Justice for Our Mom

In the Autumn of 2018, our Mom became aware that she was on an auto loan which she did not consent to.  Once she received copies of the paperwork, she informed Ford Motor Credit that the signature was a forgery and that she never signed for or consented to be on the loan.  Additionally, the forged signatures were notarized, and she never appeared before the notary or anyone else related to this loan.  She requested that Ford immediately look into the matter and remove her from the loan and notify all three major credit bureaus to delete it from her credit report.  Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), they had 30 days to investigate and respond to the claim.  Ford told our Mom that, if she wanted further action, she needed to go through certain steps – the first being completing the FTC Identity Theft Affidavit .  Completing this form required our Mom to file a police report, and the filing of that report led to felony charges for forgery against the person who is accused of signing her name on the loan documents.  Because it is an active criminal case the police report is not available to Ford or anyone else at this time under the Right to Know Law.  So long story short, our Mom did every single thing Ford told her to do and, yet, it still did not notify the credit bureaus to delete the account.  However, Ford did remove her from the loan and gave the other individual a new loan.  So how is it that Ford granted a new loan to the party involved, removed our Mom from the initial loan, but still say it’s a “good loan” and that proof has not been given that forgery occurred?  There is an open, active criminal case, yet her rights under FCRA were not protected.  Because Ford failed to act on our Mom’s behalf, her credit still reflected very negative reporting (the auto loan was 89 days late) and had substantial debt assigned to her.  And, this was all occurring during one of the most difficult times in our Mom’s life. Our Mom was very lucky to be referred to an attorney who was more than willing to help our Mom fight for herself in this, and, through her attorney’s efforts and our Mom’s working with the attorney, she was able to be removed from the loan and one of the three major credit bureaus deleted the account from her credit report.  The notary owned her part in this, as well.  However, because Ford did not inform the remaining two credit bureaus to delete the account as required under the law, legal action had to be brought against the two remaining credit bureaus and Ford Motor Credit.  Both credit bureaus subsequently deleted the account completely and settled on the matter.  Ford had a default judgment entered against it because it never responded to the action.  But Ford then started paying attention to the lawsuit and had the judgment vacated.  Now the matter is open again for our Mom in  US Court.  When Ford realized it was the “last man standing”, it reached out to our Mom’s attorney to request a demand.  Ford finally responded to that more than a month later, and the offer was insulting for all our Mom has been through and is still going through, as the criminal matter is not over.

So why are we, as her children, asking for your help at this time?  Ford has decided to take this case to trial (Ford has the deep pockets to do so) rather than settle fairly because it is counting on our Mom accepting the insulting amount offered or withdrawing her case because she cannot finance the legal fees.  The Judge on the case has assigned this to a jury trial (scheduled for June 2020).  The cost to fight this will be about $15,000, which our Mom does not have and is needed by the end of 2019.  But, she wants to fight Ford, even if she loses, as a matter of principle – her rights were violated, and she wants to be a voice and example for all of the other victims of identity theft and forgery who have been told, “It’s not worth it, you won’t win.”  Ford is capitalizing on its power over the common and ordinary people, and it is just not right.  We are trying to help our Mom raise the money to take Ford to trial.  If our Mom wins, she will donate any funds awarded after attorney’s fees and costs are paid, up to at least the amount raised in this campaign, to another fund or cause of this nature.  She is not in this for the money.  The time and energy that she wants to put into this is because she is angry and wants to take a stand for others who may have been victims but have not had the chance, resources, or knowledge to fight for their rights.  Will you please consider a donation, any amount will help, so that she can continue on this path to what is fair and just?

My sister wanted to share this:
My mom is the strongest woman I know.  I say this because I have seen her try and provide for myself and my three siblings alone for a little over 2 years now.  She has done it with an immense amount of grace and patience, but I know her patience is beginning to wear thin.  She has had to deal with immense legal fees in an attempt to fight Ford in this case.  She wants to be able to stand up for herself and what she believes is right and to take this case all the way, but might not be able to do so on her own accord.  I would hate for this case to have to be thrown out simply due to financial means. Please help my mother continue on in her fight against the hand that’s been dealt against her.