Debt Collectors Accused Of Fake Courtroom, Judge

[Hellsbells]

ERIE, Pa. -- A sign in the front of a building on West 39th Street tells visitors that it's the Unicredit Debt Resolution Center in Erie.

Once debtors got inside, they were fooled into believing they were in a courtroom with a judge, but the whole thing was a fake, according to a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania attorney general.

Team 4's Jim Parsons reported that Unicredit America is accused in the lawsuit of deceiving, misleading and coercing hundreds of consumers into paying off their debts.

Inside the building is a pair of locked oak doors with brass handles resembling a courtroom entrance. The company is accused in the lawsuit of building a mock courtroom complete with a judge's bench and witness stand.

Unicredit President Mike Covatto declined to comment on Friday.

"Can I look at your fake courtroom?" Parsons asked.

"First of all, that's an allegation that supposedly someone said, so talk to the attorneys," Covatto said. "You guys have a nice day. That's all I got to say."

The Attorney General's Office told Team 4 that Unicredit lured debtors to the building by sending employees who appeared to be sheriff's deputies to their homes, implying that they would be taken into custody if they failed to appear at the phony court hearings.

"It really galls me that someone would stoop that low," Erie County Sheriff Robert Merski said. "This certainly seems to be a scam, and it upsets me that they are trying to play on the integrity of this office, the office of sheriff. We've been here since the beginning of the United States."

The lawsuit accuses Unicredit of intimidating debtors into revealing their bank account numbers, even turning over the titles to their cars once they got them inside the building.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/...99/detail.html

[TheMeaningOfItAll]

Wow. That takes the cake. I feel sorry for those poor people. The way the economy is for people right now, it is hard for a lot of people to find any extra change. I can't believe the debt collectors took it that far. Isn't it against the law to impersonate a police officer?

[Proud wife]

Good old Erie, PA! GAWD, I hate this town! BTW, I live here & the place where they held "court" is only like 10min from my house! What I find kind of funny is that we only have 1 court house & only like 10 JP's here, not one of them is even in this area. People are just stupid.

[Aena]

That Unicredit has a lot of balls, to impersonate a police officer all the way to a mock courtroom including judge!

People should pay their bills but I can definitely understand when they can't, trust me I have been there plenty of times. I even joke around and say if I were to ask for a loan the bank would think it was a robbery attempt. But to sink that low to take from some what they couldn't afford to give (noted some people signed over the title to their car) that is just really sad and I am glad very illegal.

[Aena]

Good old Erie, PA! GAWD, I hate this town! BTW, I live here & the place where they held "court" is only like 10min from my house! What I find kind of funny is that we only have 1 court house & only like 10 JP's here, not one of them is even in this area. People are just stupid.

If someone showed up at my house in a sheriff's uniform and he served me papers that said I had to appear at a debtors court, which would most likely be something close to what happened, I sure as hell would of went. Especially because these people knew they really owed the money, its not like it was some scam where they were just picking people randomly and sending these false summons to them. There is no way I would take the risk of going to jail. In the article it stated these people were told if they did not go they were under the impression they would be taken into custody.

I would of been one of the stupid ones I guess, I would have showed up for "court" instead of what I was told was the alternative, jail.

[Proud wife]

If someone showed up at my house in a sheriff's uniform and he served me papers that said I had to appear at a debtors court, which would most likely be something close to what happened, I sure as hell would of went. Especially because these people knew they really owed the money, its not like it was some scam where they were just picking people randomly and sending these false summons to them. There is no way I would take the risk of going to jail. In the article it stated these people were told if they did not go they were under the impression they would be taken into custody.

I would of been one of the stupid ones I guess, I would have showed up for "court" instead of what I was told was the alternative, jail.

My brother-in-law is a sheriff, so I would have at least called or went there to see what was going on. IDK, I guess I am the type of person who looks at things very carefully & "investigate" to make sure things are the real deal......

[Aena]

Usually I would also, but even after all of the crap I read about I really wouldn't expect anyone to have enough balls to try and pull a stunt like this off. Not a debt collection place anyway LOL

[biteme]

That Unicredit has a lot of balls, to impersonate a police officer all the way to a mock courtroom including judge!

People should pay their bills but I can definitely understand when they can't, trust me I have been there plenty of times. I even joke around and say if I were to ask for a loan the bank would think it was a robbery attempt. But to sink that low to take from some what they couldn't afford to give (noted some people signed over the title to their car) that is just really sad and I am glad very illegal.

You're right people should pay their bills and that's why we have laws to deal with those issues, What these assholes did is no deferent than a lowlife loan sharks muscle and they better get nailed and lose everything, non of this country club prison or parole BS
This company was the criminal not those that couldn't pay their bills, and I would look into the companies that hired them to collect.

[VXIII]

There is no such thing as debtors court, you can get sued in civil court but you will be served with a summons for a court date, this collection agency is up shit creek, this is so illegal. Debtors have rights, lots of them.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A northwestern Pennsylvania debt collector has agreed to cease collection tactics the state says included a sham courtroom where customers would be summoned.

Unicredit America Inc. agreed Tuesday to stop sending letters to consumers threatening them with arrest if they failed to respond. Erie County Judge Michael Dunlavey also ordered the mock courtroom torn down within 30 days.
[...]

The state has also filed a civil suit against Unicredit alleging unfair trade practices. That suit seeks civil penalties for hundreds of affected consumers.

http://kdka.com/wireapnewsfnpa/Pa.de...2.1994019.html

[malq]

It goes to show how protected people are that assume depts they cannot pay.
Although they took extreme, perhaps unfair and illegal measures, wtf? People pay their bills they owe and no problem. If you can't pay it you shouldn't of bought it. If you have circumstances that force you to into collections, work with the collectors and they will not have to pull this stuff.

i disagree it is a scam, rather an unfair avenue of collections and above the law.
The people owed the money. They hid from collectors.

This collection agency is no different than the mock lottery winner notifications law enforcement has used to lure criminals into a building only to serve warrants and arrest them.

Actually, setting aside legalities I think it's brilliant.

[sheevaa]

Thank you, malq. I'm not a collector, but I deal with shady people trying to get out of paying their bills every day.
I've heard every excuse in the book, I've been called every name in the book, people look for any goddamn loophole they can to get out of paying for something THEY decided they needed. The fury I get for explaining yes, you DO need to pay your bill, is insane.

Luckily for companies, you don't pay your bill, it goes on your credit, and you're fucked until you do. That's as far as my company takes it.