AMEMENDMENT TO PETITION / NUMBER 92107
ROBERT C. SEARLE, ET UX / 3OTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
VERSUS / VERNON PARISH
S & P CAPITAL INVESTMENTS INC.
AND
CITIFINANCIAL INC.

AMEMENDMENT TO PETITION

The petition of Robert C. Searle and Maria -. Searle, residents, and domiciliaries of Vernon Parish, Louisiana, respectfully represents as follows:

1.

The defendants herein are S & P Capital Investments Inc., a Texas corporation, and Citifinancial Inc. a Delaware corporation.

S & P Capital Investments Inc., a Texas corporation with main offices located at ------, Euless, Texas 67040, which might be served via Certified Mail at said offices pursuant to RS 13:3204. Service was not obtained at their former Registered Agent; ------, located at S & P Capital Investments Inc, ------, Lafayette, LA 70508, pursuant to CCP 1261.

Citifinancial Inc., a Maryland corporation with main offices located at ------, Baltimore MD 21202, which might be served at their Registered Agent: C T Corporation System, ------., Baton Rouge, La 70809.

2.

Petitioners had a consumer loan with First Family Financial Services, 1208 North Pine Street, Deridder, LA 70634, account number 1------0. This account was eventually paid in full 17 February, 2000 with check number 3850, in the amount of $314.24, which subsequently cleared Sabine State Bank 15 March, 2000. The memorandum portion on the face of this check stated the following “paid in full 1------0”. First Family sent no more bills after this account was paid off.

At some point after the account was activated in 1997, First Family then sold it’s operations and eventually it became Citifinancial, which it remains today. Upon information and belief, S&P Capital Investment Inc., as well as Citifinancial, the defendants, assumed responsibility for the collection of this account in June 2002, and November 2000, respectively, although the account had been paid.

3.

As Maria had begun school in 2002, we attempted to purchase property in Lake Charles, LA, attempting to obtain financing for it. First Family was not listed on any of our credit reports, instead, the defendants were. Citifinancial and S & P Capital were listing accounts in arrears. I attempted several times to have the Citifinancial erroneous information removed by both visiting their local offices 1208 N. Pine Street Deridder, LA 70634, and multiple calls to their home offices in Baltimore, MD, to no avail. Citifinancial, both locally and in their home office, would not assist me in this matter, neither correcting the errors, nor informing their debt collectors. I sent Citifinancial a certified letter, requesting they rectify this situation, in January 2003. Upon returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom, December 2003, Citifinancial was still on my credit report along with S& P Capital for this same paid debt. Citifinancial has even updated an item on my credit report listed as ‘Allied Finance’ 1308 North Pine Street, Deridder, LA 70634, with the same information regarding the original First Family account. Upon inquiry at their local office, 1208 North Pine Street, Deridder, LA, they deny ever having done so, although Experian Credit Reporting Agency states they mailed a copy directly to the 1308 address, and received reply from the same.

Upon information obtained, Allied Finance was purchased/merged with First Family Financial Services in or about 1981, then The Associates purchased/merged with First Family in or about 1992, Citifinancial then purchased/merged with The Associates in November 2000. The Associates, under the auspices of Citifinancial, apparently in June 2002, engaged the debt collection services of S & P Capital.

While being deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I received several distressed messages from my wife, Maria D. Searle. Maria had received a message from “Homicide Investigations”, apparently a police matter. As communications is hard to maintain in the desert, I finally was able to call her and the topic of our conversation weighted heavily on the messages she had received from this apparent police agency. Maria was under the impression I had information related to someone’s untimely death, as the name Homicide implies, and this would be an urgent matter whether or not I was in a combat zone. I asked her to go ahead and contact them, and find out their reason for calling. Upon calling the number and referencing the case number on one of the messages, she discovered the “Homicide Investigations” was merely a collection agency, S&P.

S&P, upon Maria speaking to them, changed their messages from “Homicide Investigations” to “Accident Investigations” to eventually “Asset Investigations”. When Maria had became aware of S&P’s reason for calling, she informed them that I was deployed, to which they were apparently sullen about ‘not able to serve him’, but, they tried to imply she had power of attorney, so she was responsible and had to talk to them. Maria informed them she didn’t wish to speak to the S&P again, to quit calling her, and that I would, upon my return, call them myself. To no avail, S&P kept calling frequently, usually two or three times per week, leaving messages to the effect of ‘call when you decide to pay your debts’, ‘we know you don’t pay your debts, but...’ and similar harassing messages were left on our answering machine.

4.

Upon my return, and having heard one of the messages, I called S & P Capital Investments Inc. then known to me as “Asset Investigations”. Upon finding out just which debt they claimed I had not paid, I informed a Ms.Williams that the account had been paid to First Family while I was in Belize, on another deployment, and that I had no intention of paying a paid account. She wouldn’t hear of it, and insisted I was “Lying”, “A Liar”, and a deadbeat who was just trying to get out of paying this debt. At one point during the conversation, she told me to “Shut-Up and listen to me...” and commenced to inform me that I would never be able to clear this matter up until she received her payment, and S&P would never be removed from my credit report. I soon found this to be fairly accurate, as upon trying to purchase property in Lake Charles, the only creditor the mortgage company cited as being negative on my credit report, was S&P. She even asked me my commander’s name so as to attempt to further tarnish my name. After researching our records, I located the cancelled checks, numbers 3805 and 3850, being $340.71 and $314.24, having cleared 28 January 2000 and 15 March 2000, respectively. I again called S&P and upon receiving their fax number, I forwarded them a copy of both the checks. The next day, I received a call from a male purporting to be S&P’s attorney, he stated that anyone could forge these, and even though the latest check stated “paid in full”, this proves nothing. And it would require me to produce a ‘letter of release’ with First Family’s letterhead in order for them to stop collection attempts. Even after showing S&P they had no cause to pursue the matter, they persisted, and even verified to the credit reporting agencies that the debt was valid. Even after having sent the fax, they still again tried to have me pay this paid account, sending a bill the same day I sent a demand letter trying one last time to refrain from litigation.

5.

S&P and Citifinancial’s attempts to collect and report this paid debt:

A. Have violated our privacy, and harassed my family.

  1. Have falsely reported a debt never owed them.
  2. Updated erroneous information in my credit report.
  3. Attempted to defraud our family via means of both wire and mail.
  4. Violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, violated the Fair Debt Collection Act and Louisiana RS 9:3562, as well as the Soldiers and Sailor’s relief act of 1949,
  5. Slandered my name, libeled my name, and defamed my character to third parties.
  6. Egregiously misrepresented themselves under color of authority.

6.

Petitioners by this action are seeking to enjoin the S&P Capital Investments Inc. and Citifinancial Incorporated from conducting further activity regarding petitioners.

7.

In addition to seeking to have the defendant enjoined from their further activities, petitioners do further by this action seek recovery for other damages, losses, and expenses they have, and will suffer; as a result of the wrongful actions by the defendants, including, but not necessarily limited to the following, to wit:

a.)General damages for aggravation and inconvenience. As are reasonable on the premises.

b.) Expenses associated with lost revenues from denied credit based upon defendant’s reporting. As are reasonable on the premises.

c.) Punitive Damages for the following:

  1. Attempted fraud. As are reasonable on the premises.
  2. Fraudulently reporting to Credit Reporting Agencies and updating same false information. As are reasonable on the premises.
  3. Misrepresentation under color of authority. As are reasonable on the premises.
  4. Slander, libel and defamation of character. As are reasonable on the premises.
  5. Interference with Maria’s general health and welfare. As are reasonable on the premises.

8.

Petitioners have shown that they have made due demand upon the defendants to amicably resolve this matter, but no positive communications or payments have been forthcoming. As such, and as requested above, in addition to the actual damages suffered by petitioners, petitioners are also entitled to reasonable treble damages as applicable. Petitioners are requesting damages in amounts exceeding the statutory required for a trial by jury.

WHEREFORE, petitioners pray that service be made on the defendants in accordance with law and that after due delays and legal proceedings had herein, that there be judgement in favor of the petitioners, Robert C. Searle and Maria D. Searle, and against the defendants, S&P Capital Investments Inc and Citifinancial Inc. In and for such sums as are reasonable in the premises, plus legal expenses, plus legal interest on all sums awarded from the date of demand, and all the costs of the court.

By:______/ By:______
Maria -. Searle / Robert C. Searle
Petitioner, Pro Se