When a Chicago man fell behind on his car payments, he claims in a new lawsuit that his lender tried to ruin his marriage by leaving a phone message mentioning his girlfriend.
The man's wife intercepted the message.
According to an ABC News report, Larnell Pillow is suing Prestige Financial Corp, based in Salt Lake City, for "intentional infliction of emotional distress." He claims an agent for the lender deliberately left the phone message. It seems Pillow had built a strong, friendly relationship with Prestige Financial as he kept his payments current. It was so friendly, in fact, that Pillow confided to one agent that he had a girlfriend "on the side," whom he now calls Jane Doe.
Every now and then, he says, Jane helped him make payments on his car. She thus became known to the agent. Pillow says he expressly told the agent never to mention Jane Doe to Pillow's wife.
But when Pillow lost his job as a crane operator and fell behind on payments, the agent - according the report on the lawsuit by ABC News - eventually phoned Pillow's home, leaving a voice message that mentioned Jane Doe, using her real name. Pillow says his wife soon left him, taking with her the couple's two children.
Prestige Financial could not be reached for comment. However, the company did respond by e-mail through the chief counsel for its parent company, stating it had not yet been served with a copy of the complaint. That statement reads in part: "Prestige Financial ... is not in a position to address the merits of the lawsuit. Prestige does not comment on pending litigation.
Pillow also could not be reached this morning. He previously stated that when he protested to the agent about the phone message, the agent allegedly said: "Now we know a pressure point to use on you."
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to original lenders, only to collection agencies and bad-debt buyers.
To comment on this story, contact Darren Waggoner, Editor, at 312.777.1379 or darren.waggoner@sourcemedia.com.
