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The Story

In August of 1992 purchased 1988 Corvette from Fred Gordon Auto Wholesalers in Rosemeade CA for a purchase price of $16,350.00. I put a down payment of $5,000.00 and financed the rest of the balance through a company Fred Gordon provided. The company was the Downey Branch of WestCorp Financial Services Inc. The following are the events that have transpired until the present.

August 1992

On or about the 21st I called Fred Gordon Auto Wholesaler on 7910 Garvey Ave. in the city of Rosemeade to inquire about a black 1988 Corvette convertible that he had advertised in Auto Trader Magazine. The advertised price was $17,500.00. The name of the salesman I spoke to was Tony. He told me that the car was in good condition and that it was the bosses' car. From the sound of the ad, the picture, and what Tony had said, this seemed to be the car I had been looking for. After we discussed the car's condition further, he told me to come down and take a look. Heather Kennedy and I traveled to his establishment. It was apparent that the car needed some attention to operate properly. Fred had explained what was wrong with the car. After a test drive we began to negotiate on the price. He was leaning towards a price between $16,500.00 to $17,000.00 and because of it's condition, I wanted to get the car for $16,000.00 After going the the usual formalities and contract signing, I gave him a deposit of $1500.00 the remainder of the down payment would be $3500.00. He said he would call me as soon as he found out if he could get financing for the remainder of the purchase price. A few days had passed and I had not heard from Fred. I picked up the new Auto Trader just in case a deal could not be made. I noticed that in this issue he was advertising the same car for $16,500.00 I felt that I could definitely get the car for the price I wanted. I spoke to him shortly afterwards. He said that financing was available and to come down to the lot. When I got there we negotiated on the price. He was firm on his advertised price of $16,500.00 I asked him why the advertised price dropped $1000.00 from the previous advertised price. He gave me some lame excuse and we split the difference for a purchase price of $16,350.00. The finance company he used was WestCorp Financial Services Inc. He explained the interest rate was 17% however, the way he computed the rate worked out to 10%. He also set up insurance through Hector Hippolito so I could drive the car off the lot. Also included with the car was a cellular phone. The car was rigged for one but the handset was not there. He told me that he would get the phone as soon as possible. The car had problems soon after the purchase date. The radiator leaked and he explained that it needed a new reservoir bottle which he would provide and like the phone, I had to wait. Actually the problem wasn't with the bottle, when I replaced the bottle the old one didn't leak. It was a leak in the intake manifold gasket. A reputable Chevy dealership quoted a price to fix the problem at $450.00 so I decided to do the job myself. Good thing I did, after removing the intake manifold it was apparent that the threads for the intake manifold bolts were stripped. To fix that problem the aluminum cylinder heads had to be rethreaded. Although a leaky intake manifold problem is not uncommon in this type of engine, the problem was compounded with the stripped threads. It appeared that the bolts were overtightened to try to stop the leak. The price to fix both problems would have been astronomical had a dealership performed the work. It took several calls to Fred Gordon before he finally had the handset. Once he told me he had it I went there to get it as fast as I could. Other problems with the car included a bad clutch and transmission, cracked windshield, a passengers window that didn't roll up, an electrical short in the drivers seat, and I didn't even get a key to the door. After further inspection of the car it was revealed that it was hit in the right front and the original color was white not black. Most of these problems I fixed in a short time. I tried to increase the cars value and keep it looking decent. Obviously, I wasn't impressed with his operation and didn't want to be reminded of a sour deal so after I got the handset I never returned. WestCorp sent the first statement at the end of August. The amount that they came up with after adding on the interest at the beginning of the loan was $19,546.80 I thought it strange that the interest for the full five year amount was added before it was due. At that time I didn't fully understand. I thought I would call the Downey branch to find out the details directly from the source. September 1992 I received a letter from WestCorp inquiring about insurance. The insurance that Mr. Gordon referred might not have been in contact with WestCorp as of the letter dated 9/8/92. The agent Hector Hippolito. The phone number that I have for him is 350-1795. After problems with Hector I chose Allstate Insurance, a reputable firm with excellent service. On or about September 15th I sent in my first payment. The amount due was $325.78 I decided to send in a payment of $700.00 so as to pay off the loan earlier than five years. The due date was 9/20/95. The statement that I have reflects a statement date of 9/4/1992 where as almost every other month afterwards, the statement date is on the 6th of month. October 1992 On receipt of my October bill I called the office to question the method of calculating payments and it was explained that the type of loan I had was called an add on loan as I explained earlier. The amount due was $277.34 on the 20th of the month. The monthly payment was supposed to be $325.78. I needed to replace the clutch and the problems that Mr. Gordon said existed in the car were greater than previously stated At the beginning of the month I called Benny at the office and and had further questions. His answers were not enlightening. I also asked if there was a contract that I was to sign. I believe that he told me it had been sent to my address. That month I paid $500.00 and noted under memo to be applied to original principle, not for monthly payment. I thought that this would ensure proper crediting of payment. To the best of my memory I thought that I was going to pay two checks of $500.00, one at the beginning of the month and one at the end. The records do not reflect this and I believe that because of the way that payments had thus far been credited, I should wait to see if things would improve in accounting. November 1992 I still had problems understanding how amounts were disburse. I called sometime between Nov-Dec and I believe I spoke with Ann Bush. She explained the type of loan I wanted was a conventional loan. And I would have to pay some exorbitant amount to refinance. I decided to wait. At the end of the month I received a letter from WestCorp that was pleasant and thanked me for being a customer. According to the records, that month I paid $350.00 and the amount due changed again to $253.12 December 1992 At this time now that I finally had the handset I decided to have the cellular phone activated. More problems. I called L.A. Cellular at 12121 Pico Blvd. and spoke to Mark Heinrichs. He said that the phone would be activated in a few days. No go. After the said amount time had passed and the phone was still not activated I called him back. In a few days he would come out to my work and try to fix the problem. Well the problem was a little more complex than he thought. From what I remember he said something about the old "chip" needed to be burned out. I didn't know what this meant I just knew my phone didn't work. He said he almost wasn't able to do this because this problem bordered on some legalities. After he sorted out the mess the phone was activated. I recently found out from L.A. Cellular that the "chip" he referred to was pirated. In other words the Electronic Serial Number (ESN) was stolen off another account. This way the calls could be made for free. I had been put in an embarrassing and compromising situation because of Fred Gordon Wholesaler. Now I really questioned his reputation. February 1993 I still had questions in regards to payments because the payments I had made thus far were not being credited as I was told they would be. I asked for the pay off amount and was told that of the $2550.00 I had thus far paid, $1213.05 had gone for interest and $1336.95 went towards the principle. I didn't understand because the total amount on each statement was called the principle. The records reflect an amount due of $325.78 and it appears that the larger payments had ceased at this point. As I recall, the statement due dates were differed than those of the statements I now have. That was one of the problems I made known to accounting at the time. March 1993 While at Kelsey and Leigh Anne's I experienced a very abnormal heart rate. I woke up in the guest room suddenly because my heart was pounding out of my chest. I woke up Heather because if it didn't stop I was going to have her take me to the hospital. After an hour or so my heart rate went back to normal. There was no apparent reason for this. The next time I went to the doctor I asked him to check my heart. I was told everything was okay. April 1993 On the 29th I left for Montana to work and planned to be there until early September. This is the month that things seemed to change. Heather and I were having more than just unusual problems. I also noticed that Kelsey and Leigh-Anne were having strange problems as well. Heather and I had an argument before I left and went separate ways for awhile. When I came home earlier than planned on June 18th Kelsey and Leigh Anne had broken up as well. My problems with WestCorp's accounting had not changed. At this point I thought I was ahead on the payments. According to the records I made a payment that month for $325.78 May 1993 While I was in Montana I made sure that the monthly payment was made. There is a discrepancy in the paperwork and what I remember. To the best of my memory I thought that I was ahead on my payment at that time. I wasn't going to make a payment for that month because of what the previous statements had as the due date and amount due. A friend picked up my mail regularly and would send it to me. I recall that the due date had changed. I was upset because the larger payments that previously offset the due date no longer had that effect. I remember being glad that I had opened the statement because I was just going to wait until the next month to pay. Had I done so, my payment could have been thirty days late. June 1993 I returned on the 18th and things had changed while I was gone. Friends and occurrences around the house were irregular. Temperaments and habits of friends and acquaintances seemed to have changed. At that time I also noticed that my normal habits and preferences changed. I hated cigarettes, cigarette smoke, and the mess that was associated with the vial habit of smoking. It was surprising to me that I started smoking cigarettes even under the circumstances. I had experienced similar pressures and changes in the past but never even thought of starting certain bad habits such as this one. I also seemed more jealous, picky and short of temper. My finances however, and job skills remained the same. Heather also seemed to have changed. Heather and Leigh Anne were close friends before Kelsey broke up with Leigh Anne. At this time she no longer kept in contact with Leigh Anne. I still remained friends with Leigh Anne as well as with Kelsey. The situation was rather awkward seeing that I no longer spoke to Heather and Kelsey was her employer. Heather did not want to speak with me or Leigh Anne. Kelsey decided never to see or talk to Leigh Anne. Leigh Anne was to have a child. She was four months into pregnancy and cicumstances forced her to have an abortion. Kelsey also was pining over the break up of his relationship but remained strong and committed to his decision. Leigh Anne seemed to have changed since the time he first met her and fell in love. I felt and later told him that I still thought he was in love with her. Leigh Anne and I were both quite puzzled at Heather's and Kelsey's change in attitude. Needless to say, at that point in time we were all in a difficult and challenging social position. I tried not to let this frustrating period interfere with work and finances. I tried to make a new environment at home. My finances were good and I was paid up on all bills. Some bills were even paid several months in advance. My car loan payments with WestCorp were current. Due to the previous problems I experienced with them I decided not to pay in advance as I had before. July 1993 I was working in Culver City with David Hadfield. I remember having problems with the car. Kelsey let me use his car to get to an important on-set call. I remember having problems at the bank. It was to be the start of a lot more "computer" errors to come. I also had some problems with ATM's and credit cards. My phone records indicate that a call was made to WestCorp at 10:01am on 8/20 for two minutes. I do not remember what the call was about. The check I had sent to WestCorp around that time of the month was returned for insufficient funds. It was quickly replaced. September 1993 At the end of the month I went to Las Vegas to work on a show called "treasure Island". There were several misunderstandings which included more ATM problems, living arrangements, and pay rate/per diem figures. Heather had sent an overnight letter with some cash because of the problems I had encountered. When the letter was sent back because my name was not on the hotel register I took my frustration out on one of the hotel operators. That incident led to my termination after only a week on the job. I packed the car and left for home. I never experienced these kind of problems. What I was about to experience on the road home would later be one I wouldn't forget. One that friends of mine would also relate having in similar detail but with near fatal results. On the way home I felt very strange. The road appeared to move in strange directions. The white lines in the middle of the road seemed to double. I thought it was because I was tired. I have driven cross country several times alone and never experienced this kind of road fatigue. It seemed as though things were appearing out of nowhere on and next to the road I was driving on. I had a close call and decided to pull over for awhile. The hallucinations stoppped abruptly as I neared a populated area. I had no idea at the time what could have caused the strange impairment to my vision that I had experienced. I wrote it off as some kind of mirage. After all I was in the desert. The payment to WestCorp was made on time. At the bottom of the page on the September statement noted the July 1st law about reflecting a negative credit report should I not fulfill the terms of my contract. A call was made to WestCorp on 9/27 at 11:06am for a duration of three minutes. October 1993 The problems I mentioned previously continued. I had made calls to WestCorp from my place of employment. According to the records that I am presenting, I made a payment for $347.07 that included a late payment charge from the previous months statement. Octobers' statement reflects activity in September. November-December 1993 At thins time things became even stranger than before. Heather thought that the house was "haunted" because of strange movements like a rocking chair rocking with no one in it. Light bulbs were burning out at a very unusual rate. One person, My boss suggested the phenomena could have been caused by a "ghostly presence". The room mates had mixed opinions, some heard strange noises, and others thought we were hearing things. I heard strange noises but not like the ones that Heather heard. In fact I was experiencing some kind of hearing loss when it came to things that Heather was saying. It always upset me that I could not hear the last part of the sentences she spoke. That also became a new peeve with me. By then I thought that Heather was losing her mind until one night while with a friend a "ghostly pair of legs" walked up the stairs. I saw this out of the corner of my eyes and said nothing to my friend. My friend Debbie asked me why I turned my head and looked but said nothing. She then said matter of factly, "Did you see a pair of legs walk up the stairs?". I was at a loss of words. I told her that was exactly what I saw. I then knew in my mind that something strange was going on. Other incidence included strange movements like the one I experienced as I wrote the last passage. The dog was also behaving strangely. She would not come into the bedroom even when she was called in. It was like she was afraid to enter. The electrical system in the house was acting up. Televisions turned on and off by themselves. People in the house began to notice the strange happenings but kept them under their hats for fear of ridicule. My fear of ridicule had changed at this point. I started to believe Heather and people began to believe that these occurrences had some kind of "connection". If hindsight is indeed 20/20 I can clearly see now what had happened then. The payment amount indicated on Novembers statement reflecting Octobers payment was $325.78 the December statement reflected "no activity" for November. Hand written on the November statement was the number 716-1000 also 10,379 94. I believe that this was the payment amount at the time. A phone call was made to WestCorp on 11/22 at 12:32 pm for a duration of two minutes. January 1st through January 17th 1994 Heather and I planned to buy a house down the street in an excellent neighborhood. Not as exclusive as the one we were in but none the less the price for this "fixer" was too good to resist. The real estate agent Ara Berbarian helped us with the negotiations. The real estate broker for the house however, was not as professional. It was as disturbing to us as it was to Ara that the deal was taking so long and was so bungled. No deal is ever "for sure" but Ara and I felt the offer we submitted was to go through. Heather and I still officially lived at 19129 Pala Mesa Place. We decided to stay at the Chatsworth Hotel to put an end to room mate hostilities. Our room mates had other people moving with children. This pressure and confusion led to escalated arguments. On one hand our dreams were about to come true. On the other hand, the nightmares would continued. On January 17th the earthquake hit. Some of our belongings were in storage, some at the Pala Mesa residence, and rest with us in a different hotel, The Ramada Inn on Devonshire in Chatsworth. This hotel offered better long term rates. It was a frightening experience for everyone in the area. We were the first ones out of the hotel. We were locked out of our room and my head was bleeding from an injury caused by the iron gate we jumped over. I tried to calm Heather because she was almost frantic. I shook her and told her to get a hold of herself. I knew that this was an event that would take a long time to correct. Hopefully someone would help. We packed up our belongings as the earth shook. We were going to stay at the house Kelsey bought next door to his own. His step brother John, and John's girl friend Jill were staying there. Another person who was friends with Kelsey, Morgan Brummett also stayed at the house at 3250 Cornell road. Before we went there we first went to the storage place to see what damage had occured. Then we visited the Pala Mesa home and realized the damage to our lives had risen to bigger problems than we had ever faced before. The house we made an offer on was damaged so were our dreams, in more way than one. The records indicate that a payment was made on January 13 for $350.00 No phone records with WestCorp's number on it is available, although I remember calling WestCorp to make some kind of arrangements due to the earthquake. January 18th through February 1994 This is when I gave bad luck a good name. On January 26th my dog Misty, a blue Doberman-Pinscher of above normal obedience ran outside with one of Kelsey's dogs as Heather was leaving to go to work. Misty then ran into the street and was struck by a car. The dog was killed instantly. On February 8th I was doing some work at Kelsey's house to offset the rent. Even though I was not staying next door I felt it only fair to live up to my promise. John was at the Kelsey's while I was working. I remember telling him of the strange occurrences at the Pala Mesa residence. I also gave him some money for Heather that I withdrew from my earthquake bank whose mistakes were becoming unbearable. John and I had become close friends and I had gotten him some work through Debbie. John appeared to be different that day. His mood was very strange. While I was working in the bathroom John came in and stole $1300.00 in cash from right in front of me. He took it when he opened the door. The door obscured my vision for a moment. When I looked for my cigarettes the money that was under it had vanished and John went into the back yard. I asked John what was up. He denied any wrong and asked if I wanted the money back I had given him. I requested that he do so and finally did. He then made some excuse that the dog took it and ran off next door and got in his car. Being that it was Kelsey's house and his brother that had just blatantly ripped me off, I didn't quite know exactly what to do. I told Heather what had happened and then I told Kelsey. Kelsey believed me and thought that John had stolen some statues from him previously. On February 12th Heather left the house on Cornell and stayed with Debbie and I. My Corvette was not running as usual and the frustration of trying to fix it with no "support" vehicle was getting to me. Debbie had lent her truck to me and I did some errands for her and picked up Heather as well. After I picked her up we needed to stop at one of her friends to get some of her belongings she kept there during the earthquake displacement. While turning onto the street where her friend lived a speeding motorist that changed lanes on a hill struck Debbie's truck at approximately 60mph. We sustained some injuries, none serious. It was determined to be the other motorists fault. None the less the truck that was entrusted to my care by a friend was completely totaled. Anyone who saw pictures of the damaged sustained by the truck could not believe that anyone could have survived such a wreck. March 1994 After a week Debbie's house sitting job was over. Heather and I went to a hotel in Thousand Oaks and then to the Howard Johnson's in the same town. We began looking for a place to live permanently. I was working in down town Los Angeles. After looking all over Heather asked Kelsey if we could rent the house at 3250 Cornell Rd. Kelsey had told John to leave. This put me in another socially difficult position. Later John was to tell the world of Kelsey's alleged wrong doings on various talk shows. I wrote a letter on the 20th telling WestCorp of my situation. WestCorp sent more letters saying that my account was delinquent on the 8th and 10th of the month. The statements we now have and TRW reports indicate these and previous payments were timely. I have no phone bills to reflect calls made to WestCorp at this time. I do remember being told that Dave Hadfield, an employer that I had a falling out with a few months earlier was being called by WestCorp around this time. Wendy, Dave's business partner sent me some mail I had left on set. That mail included WestCorp statements and letters. Dave knew that I had on going problems with WestCorp. The feeling I got is that he thought I was irresponsible for being late with payments and long calls to WestCorp during work hours didn't help. The constant calls he received regarding my whereabouts probably made matters worse. He did return my calls. April 1994 through August 1994 A friend that helped me to move decided to walk off with a guitar of mine and $300.00 that I lent him. I couldn't explain why. Other strange things were happening as well. There were problems with the electrical system at the house on Cornell as with the Pala Mesa residence. At times Heather would swear that she heard people talking in the house. I always tried to explain this phenomena saying that it was the valley that we lived in. One day I heard the same thing she did. I looked out the window and saw Kelsey's daughter and her friend Pablo several hundred yards away. I was amazed at how clearly I could hear them talking. I dismissed her thoughts with this observation. I started working on a show called "Panther". My dwindling finances were rekindled with this job. Keith Cox whom I regularly work for was the boss on this job. He left for North Carolina and left the rest of the job in my hands. As difficult as it was I muddled my way through. I had problems with the IRS. They stated that they never received a return for 1990 or 1991. I called the person that prepares my taxes. She told me that she gave me the returns. I remember mailing them as well. I then mailed a copy to the IRS and the money that they garnished was returned. More time and needed money that seems to have been wasted. Later I would learn how and why. I remember continued problems with WestCorp and their methods of accounting. The statements that we have seem to tell a different story from what I remember. The corresponding dated letters of that time seem to go hand in hand with what I recall. The phone bills I have show a call made on June 7th at 5:35pm for three minutes to WestCorp. The previous problems seemed to continue at an accelerated pace. The harder I tried to overcome problems the more of a hole was being dug. I was trying to do several things at one time. It seemed that none of them could get accomplished. In July Heather found out she was pregnant. We really tried to get it together. For some reason we were more aggravated with every little thing. We seemed to be cut off from our friends. Maybe because of the distance we lived from them. It seemed that our time was consumed with trivial aspects of important matters. I made a call to WestCorp on 8/24 at 3:07pm for nine minutes.