Campbell families saved from predatory lenders - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Campbell families saved from predatory lenders

When Kerry and Spc. John Luckey tried to buy a new house, a scar on their credit report halted their plans.

The negative item was a $1,700 bill owed to Britlee Inc. The company was seeking the remainder owed on the Sony laptop computer purchased by Spc. Luckey in 2006. In total, Britlee had charged Spc. Luckey more than $4,000.

"My husband bought the computer because he was being deployed, and he didn't think about the finances of it all," Kerry Luckey said. "When I met him and asked how much he paid for it, I thought it was crazy! It was four times as much as you would pay for a computer."

Instead of paying the bill, the Luckeys contacted the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, which had previously won a civil suit against the company. They also sent a letter to Britlee explaining they would not pay the bill and asking the company to clear their credit.

Not long after, they received a check for the several thousand dollars they had already paid.

The Luckeys are among hundreds of Fort Campbell families who did business with Britlee and ended up in debt. Britlee began operating from a kiosk in Governor's Square Mall in November 2004 under the names The Military Zone and Laptoyz Computers and Electronics.

The State Attorney General's office filed suit against the three companies in 2005 when complaints surfaced over questionable business practices that targeted Fort Campbell soldiers, said Olha Rybakoff, assistant attorney general.

Montgomery County Judge Ross Hicks approved a final judgment Thursday against Britlee, Millennium Finance Inc. and Stuart L. Jordan, awarding payments to more than 600 soldiers.

The State Attorney General's office was awarded $1.25 million to consumers of Britlee and Millennium, with $1 million going to the 615 soldiers who did business at the Governor's Square Mall operation. Britlee's attorneys agreed to the judgment in court Thursday.

Britlee was selling computers at double the retail price and adding 19 percent interest rates, spelled out in unclear contracts, Rybakoff said. Rome Finance was the lending company, and none of the companies were licensed to do business in Tennessee, she said.

“The single biggest victory is for the soldiers who are now one step closer to getting refunds of some of the money that they paid to the companies involved in this case," Rybakoff said.

Many of the soldiers were young and without much credit. Once deployed, they could do little to contest charges or look into their business affairs. The company also harassed soldiers for collection, calling their Army superiors to report mounting debts, Rybakoff said.

Several phone call messages left with Britlee's defense attorney Hugh J. Moore Jr., were not returned Thursday.

"Soldiers found themselves with debts they couldn't manage, and the company was going after them," Rybakoff said. "One of the single most upsetting parts of the case is when we saw the collection calls ... a soldier who died in the line of duty, who was found beheaded in the streets of Iraq, and Rome would continue to try and collect from his family for almost seven months. It's the lowest of the low — words can't describe it."

Soldiers with Millennium Finance contracts should receive their refund checks from the Division of Consumer Affairs in a few months. Soldiers who had with contracts with Millennium Finance also will have all remaining debt forgiven, the release said.

Through the settlement, Britlee must stop all collections involving any affected soldier accounts, dismiss all pending collection suits and clear all affected credit bureau records for the soldiers.

The canceled debt for these soldiers is valued at approximately $210,000. Soldiers can keep their computers, the release said.

"Few things are as reprehensible as conduct which exploits the fine men and women serving our country in the armed forces," said state Attorney General Robert E. Cooper Jr. "My office has worked hard to make sure soldiers, or in some cases families of deceased soldiers, are treated fairly. Anyone whose business model is based on taking unfair advantage of service men and women had better think twice before doing it in Tennessee."

Britlee was an agent of Rome Finance Co. Inc. Rome collected more than $1.2 million in revenue from the Britlee Governor's Square Mall kiosk sales.

In December 2008, in the same case, Hicks awarded the state $10.8 million from Rome Finance Inc., with $8.8 million as soldier restitution. Rome filed for bankruptcy in Oakland, Calif., the release said.

Rybakoff said efforts are still being made for soldiers who lost money through Rome Finance. Several states such as California and Georgia have suits pending against the company on behalf of their consumers.

The Attorney General's Office will work with the Department of Defense to locate soldiers, calculate the refund and make sure the soldiers receive their money.

Kerry Luckey said they plan to use their money to fix up their new home.