Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We found out they held a debt on my husband ***** we got a settlement amount on 9/18/23 and I paid that settlement amount on 9/18/23. They refuse to send me a receipt that shows paid in full for 30 days. Which puts closing on our house in jeopardy.

  Business response

  10/03/2023

  Our formal formatted response is attached, but we are copying and pasting the text here:

  Response to: BBB complaint ******** 
  
              To whom it may concern,
  
  We have received this complaint number 20631035 from the consumer. In her complaint, the consumer states that we refuse to send her a receipt showing her account as paid in full, which puts closing on her house in jeopardy. This is inaccurate.
  Our office is a law firm that represents ******* ******** *** in a Lyon County, Kansas case against the consumer’s spouse, the Defendant. A lawsuit was filed against the Defendant on December 6, 2016. The Defendant failed to appear or answer, and a default judgment was entered on March 30, 2017.
  On September 5, 2023, the consumer (the spouse of the Defendant) contacted our office to negotiate a payoff of that judgment. Our office worked with her to negotiate a payoff. The payoff was made on September 18, 2023 via personal check (and NOT certified funds) through our web payment portal. We cannot send out a letter or satisfy a judgment for at least ten (10) days after a payment is made by personal check so that we can ensure the payment has cleared.
  At no time during our phone calls with the consumer leading up to her payment or on the day of her payment did she mention any house sale closing or any immediacy in getting the account resolved. During a call on September 18th with the consumer after she made her payment online, she requested an email of confirmation that her account has been settled in full. We informed the consumer that while a payment may have been made it has not been processed or cleared. The consumer was then informed that the payment is pending and will not process until 4pm that day and that all final payments have a 10 day hold to ensure that funds clear. Additionally, the consumer was informed that we will not send a letter that the debt has been resolved until that payment has cleared. Once the payment clears, a letter notifying the consumer that her account has been closed and a Satisfaction of Judgment would be filed. She was advised because our attorneys review those letters it could take 3-4 weeks. The consumer made no mention of a house sale closing or any immediacy in getting the account resolved during this call. She appeared to understand the requisite time frame.
  The consumer made another call to our office on September 20, 2023, requesting a receipt that her account was paid in full and the judgment satisfied. Our office confirmed her payment posted on September 18th and reminded the consumer that this is not an immediate process. She then filed this complaint.
  While we are apologetic to the consumer that this matter could not immediately be taken care of the day the payment was made, our office did not mishandle her account in any way. We did not refuse to send her a receipt that shows her account was settled or paid. Her payment merely needed to clear. The consumer was informed of the timeframe in which this process takes and made no mention to the office that that she was in the process of closing on a house sale. Furthermore, the consumer had over 7 years in which to pay this debt in the time it was in our office. On September 28, 2023, 10 days after the payment was posted, our office sent the consumer a letter notifying her that her account has been settled in full.
              Sincerely,
  
           *** ******* * ******* ******* ******** *******
  Pappas Hayden Westberg & Jackson PC

*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. ↩