It doesn't have to be true. . .

Following my discriminatory termination and refusal to pay AARP the $2,155.13 they demanded of me, AARP sent me to collections.  Of course, being AARP and having a very loose relationship with facts when it comes to my termination and this case, the collections letter contained lies.

When AARP sent me to Palmer Recovery Attorneys, PLLC, they informed them that I had an AARP Corporate Credit Card and I charged personal items to that Corporate Credit Card and owed AARP money (see the letter below).  This is 100% false.  I NEVER had an AARP Corporate Credit Card, I always used my personal credit card for two reasons: 1. When you get a corporate credit card, it is just like opening a personal one and that line of credit shows up on your credit report.  If the company doesn’t pay the bill, which you have no control over, it can affect your credit.  2. I like points.  It is one of the perks that made up the long days, being away from my husband and life while I worked on AARP’s behalf during my work travel.  The points allowed me to take personal trips to make up for the loss.  All my work travel reimbursements would be through the system and needed multiple levels of approvals for me to get my money back, just like my trip to NYC and Allstate Sugar Bowl.  This was the money AARP was asking me to pay them back.  Different narrative than I used a corporate card and charged a bunch of stuff and didn’t pay AARP back?!?  This again, shows that AARP didn’t care about truth or facts, they simply said whatever they wanted and acted however they pleased.

This collections letter came before the AARP counter lawsuit.

Thankfully I had an attorney to take care of this and the collections did not move forward.  What about someone who doesn’t have an attorney or the means to hire one?  Also, how do you hobble an opponent?  You take away their ability to put up a fight.  Ruining my credit would hobble me and make it impossible for me to fund a lawsuit.

What I would learn over the 6 years is intimidation would become a common theme starting with that letter signed by Sarah Mika threatening to tell future employers if I didn’t pay them the money they said I owed.  Now, a collections letter arrived on my door that could do a ton of damage to my credit rating, thus hobbling my ability to fight.  It was also a tactic to get me to pay the money, thus forcing me to admit my "guilt."  I could imagine their attorney’s saying: “Why would you pay a balance to the collections firm if you didn’t owe it?  You must know we are right and your termination was justified.”  At the time I received this letter, my credit rating was 815 out of 850.  I would not let it fall into the 600-range due to their lies.

I’ll remind you, AARP is (supposedly) a NON-PROFIT, but these tactics seem more like those of a mob boss or loan shark. Just done really poorly.

Both Mark and I grew up in homes that did not have financial stability, so we have always lived within our means and focused on saving for the future/retirement.  We never carried short term debt, paid our credit cards off every month, had lots of open credit, and only had loans on our home, investments properties, and automobiles.  We were financially solid because we focused on making it that way.  How else do you think I was able to fight a multi-billion-dollar organization for 7 years?!?  Our legal bills and current debt would make you cry.  I think this shocked them as my theory is they were trying to outspend us, drive us into bankruptcy.  For AARP, with all that tax free money, these legal expenses are barely a rounding error.  For me, it was my husband’s and my retirement, our future and trying to hold on to what took both of our lifetimes to build.