I am a realtor here in San Diego looking for an attorney to represent me against a fraudulent creditor. I'm not really sure where to begin my search or if your firm could help in my case. The short of it is that I went to a conference here in San Diego held by the Mike Ferry Organization. I was pregnant, newly separated and emotional to be sure and made a decision to sign up for 30-day trial of one-on-one coaching with a 12-month commitment' with the promise that I could put my account on hold for maternity leave or illness since my situation was very unstable. I began treatment for major depression by my attending physician and a psychotherapist.
My depression rendered me unable to work which I did try to explain to Shirley **** at the MFO office when I called to cancel my account before coaching began. I was informed that I could explain to my coach my situation when they called, which I did. The coach told me in December that he would seek a hold extension for me so that I would not have to cancel. I told him again that my family has been financially devastated and I was trying to get back up on my feet again and just try to take care of my children which I was unable to do at the time due to my depression. I was unaware of any hold fees or that the extension was not granted.
Again, it is MFO policy that an account can be placed on hold for illness and I was quite incapacitated. I am still undergoing treatment and trying very hard to get better and get on with my life. However, I never heard back from my coach until February when he called to say we needed to have a coaching call. Despite my many attempts to communicate with Adrian **** who seems to be in charge of collections at MFO, my attempts to cancel were denied and I was informed that they would cancel my account and get a judgment against me for $12,000 plus attorney's fees.
Problem number two is that I was also assured I would receive 3 coaching calls monthly. The first month went by and I received one and my coach no-showed for the second. Nevertheless, my card has been charged for $1,000 plus a holding fee and I was unaware it would be coming until I received a copy of MFOs Policy and Procedures Manual in my mailbox some weeks later. Moreover, the services promised at the conference which include a neuro-linguistic coaching are not actually available to me until I complete 6 months of this coaching at $1000 monthly. I explained to my coach that I would have to cancel and they could keep my deposit.
I continue to receive threatening emails and phone calls from this organization claiming I must pay them for February when I received no services and for every month thereafter or they will turn me into a third party collection agency and file suit against me. My financial resources have been depleted because I had to cover our household expenses while my husband looked for new employment and I was treated for severe depression. I'm still trying to get back on my feet. I just don't think it seems legal or right that I should have to pay for services that were not as advertised and frankly, were never fully rendered. I did some research and it does appear that MFO has quite a collections operation set up and they have filed judgments against several realtors here in San Diego. They max out credit cards when they are not authorized to do so. I want to be prepared if they do decide to file against me as well.
