear this up, of course it has to date changed nothing.
I have also since sent copies of what I received from the Chicago office, to an LFG office in New York, NY (at their request).
But this has not stopped them from making their daily calls, and threats for demand of payment to date and noone has notified us of any receipt though we have a contact name and number there, which also never gets answered. I guess it's a "watch how me can make you jump" sort of move?
So if this happens to you, don't get your hopes up that this will solve anything!
Oddly enough it was only after we actually notified them we had already contacted our local States Attorneys office and stated our intent to prove the matter worthy of an investigation, and sent them "their own" copies of the forged documentation - that they ramped up their calls of this bizzare song message.
What has become obvious to us now, is that they will never stop of anything short of making good on what they percieve to be our particular debt. And of course this would also mean we'd be paying them $1,664.00 more for this mythical equipment tos top the harrassment (and I have assured them repeatedly, that this will never happen).
It has unfortunately caused us to already take multiple actions to stop this obscene level of harrassment such as;
Closing a long our long-standing business bank account (and then re-opening it under seperate identity) which previously been used as the "auto-debit" payment provider and which we had also been (for years) been in use as our main payment and deposit account for more than 250 of our other clients and customers (of course a big hassle to notify all other merchants we pay for services such as E-Bay, Paypal, BGE electric, etc.);
We have had to file multiple formal compaints of fraudulent charges with our bank prior to that closure, (which had only been done as a last measure in our effort to stop the fraudulant charges - and which only had been done after being mailed the proof of the false equipment order);
Filing of an official police report (yes, we take this threat seriously enough to have made an official harrassment and threat of bnodily harm) and which also document the phone call threats we are now receiving;
We have had to inform our employees that these threats have been made, which causes an obvouos stress for them to answer the phones;
We had originally been able to block their phone number from being allowed to dial into our office system by means of using VoIP call number blocking functions, but they quickly resorted to using anonymous numbers to call us only to leave the same messages... which as a business we realistically can't block since many of our customers may be using private "anon" on their cell, home or business phones.
I have cancelled my cell provider contract opting instead to give up a phone number that more than 500 of my clients had as a primary means of contacting me in the event of an equipment failure.... (we are a computer equipment supplier of servers and PCs).
Still, the harrassment continues daily!
Like others here, I am incredulous that any company would be allowed to do this legally, and in fact truly beleive that this can't be legal?
At one point this became such a frequent call on my cell phone, that while I was at more than one customer site I let one other company owners listen to the recording of the "non-anonymous" phone calls, let them look at the phone# on the display at the time and had them listen to what extreme this comany was ging to to collect on a fraudulent debt.
My customers who have known us as a reliable, honest and solid service provider since 1999 (and who have trsuted us with their own companies most valuable data) are learning quickly that LFG Leasing, CIT Financial, I-Payment of Valencia and Marchant Lynx of MD are far from being companies they would ever consider dealing with.
One business owner who heard these recordings said what I think is what any reasonable and intelligent person would think, it could not be legal to do this at any level.
He worked for the Army for 25 years as a Warrant Officer (which requires the type of security level very few people ever gain ranks to) and his statement to me was that there was no "other way" to hear it.
It was clearly a physical (and bizzarre) threat, and if that call had been placed to him he wouldn't think twice about filing a legal complaint for action.
Coming from a 25 year Warrant Officer and veteran, I took it to heart and finallly filed a formal complaint with my local police department, and have now contacted several attorneys offices to find someone who may specialize in this type of complaint. No luck yet, but then nothing ever comes easy.
Having read the other compaints against this company on this site, and now seeing first hand how they are treating many others as they have treated us, I hope someone does go after them and gives them a court ordered financial beating like we are receiving in having to fight against them.
But, if it isn't worth the effort to stand up for ourselves then I may as well close my doors and walk away from my own business.
We're going to make our claim against them public known, and in more than just this forum.
Having already reported the abuse and threat to the MD States Attorney Generals Office, I can't report that we have had any luck. Unfortunate as that is, and dis-heartening as it may seem we'll continue to knowck on their door for help as long as LFG knocks on ours.
The truth is we haven't received much support about this matter from anyone who can really help us - and there's a lot of "passing the buck" going on it seems.
I just hope someone who really needs to know they aren't the only ones getting this abuse hears me here, (if the same things are being done to you - at least you know you aren't alone now).
I will continue to follow up through, regardless if anyone else ever combines their efforts with ours and because this "non"-debt will never be paid off.
Fundamentally, on every level it is wrong... and I would never pay a thief off for any reason much less for teh one we're being given like the promise that if I do they promise to stop robbing and harrassing us.
Our company signed an agreement with a merchant provider named Merchant Lynx (Annapolis, MD) in June of 2005, our agreement was fraudulently modified post signature - and we have no reason to pay this or any other company like LFG, CIT, or I-Payment as a creditor.
Whatever may hapen from here on out, I'd say to them "the world is our witness"!
What happens from here on after is that they picked with the worng man, at the worng place and for the worng reason. This good man will never go down without a righteous, if not relentless fight.
In the end, I guarantee them the better man (if not poorer man) is going to win.
Wade
Westminster, Maryland
U.S.A.
LFG Leasing Group, AKA - CIT Financial Group, AKA - I-Payment of Valencia, and Merchant Lynx of Annapolis, MD are nothing more than being equivalent to modern day extertionists.
LFG Financial Group (CIT Financial Services) did far more than make a concentrated collection effort with us as many others have noted here, they have made actual recorded threats now.
We also like many complaints show here, originally received the daily and multiple harrassing phone calls which were answered only to hear a briefly recorded message stating "no operator is available to take your call at this time". Assumably on my cell phone this has been done to waste my cell time minutes.
Unfortunately they recently escalated the message to a recorded song, that contains a threat of violence.
They are now calling my cell phone between 10-20 times daily and playing a recorded message in the form of a song (which I find extremely strange by itself).
Now - when answered, the message is a sonfg that has lyrics in the form of a "Patsy Cline" like song that says "we're going to find you, and we'll get you -no matter where you try to hide"!
I can't imagine that anywhere in the world this is actually legal, much less a US based company? The message clearly shows their 866-781-0411 phone number which is easily identifiable, and what amazes us the most is that they don't even bother to try to mask this fact.
I had never bothered to not answer the message since it wastes hours of massage time to retrieve every message left with the "no operator is available totake your call message".
Until now I had just considered a nuisance, but took the calls because our so called debt has also been documented as being assumed under a forged contract.
Basically, I have nothing to hide in the matter and have more than enough easily provable documentation to show our contract was modified post signature to add equipment the contract that was never ordered.
LFG even knows this, since they were the ones who sent us copies of what they had on record for "our contracts as signed", showing us that the contract when put up to the one we have "as signed" shows what amounts to be a "white out" effort and subsequent modification to add machinery.
The equipment shown on their end that was never ordered, receieved or signed for inlcluded a machine called a "check verification processor", and a "verifone" device being added to our order of a "credit card processor" and ATM pinpad as listed.
Our contract clearly shows no modification, theirs couldn't be more blatantly altered than if it was written in crayon!!
To add insult to injury, we called them and verified they had a serial number on the check processing machine and that it had been delivered to a company that is not even in our county, but it got even better.
The equipment "they stated" was signed received and signed for at a known destination which isn't even in our county. It was (they claim) received at an equpment provider called Groundhog Communications in Annapolis, MD.
Since our compnay is located in Westminster, MD I decided to call the number (yes, they even had a phone number that worked). I called it. Again, oddly enough someone answered?
After a brief conversation with the technician at the other end, I learned that they were an equipemnt provider that was often contracted for to provide equipment installations through my original merchant provider (Merchant Lynx of Annapolis, MD)?
T also said they had no problem saying they were on record as being such - but then also said they had no record of the check verification machine or verifone equipment ever being ordered, receieved or installed or signed for on their end! I notified LFG to that note, and said with one simple phone call to their own recorded receievr of the equipemnt ehy could clear this up, of course it has to date changed nothing.
I have also since sent copies of what I received from the Chicago office, to an LFG office in New York, NY (at their request).
But this has not stopped them from making their daily calls, and threats for demand of payment to date and noone has notified us of any receipt though we have a contact name and number there, which also never gets answered. I guess it's a "watch how me can make you jump" sort of move?
So if this happens to you, don't get your hopes up that this will solve anything!
Oddly enough it was only after we actually notified them we had already contacted our local States Attorneys office and stated our intent to prove the matter worthy of an investigation, and sent them "their own" copies of the forged documentation - that they ramped up their calls of this bizzare song message.
What has become obvious to us now, is that they will never stop of anything short of making good on what they percieve to be our particular debt. And of course this would also mean we'd be paying them $1,664.00 more for this mythical equipment tos top the harrassment (and I have assured them repeatedly, that this will never happen).
It has unfortunately caused us to already take multiple actions to stop this obscene level of harrassment such as;
Closing a long our long-standing business bank account (and then re-opening it under seperate identity) which previously been used as the "auto-debit" payment provider and which we had also been (for years) been in use as our main payment and deposit account for more than 250 of our other clients and customers (of course a big hassle to notify all other merchants we pay for services such as E-Bay, Paypal, BGE electric, etc.);
We have had to file multiple formal compaints of fraudulent charges with our bank prior to that closure, (which had only been done as a last measure in our effort to stop the fraudulant charges - and which only had been done after being mailed the proof of the false equipment order);
Filing of an official police report (yes, we take this threat seriously enough to have made an official harrassment and threat of bnodily harm) and which also document the phone call threats we are now receiving;
We have had to inform our employees that these threats have been made, which causes an obvouos stress for them to answer the phones;
We had originally been able to block their phone number from being allowed to dial into our office system by means of using VoIP call number blocking functions, but they quickly resorted to using anonymous numbers to call us only to leave the same messages... which as a business we realistically can't block since many of our customers may be using private "anon" on their cell, home or business phones.
I have cancelled my cell provider contract opting instead to give up a phone number that more than 500 of my clients had as a primary means of contacting me in the event of an equipment failure.... (we are a computer equipment supplier of servers and PCs).
Still, the harrassment continues daily!
Like others here, I am incredulous that any company would be allowed to do this legally, and in fact truly beleive that this can't be legal?
At one point this became such a frequent call on my cell phone, that while I was at more than one customer site I let one other company owners listen to the recording of the "non-anonymous" phone calls, let them look at the phone# on the display at the time and had them listen to what extreme this comany was ging to to collect on a fraudulent debt.
My customers who have known us as a reliable, honest and solid service provider since 1999 (and who have trsuted us with their own companies most valuable data) are learning quickly that LFG Leasing, CIT Financial, I-Payment of Valencia and Marchant Lynx of MD are far from being companies they would ever consider dealing with.
One business owner who heard these recordings said what I think is what any reasonable and intelligent person would think, it could not be legal to do this at any level.
He worked for the Army for 25 years as a Warrant Officer (which requires the type of security level very few people ever gain ranks to) and his statement to me was that there was no "other way" to hear it.
It was clearly a physical (and bizzarre) threat, and if that call had been placed to him he wouldn't think twice about filing a legal complaint for action.
Coming from a 25 year Warrant Officer and veteran, I took it to heart and finallly filed a formal complaint with my local police department, and have now contacted several attorneys offices to find someone who may specialize in this type of complaint. No luck yet, but then nothing ever comes easy.
Having read the other compaints against this company on this site, and now seeing first hand how they are treating many others as they have treated us, I hope someone does go after them and gives them a court ordered financial beating like we are receiving in having to fight against them.
But, if it isn't worth the effort to stand up for ourselves then I may as well close my doors and walk away from my own business.
We're going to make our claim against them public known, and in more than just this forum.
Having already reported the abuse and threat to the MD States Attorney Generals Office, I can't report that we have had any luck. Unfortunate as that is, and dis-heartening as it may seem we'll continue to knowck on their door for help as long as LFG knocks on ours.
The truth is we haven't received much support about this matter from anyone who can really help us - and there's a lot of "passing the buck" going on it seems.
I just hope someone who really needs to know they aren't the only ones getting this abuse hears me here, (if the same things are being done to you - at least you know you aren't alone now).
I will continue to follow up through, regardless if anyone else ever combines their efforts with ours and because this "non"-debt will never be paid off.
Fundamentally, on every level it is wrong... and I would never pay a thief off for any reason much less for teh one we're being given like the promise that if I do they promise to stop robbing and harrassing us.
Our company signed an agreement with a merchant provider named Merchant Lynx (Annapolis, MD) in June of 2005, our agreement was fraudulently modified post signature - and we have no reason to pay this or any other company like LFG, CIT, or I-Payment as a creditor.
Whatever may hapen from here on out, I'd say to them "the world is our witness"!
What happens from here on after is that they picked with the worng man, at the worng place and for the worng reason. This good man will never go down without a righteous, if not relentless fight.
In the end, I guarantee them the better man (if not poorer man) is going to win.
Wade
Westminster, Maryland
U.S.A.
