I too am a victim of MBF Leasing. In 2005 I signed a lease which I had thought was month to month. In October of 2008 I called to cancel my lease as my company was closing and they told me I couldn't. For lack of time and effort, I continued to pay on the account until today when I called to get the mailing address of where to send the equipment back to. I figured I would pay the remainder of the lease and send the equipment back.

When I called and waited for 38 minutes the first person I spoke with gave me the address and then yelled at me telling me I couldn't send back the equipment until June when the lease was up. I told her I just wanted it out of here and would pay the remainder of the lease, she hung up on me.

I called back and spoke with another woman, who when I was telling her this, slammed down the phone, her name was Tiffany. A supervisor then picked up the phone and said she had been listening to the conversation and didn't like where it was going. I was FURIOUS and told her that I was the customer..she didn't let me finish, she called me a "nigger" and hung up on me. I am not of African American descent, not that it even matters, but who is employed by a company and says these things? I was so appalled I started to shake and cry!

I called back and got Zach on the phone, I started over and didn't tell him anything. He gave me a completely different amount that I needed to submit to the company.

At this point, I don't even know what to do. I obviously do not want to pay them one more dime, I have been paying since Ocotber on equipment that is sitting in my garage. I am so furious with their customer service and fraudulant business practices. And now after reading all these posts, I am scared to death that they will call me 100's of times a day.

ugh, beware small business owner of MBF...what a horrible company and even more horrible people that work for them.

feel free to email me at [email protected]

Ok, I have the same story as everyone else. Long story short, I was told I was signing a month to month lease, was not given access to the entire lease at the time, and all the handwritten info (including terms) was added after I signed it. In the end, I did not pay a cent to MBF more than I had agreed to and did not have to pay a lawyer at all. Here is how I did it:

I realized that I had been scammed when I closed my business approx. 6 months into my lease. WHen I tried to close my account with MBF I was then informed for the first time that I was locked into a 4 year contract.

The first thing I did was close my bank account and send MBF confirmation that my bank account had been closed and asked them to invoice me every month. I know this may not be practical for everyone, but if you want to protect yourself from losing money I would. Otherwise, MBF is not going to work with you because they are getting their money every month.

Next, I filed the compaints with the following entities (I never actually expected them to do anything, but I did it to use as leverage with MBF):
1. Texas Attorney General
2. Illinois Attorney General
3. Better Business Bureau
4. Federal Trade Commission

I live in Texas. So I went to our states legislature website where all the Texas statues are listed. I found the business and commerce code for our state and picked out the laws that I felt made the MBF lease contract illegal and invalid. I wrote a letter to MBF listing all the laws I felt they were violating. Also in my letter I attached copies of the above 4 complaints that I sent.

I faxed the letter to MBF and also mailed it to their Illinois and New York offices. A week after I sent it I called to check up on it and was told over the phone that my lease had been cancelled. So while I have not received written confirmation yet, I do believe I have prevailed.

Here are some tips that I think helped me:
1. I took immediate action - dont wait around until it is too late and they start harrassing you and messing up your credit. Like I said before, I was 6 months into my 4 year lease and about 3 months behind in payments when I got my lease cancelled.

2. I documented every phone call and got the name of the employee that I spoke with.

3. I am not an attorney and have no legal experience. And I know in my letter that my citations of the law were wrong and that I was probably wrong in a lot of my threats. However, I think I made it clear to MBF that I was not paying them another penny and that I was willing to follow through on my threats.

4. Most importantly, I argued with them with facts. I know that the company sucks, they are rude bla bla bla. However, screaming at an employee that they are mean and corrupt does not help anything. It is hard to argue with them because when you call they say "well you signed the lease" "why would you sign a lease with blanks in it" etc. On the surface, these are valid responses. However, the bottom line is that there is contract law that protects consumers from being fraudulently induced into signing a contract.

Here is an exact copy of the letter I sent (with my personal info edited out):
December 10, 2008

MBF Leasing, LLC
281 West 83rd St., Suite D
Burr Ridge, IL 60527
212-279-1495

VIA US Mail and Facsimile


To Whom It May Concern:


This purpose of this letter is to request a cancellation of lease number INSERT (attached as exhibit A). It is my position that I am now paid in full per terms agreed upon with SALESMAN NAME AND COMPANY. All handwritten information listed on this contract, including the schedule of lease payments, were fraudulently inserted after my, (LESSEE), signature was obtained. The verbal conversation and agreement between LESEE and SALESMAN at the time the lease was signed concluded that the terms of the lease were month to month. You can tell from the different handwriting on the lease that the information was added by another individual that was not present at the time of the signing of the lease. I cannot even be 100 % certain when the lease was signed as the date was added next to my signature by someone else. Additionally, the bank account information for COMPANY was not provided to MBF Leasing until May 23, 3008 (see exhibit B) and could not have been listed on this lease at the time of signing.

I expect to be released from this lease immediately and that any negative reporting to credit agencies will be reversed.

Additionally, any further phone calls to PHONE NUMBER, or any other phone number you may obtain for the purpose of contacting lessee, for the purpose of requesting payments on this account will be considered harassment and used as evidence in court. Texas allows single-party consent for telephone call recording. Be advised that all calls to PHONE NUMBER (or any other contact with lessee or other owners of COMPANY) may be recorded, documented, published and used as evidence.

As of December 10, 2008, I have done the following to protect my interests against your company and to report allegations of fraud and misconduct on the part of MBF Leasing, LLC:
1. I have filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General (see exhibit C);
2. filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General (see exhibit D);
3. filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (see exhibit E); and
4. filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (see exhibit F).

If lessee is not fully released from this lease immediately, if any more harassing phone calls are made, or if any negative reporting to credit agencies occurs lessee will hire a private attorney to pursue the following legal actions against MBF Leasing (or any other parent, subsidiary, contracted company, etc who may have been involved in the fraud perpetrated against COMPANY and LESEE) including but not limited to the statues listed below.

I. Under Texas Bus. And Commerce, Title 1 Sec. 2A.108, the following provisions in the lease are unfair to the lessee and overwhelmingly favor the lessor:
1. Section 20. The lessee waives the right to pursue legal action against lessor in the appropriate venue, and must pursue action in the state convenient to the lessor. However, lessor retains the right to pursue legal action in any jurisdiction. In addition to being unfair, under 2A.106, this provision is unlawful and the jurisdiction of New York is unenforceable.

2. Section 21. Waiving the right to pursue a claim as part of a class action, private attorney, general action or other representative action is not fair to the lessee.

3. Section 22. Per this section, lessee has the ability to opt out within seven days of the signing of the lease. However, at the time of the signing of the lease, a copy of the contract was not provided to the lessee so that lessee could review the terms. In fact, a copy of the lease was not provided to lessee until a letter dated May 12, 2008 was sent requesting more money to cover insurance for the equipment. At that time, the opt-out period had ended. It was also not until this time that lessee became aware of the additional handwritten information on the lease.

4. The schedule of lease payments, which lessee contends were fraudulently added after signature was obtained, is unconscionable in and of itself. At $49.95 per month for 48 months, lessee will have paid $2397.60 in lease payments for a used piece of equipment which can be purchased new for $239.00 (see attached exhibit G).

I plan on seeking all relief allowed for under Sec. 17.50. for mental anguish as a direct result of the unconscionable actions of MBF Leasing.

II. Under Title 2, chapter 17, Sec. 17.46, MBF Leasing, LLC, SALESMAN violated certain deceptive trade practices act provisions by purposely caused confusion as to who SALESMAN worked for and who the lease was being signed with.

III. On page one of the lease, the guarantor’s personal information was added to the lease after signature was obtained, and without guarantor’s authorization. This is a direct violation of Sec. 48.101 of the Texas Business and Commerce code which protects my personal identifying information.

I plan to pursue these actions against MBF Leasing, LLC and any other action my attorney recommends and that is allowed for under the law. I will pursue relief related to mental anguish, recovery of attorney’s fees, and any other remedies for which I may be entitled. Pursuit will be made in any jurisdiction that is allowed for under the law, possibly including small claims court in Harris County, civil court in Harris County, and civil court in the state of New York. Additionally, I will be in contact with the county and district attorneys of Harris County to seek consumer protection under Sec. 17.48.

Additionally, if the phone calls are not ceased immediately I will file complaints with the appropriate entities under Texas Penal Code 42.07., which protects me from harassment by telephone.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,




LESEE


CC: MBF Leasing, LLC
132 West 31st Street 14th Floor
New York, New York 10001-3401

I've been charged 2 months from my checking account since 8/11/08 and I never even received the stupid credit card processing machine. I've made phone calls, sent faxes and today got a letter saying that I had entered an agreement whereby I was stuck. Really *** me off so what can I do other than go to every board I can find and bad mouth them? I contacted my bank today about declining their bank draft from now on but haven't heard back from that yet. PETER DEPALMA from UBCOA is on my No. 1 *** list. He and MBF are in cahoots.

MBF Leasing is a crooked fraudulent company that has harassed my business by calling up to 30 times a day 5 or 6 days a week since September of '07. They claim I signed a lease that I did not sign. They sent a third party sales person to my retail store and tricked me into thinking I was getting a check verification service for a price of $13.00 a month when it was actually $113.00. I had to change bank accounts due to fraudulent withdrawals they were making adding up to over $500 and now they are attempting to sue for $3500. They are unprofessional and bottom line crooked. What a mess. Do not do business with the company!!

Sometime in Feb of 2006 my son was approached by a salesman who worked for Vericomm. The salesman told my son he had a great deal and it would cost us much less in fees for using his company. The salesman then came to me and explained that there would be a fee for the credit card equipment but it would be refunded to us each month so that the equipment would cost nothing. He gave us his cell phone number in case we had any problems. After the first month when our rebate check for $169.00 did not come we called him and he said two checks had been written and were in the mail. During the second month when the checks had not come we called and his phone was disconnected. I then called Vericomm and they said that they do not have any program where they rebate money for equipment leases and that the salesman no longer works for them.

I called consumer protection and sent paperwork to the Vermont Attorney General. Vericomm was sent a letter to refund all money that they had taken from me. I received a refund of $338.00 the same amount MBF Leasing had taken. I told MBF Leasing to stop taking money from my account they said 'Read your lease'. They continued to take money from my account and I was no longer using the equipment. I went to my bank and signed a form to not allow MBF leasing to take money from my account. That stopped them for one month. The next month they changed the amount they were withdrawing and my bank did not catch it and neither did I. This went on for about 8 months. MBF Leasing stole approximately $1800.00 from me. After finally stopping them, all the phone calls started and said I owed them $5900.00.
As of this writing I just got back from a brief court appearance in New York City where they have taken me to civil court. I have filed an answer to their accusations and filed a counterclaim asking for return of all money taken and punitive treble damages. My court date is July 8. I s there any lawyer who would be willing to help me pro bono...