Watch out for this bogus 'torney! (Part 2)

Shortly after my talk with Pedro Leslie, the genuine Atty. Salva, the fake one called again. He had the gall. He was not anymore calling for Norma. He wanted to talk to me. He probably thought I was like him, a false professional. So, right away I told him that I already conversed with Atty. Salva and in a straight forward manner I asked him why he pretended to be another person.

Believe me, he was also quick. Like a real con man, he laid the ground of his escape. He was not to be trapped. Not desiring to be caught red-handed in his false representations, he said that he only claimed to be calling in the name of the law office of Atty. Salva but that he did not say he was Atty. Salva. Cute! Anyway, when I asked for it, he gave his name as one John Villanueva. No mister, no attorney. Of course, I would not know if it was another bogus name. But, in a subsequent call I had to the true Atty. Salva, I repeated the name of the fake attorney - John Villanueva, for the true lawyer to work on.

From our subsequent talk with Norma, I found out that she was misled into getting a credit card more than a year ago. A marketing man promised her that it was the most convenient way of buying some goods. How could she ever turn away the possibility of acquiring goods with the use of the card, (not hard cash), and yet pay only minimal interest?

As I learned, Norma's woes came immediately after her transaction of about P3,000. To her shock, she got a billing, about two months later, of almost double the amount of her purchase. Was it interest, penalty or other charges? She would not know how a P3,000 transaction would reflect a total collectible of around P6,000!

Like an honest debtor, Norma paid. But, her budgeted amount of P3,000 naturally could not pay the whole statement of P6,000. Her troubles did not end there. She felt cheated that in a year's time, despite having stopped using the card and paying every now and then some cash, the statement continued to balloon. It saddened her no end that ironically, her payments in small amounts did not dent the whole figure. The last sum she remembered having been asked to pay was close to P100 thousand!

I write this story because I am told that there are many Normas in our midst. They have fallen into the trap of credit card companies which are worse that Shylock. Yes, I hope to warn those who had been equally harassed by the bogus 'torney of the latter's modus operandi. He would tell defaulting credit card holders, like Norma, that their debts had zoomed beyond unbelievable amounts. That he had been instructed to file the case in court. But, that he, as the company's lawyer, would hold the filing of the case, if, within the week, the debtors would cough up an amount. The sum which the bogus 'torney would express would be much lower that the imagined account but certainly it would be in a figure that doubled the original purchase cost.

Such a despicable act has to be addressed by competent authorities. There should be a government office that shall provide protection to harassed individuals and if there is as yet no law that specifically sanctions this reprehensible conduct, our legislators need to craft one quickly. Or the Normas in our midst shall be devoured by the evil practices of greedy companies.

* * *

Email: [email protected].