ComplaintsforPorter McGuire Kiakona, LLP

• Initial Complaint

  02/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife, *** *******************, and I bought a small condo in ******** an an investment property in 2015. I never got any maintenance or condo fees bills. I tried finding out who I should send money too I wasn't even sure who managed the building. When I Googled the building, all that came up was a non-working phone number. I sent emails to several parties that I thought may be the ******************* but never got a response, never got a single maintenance bill. Finally, I gave up, assuming they would find me, as is their responsibility.Suddenly on February I received an affidavit of service threatening foreclosure of the unit, dated 12/5/22. I IMMEDIATELY called Ms. ********************** where she explained it was maintenance arrears. She claimed that they were sending maintenance bills to an address in **********, where neither my wife nor I have ever resided. I explained to Ms. ********************** on the phone exactly what happened: that we'd never received a single bill. She seemed to understand; she even said she would try to get the late fees dropped. A few days later I received a bill from the law firm, Porter ********************** Kiakona LLP for maintenance arrears, cable bill, and "attorney fees and costs". I immediate sent a cashier's check to cover the maintenance arrears, $21,440.16, but she was asking for $7,264.90 in "lawyers fees and costs". When I asked her to see an invoice, she said "this is an attorney client privilege" and that I am not her client. She also claims we were served an affidavit to our home at ****************************, ***, in November of 2022, but I was in ****** (which I can prove) at the time, and my wife not in *** (which she can prove). I sent her a check for $4500, hoping to negotiate. She then sent a new bill, $14,054.31, saying that if I don't pay, she will foreclose on the property, and take action without notifying me. I would like to register a complaint against her for illegal foreclosure process. Thank you,*****************************

  Business response

  03/06/2023

  My name is ***** McGuire and I am counsel for AOAO Pacific Islander.  The complainant is not my or our firm's client.  Rather, we were retained to pursue collection of an outstanding debt from the owner of the unit--***********  She purchased her unit and then never paid the maintenance fees that were due monthly.  Both the Association and subsequently our firm sent notices to the unit regarding the outstanding debt and the owner never responded to the notices but rented the unit out and obtained revenues in way of rent each month.  Finally, our office filed a complaint to foreclose because the debt was in excess of $20,000. 

  The owner was served with the complaint in November 2022in *** where she resides and failed to contact us until February 2023.  The owner's boyfriend sent us an email showing that the owner's realtor sent them an email advising them to make sure to contact the resident manager to register with the Association and yet, the owner never did so.  The owner has paid a portion of the debt, but initially refused to pay the late fees or the legal fees.   The owner's boyfriend or husband (we don't know the actual relationship) later sent a portion of the legal fees and thus, we sent a remaining balance due letter as is our practice.  If they fail to pay the remainder of the debt, we will move forward with the complaint.  Initially, **********************--the boyfriend--retained counsel.  I sent counsel the email I mentioned above and never heard from the attorney again.  This complaint is without merit.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call me on my direct line as I'm happy to answer any questions you may have *************).  Mahalo.

  Customer response

  03/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 19511441
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Practically everything McGuire says here is untrue, and she knows it is.  We were never served; this is a scam, and McGuire knows it.  She and her firm have been sued in Federal court over the exact same scam shes perpetrated against me.  See attached.  This firm is unscrupulous and needs to be stopped. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩