Complaint Review: Midland Funding Cohen & Slamowitz - Woodbury New York

Daniel, I am sorry to hear that they got you too, you can see from the other writer's comments, what suggestions there are for you to do. I filed a formal complaint with the FTC, and I wrote a letter to NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (the AG's office did not have a complaint form that I thought was appropriate for this matter which is why I sent a leter. I also requested a complaint form from the Bar Association in my area (Dutchess County). I will fill that out too. We have not found a lawyer, so if your girlfriend finds one who is willing to go after these sneaky creeps, p[lease let me know. My husband's account is still frozen, I don't think he will even be able to close it. I am still shocked that this can even happen, and that it seems to happen fairly regularly. Good Luck, and let me know what happens, I will continue to post here with my own updates.

I just received a letter from my bank today saying that my account is frozen too. The same people that have froze your husband account did so with mine. I dont know who the this company is that I owe so much to. If you can keep me up to date with what you have done that would be greatly appreciated. I am going to make time tomorrow to go to the county clerk to get a copy of the court summons cause I never received one just like you. Please keep me up to date with your case and I will keep you up to date with mine. P.S. My girlfriend is going to help me find a lawyer that I can afford. If you did not find one yet and I did, I can refer him to you when she finds one. If you found one already if you can pass his/her number along to me that would be great. Daniel - Brooklyn, NY

Like I said, thank you for your great advice. I will advise Hubby to close the bank account. You know, we don't have any summons? All we have is a letter dated in August (after the fact) sent to his mother's house from C&S saying that there was a Judgement made against him in July! There was never any summons sent to him ANYWHERE as far as I can tell. We only got that letter (sent in August) from his mom the other day. She didn't know it was anything important. I guess it doesn't matter, because they only sent the letter to him (at the wrong address) AFTER they obtained that judgement! So if we let them sue us again, is that when we will find the opportunity to tell the judge what they did? I'm gonna look into your suggestion of a paralegal. Wish me luck! Thanks again for all your help, I really do appreciate it.

Marianne, Close that bank account immediately and open a new one at a DIFFERENT bank. Stop any direct deposits as well. Do not make it easy for them. Let them sue you again. This time they cannot say they don't have your address! Now, at their expense you can present these facts of fraud to the judge and possibly get the order vacated. Also keep in mind that many paralegals can prepare and file a motion for you for a very reasonable fee. Be sure to get every piece of paper involved in the taking of your money and freezing of your account. Also get a copy of whatever summons was served and the name of the process server. This is very important when you go back to court. I really think an attorney is needed here and you should seek one out even though you say you can't afford one. When you win, the other side will have to pay your legal fees and court costs. Most attorneys take credit cards! Good luck!

Thank you, Steve, for your help. I have filed a complaint with the FTC, emailed the Attorney General with my story (they didn't have a specific complaint form to address this matter) and requested complaint forms and information booklets from the Bar Association (I couldn't get a person to speak to there). I'd like to file to have the judgement vacated, but I'm not sure how and we have no money for a lawyer or even filing fees (it's not like my husband can write a check). The Better Business Bureau also has a history of complaints filed against this company - I did not file there because I don't think they can do anything to help with this. I'm thinking maybe we should hold off on paying Cohen & Slamowitz off until we know more about our options. Anymore advice would be greatly appreciated, the freeze is still on my husband's bank account and C&S says it will stay there until after we pay.

Another thing to do here is to file a BAR ASSOCIATION complaint against the lawyer who perpetrated this fraud. Knowingly serving a summons on a bad address is fraud, and is illegal. It certainly violates the canons of ethics a lawyer is bound by. If they had you banking info, it is very clear they knew where you lived. This is a slam dunk, AND you can countersue for damages, and win! And, filing a false document with the court is a felony in most states. Also go to FTC.gov and file online complaints for each violation of your rights.

Like I said in the subject line, thank you again for your insights. I think that because we already conceded that the original debt is real, we have lost the fight before it could begin. My husband only has enough money to settle this matter and be done with it - we cannot afford to do anything else at this time. However, we are now sadder but wiser and will be onto their tricks if something like this ever happens to us or someone we know again. You have provided valuable advice that is sure to be of great help to anyone who reads these posts and finds themselves in a similar situation, and of course I am now armed with this powerful information so I can fight, or help someone else fight back if the need should arise again. For us, the damage is done and we will have to deal with it but maybe someone else can be spared some aggravation by learning from our experience. Again, thank you so very much for trying to assist us with your knowledge and experience. I wish we could fight this one but we have neither time or money to spare and are not ready to engage a battle that we might lose anyway due to our own ignorance. So, we learned a painful lesson, but thanks to you, maybe someone else can be helped. At least now I know what to do if something like this happens again. I am very grateful to you for sharing your wisdom. Thanks again.

Like I said in the subject line, thank you again for your insights. I think that because we already conceded that the original debt is real, we have lost the fight before it could begin. My husband only has enough money to settle this matter and be done with it - we cannot afford to do anything else at this time. However, we are now sadder but wiser and will be onto their tricks if something like this ever happens to us or someone we know again. You have provided valuable advice that is sure to be of great help to anyone who reads these posts and finds themselves in a similar situation, and of course I am now armed with this powerful information so I can fight, or help someone else fight back if the need should arise again. For us, the damage is done and we will have to deal with it but maybe someone else can be spared some aggravation by learning from our experience. Again, thank you so very much for trying to assist us with your knowledge and experience. I wish we could fight this one but we have neither time or money to spare and are not ready to engage a battle that we might lose anyway due to our own ignorance. So, we learned a painful lesson, but thanks to you, maybe someone else can be helped. At least now I know what to do if something like this happens again. I am very grateful to you for sharing your wisdom. Thanks again.

Like I said in the subject line, thank you again for your insights. I think that because we already conceded that the original debt is real, we have lost the fight before it could begin. My husband only has enough money to settle this matter and be done with it - we cannot afford to do anything else at this time. However, we are now sadder but wiser and will be onto their tricks if something like this ever happens to us or someone we know again. You have provided valuable advice that is sure to be of great help to anyone who reads these posts and finds themselves in a similar situation, and of course I am now armed with this powerful information so I can fight, or help someone else fight back if the need should arise again. For us, the damage is done and we will have to deal with it but maybe someone else can be spared some aggravation by learning from our experience. Again, thank you so very much for trying to assist us with your knowledge and experience. I wish we could fight this one but we have neither time or money to spare and are not ready to engage a battle that we might lose anyway due to our own ignorance. So, we learned a painful lesson, but thanks to you, maybe someone else can be helped. At least now I know what to do if something like this happens again. I am very grateful to you for sharing your wisdom. Thanks again.

Like I said in the subject line, thank you again for your insights. I think that because we already conceded that the original debt is real, we have lost the fight before it could begin. My husband only has enough money to settle this matter and be done with it - we cannot afford to do anything else at this time. However, we are now sadder but wiser and will be onto their tricks if something like this ever happens to us or someone we know again. You have provided valuable advice that is sure to be of great help to anyone who reads these posts and finds themselves in a similar situation, and of course I am now armed with this powerful information so I can fight, or help someone else fight back if the need should arise again. For us, the damage is done and we will have to deal with it but maybe someone else can be spared some aggravation by learning from our experience. Again, thank you so very much for trying to assist us with your knowledge and experience. I wish we could fight this one but we have neither time or money to spare and are not ready to engage a battle that we might lose anyway due to our own ignorance. So, we learned a painful lesson, but thanks to you, maybe someone else can be helped. At least now I know what to do if something like this happens again. I am very grateful to you for sharing your wisdom. Thanks again.

Let me preface my response with the fact I am not an Attorney, not licensed to practice law of any type and offer advice only based on personal experience. First, you need to get a copy of all the documents in the court file from the court clerk in which the judgement was obtained. You will then need to look through these documents for a "proof of service" to determine where the summons was served and how service was accomplished. In most states attempts must be made to serve the individual directly at place of business or residence. Some states allow a summons to be served on a competent adult residing at the residence, with a copy of the summons mailed subsequently to this address. In some states the "nail and mail" service is allowed (tack the summons to the residence door and mail a copy) - all could be considered "good service" by a court absent any reason to doubt the validity of the address. Go to the local law library (usually free to the public) and ask for help looking up the "rules of civil procedure" and the section on "service of process". This will tell you what type of service is allowed in your state. Gather proof of your residence address that would have been readily available to the creditor/attorney. Items such as copies of your credit profile (which often have the date an address was recorded), utility bills, in your case bank statements (if they knew where you bank, they likely had your address). Ask the court clerk for paperwork to complete to file for a "motion to vacate judgement". In this paperwork indicate you are filing "pro se" (in lieu of personal attorney). You will have to pay a filing fee and pay someone to serve the creditor. Attend the hearing and plead your case to the judge that the service of the summons was bad service, your husband did not reside at the address served and present your credit profile and other proof of address as evidence - if the creditor has inquiries on your profile prior to the judgement it will reflect well on you that they knew the correct address and did not use it. If you manage to get the judgement vacated it does not mean the creditor will not refile a suit immediately, now serving your husband at the correct address. You should check the statute of limitations in your state for the type of debt to see if it is still enforceable by lawsuit. Your bigger problem may be that he acknowledges the debt and if the creditor can prove this all of this effort may be moot.

Thank you for your insight. I agree that this company used a low-down dirty method in obtaining the default judgement against my husband, but I don't know how or where to file to have the judgement vacated. The original debt is something that my husband acknowledges, of course now he has to pay that plus a bunch of fees (hundreds more dollars). He needs to get his bank account unfrozen and I don't think we have any other options at this point. I looked into getting an attorney, but the fee just to retain them is much more than the amount that Cohen & Slamowitz wants us to pay. It is going to take a few days for my husband to get the money together to pay these people, so if you think we have a good argument, I'd like to know how to fight it only because I do not appreciate their tactics, and I'd hate to see this happen to anyone else. Thanks again for your wisdom, I'd greatly appreciate any more enlightenment that you can provide.

This will affect you for a long time, even if you pay it today. The judgement will show as public record on your credit profile and totally ruin your credit for all intents and purposes. The attorney had a responsibility to serve your husband notice of the court hearing at his current address. I would think this may be easily resolved. If you have current utilities in your husbands name, any credit at all at your current address, your address would have been easily tracked via your credit profile. What occurred is a common scam with these bottom feeders. They INTENTIONALLY attempt to serve notice of a court hearing at an OLD unused address KNOWING that you will have no opportunity to respond. This allows them to simply attend the court hearing, tell the judge that you failed to respond and a default is almost automatic. If the debt was outside the statute of limitations for collection via lawsuit they would have lost simply by you going to court and telling the judge the SOL had expired. They could still "attempt" to collect but would have had NO method of legal enforcement. By acknowledging the debt you may have erased all your options. You could still try to file for a hearing to vacate the judgement based on bad service of the notice of hearing. You should be granted this by simply showing your address was readily available on your credit profile. On the other hand, you may have now "reaffirmed" this debt by acknowledging it with the collector.

Well, I spent the day going to all the proper channels to see what I could find out. I went to the county clerk and discovered that there was in fact, a default judgement against my husband. It turns out that they sent a letter to his old address (where he hasn't lived in 7 years) and when he didn't get the letter, he didn't make the court date (because he didn't know about it) they obtained a default judgement against him. I called Cohen and Slamowitz and they told me what company the debt is originally for, and my husband says it checks out, so he will pay. I have to say, the person I spoke to at Cohen and Slamowitz was helpful, she was polite and courteous. She told me how to remedy the situation, and while we still have to pay, at least the freeze will be removed from my husband's bank account after we do pay. Not exactly a happy ending, but at least we know what happened. Please let this story serve as a cautionary tale; if you think you owe someone money, try not to lose track of it. If you move, be aware that (in NY State anyway) a collection agency can serve you, by mail to your old address, and you might never know about it until you discover your assets have been frozen.