Frank VanderSloot, Idaho’s richest man, and his wife Belinda announced yesterday the creation of a $500,000 fund to help residents defend themselves against “unreasonable attorney fees” in collection-related lawsuits, specifically mentioning attorneys for an agency “who appear to be using unscrupulous methods to take small debts of a few hundred dollars and transform them into huge debts of thousands of dollars by adding outlandish attorney fees.”
VanderSloot is the Chief Executive Officer of Melaleuca, a wellness company. One of his employees became embroiled in a legal battle against a collection agency, which was subsequently written about in an Idaho newspaper. The woman owed a debt of $294, which grew into $5,583.25 as a result of legal wrangling over a garnishment notice. The newspaper published a series of articles about the collection agency, Medical Recovery Services, which caught VaderSloot’s attention.
“Belinda and I have decided that we simply cannot stand by and allow our neighbors to go through the kind of financial duress and emotional pain that is apparently being perpetrated by MRS,” VanderSloot wrote in an open letter announcing the fund. “Dozens or perhaps even hundreds of local families have been the targets of these aggressive tactics. Many find the behavior of these attorneys ruthless, unethical, and heartless. If the stories are true, it’s difficult not to agree. Fortunately, MRS seems to be the only collection firm that is operating with these principles.”
In response to the letter, Bryan Smith, one of the attorneys for MRS said in a statement, “In representing the interests of our clients, we always ensure to follow all applicable rules, regulations and statutes — as well as our professional ethical obligations. When collecting owed debts — earned by medical professionals — our practices are fully supported by the applicable laws of our highly regulated industry, and the court determines post-judgment fees on a case-by-case basis. The fees in question are for the time and resources we have invested in these cases to best support our clients.”
VanderSloot did note in his letter that the fund will not be used to help people avoid paying legitimate debts, acknowledging that medical professionals have the “right and need” to collect what is owed to them for services they render.