Tampa, Florida (CNN) — Dianne McLeod recalls her husband, Stanley, getting so visibly upset when the debt collectors called that she had to take the phone away from him. She believes constant harassing phone calls and other tactics eventually killed him.
“I think they were a major contributor to his death because of the stress and what I saw it doing to him,” she said.
McLeod is suing her mortgage company, Green Tree Servicing, for the wrongful death of her husband. McLeod said she thinks he would be alive if not for the stress caused by Green Tree’s debt collectors. She said they sometimes called up to 10 times a day and also called the McLeods’ neighbors.
“He would begin to sweat; he would also get very red in the face and complain about chest pains,” McLeod said. “We were worried he was gonna have a heart attack right there on the phone.”
Stanley McLeod had a heart condition and in 2002 was airlifted to a hospital after a second heart attack. He went on disability and Dianne McLeod says they fell behind about three months on their mortgage payments. Continue reading
Jason Uzarraga 