Dr. Rob, Psychic, says my elderly mom must pay $ ?

My mother-in-law keeps receiving sweepstakes that look like she needs to send money (and she does), She also has been getting requests for donations from various charities that all seem to come from the same clearing house company. I can't believe how many charities are out there. She gets constant mail from Notch Victims/political organizations saying they are doing something for her and requesting donations. The newest is from psychics, religious organizations, and also mail from other countries. I finally found one "sweepstakes" that I think I can prove is fraudulent and I am going to contact the attorney general's office of my state. She also gets phone calls from various organizations and sweepstakes and I told her to tell them (if she remembers), "her attorney will be in touch with them". All this is so time consuming. I think this type of mail is what's keeping the post office in business and that's why they won't do anything about it. I appreciate some of the suggestions on this forum.

Hi Folks! Having been through the Dr. Rob nightmare myself, please let me urge all of you not to throw his mail away or write Fraud on it and return it. That's not going to stop him--he'll just keep on doing what he's doing.

Instead, notify the Better Business Bureau. If they get enough complaints about him, they'll shut him down.

Before you notify the Better Business Bureau, Google "Dr. Robb", including Dr. Robb's address. In my search, I discovered that "my" Dr. Robb was operating out of Delaware so I filed my complaint with the Delaware Better Business Bureau. I'm thinking that if you live somewhere else, especially outside of the United States, he just might have business licenses in places other than Delaware--which will hopefully be revealed when you do a Google search of his name and address.

Let's get this evil, preying quack put out of business for good so he can't harm any else's life. If he isn't reported to authorities, that can't happen.

The same applies for anyone or any "company" preying on our loved ones.

Declare war on them!

Good luck to you all!

Barb F

Hi naheaton! I originally posted the following answer on April 16, 2010. I'm going to copy it and paste it below, just in case you're not able to go back that far through the threads of the original question.

I hope you're not going through the same problem I did, but if you are, try doing what I did and you'll probably be rid of him.

Good luck to you! And now, here's my answer from April 16th:

Hi Folks--First let me apologize if my post appears once as a partial post and now as a complete one. I stopped in the middle of typing the first one to check old emails for verification of what I had written and when I tried to come back to my post, it was gone. I don't know if it cleared itself or posted.

In any case, what I was trying to let you all know was that #1 I'm sorry for not following up and letting everyone know how things turned out.

#2--what I did was follow the advice of one of the responders--I contacted the Better Business Bureau of Delaware and filed an online complaint--it's completely free of charge.

I don't remember all of the details because it was quite awhile ago, but I do remember typing in the exact text of Dr. Rob's "threatening" collection letter on the complaint form so they'd know exactly how emotionally threatening his words were.

In response to my filing, I received emails from the BBB of Delaware--letting me know they'd received my complaint; that they'd investigate; what their findings were.

At the conclusion of their investigation, Dr. Rob agreed to stop sending collection letters to my mom, to stop writing to her altogether. He did send one last letter to her stating something along the lines of "I'm sorry to see our association come to an end...you will not be receiving any further bills from me...etc. "

Thankfully, he did keep his word--no more letters, no more bills.

My mom was completely shocked when I told her how many other individuals were being swindled by him. She had actually become afraid to stop paying him; I guess because she was fearful that he just might have some power to make her life fall apart or be "hexed" if he got mad at her.

One thing I learned through this was that if I took the time to print out the research I had discovered--in this case, that was the comments made by all of you--it carried a LOT more weight than if I just told her about them.

Now I calmly ask her to let me research an entity before she sends money to them--I don't chastise her or make her feel foolish for thinking she should send them money. I just tell her, "Mom, let me check them out on the Internet and I'll print out what I find so you can look it over and decide."

That approach is working so much better than my previous approach--"MOM...you paid WHO to do WHAT!!!! They're crooks! Why did you send them money?!!!!"

Even though I just turned 60, I'm still learning and still realizing that the two very important gifts I can give my mom are dignity and respect. And raising my voice or speaking to her like she's my daughter--and a foolish daughter at that--instead of my mother isn't showing her dignity or respect.

But I still must admit that I hope individuals like Dr. Rob who prey on the fears of others and those who take advantage of people burn in hell for their actions.

Thanks so much for all your support.

Barb

The original post was Oct of 2008. Does anyone know what ever happened with the whole psychic thing?

These type letters can become an addiction to the Elderly to the point they actually believe it is a personal correspondence. My 83 year old Mom is now bombarded with 5 - 10 scam psychic mails per day (most from Netherlands) and reads them all. One psychic scammer had her believing that someone in the family was trying to kill her and she better send money for protection. All I can do is try and get to the mail before her and sort them out.

Im so sorry for your loss - You might put "Fraud Mail" all over the letters then send them back. - God Bless You - sorry you have to go through all this now.

I am unsure if we are talking about the same Dr Rob, we also have one in Canada, Georgetown, and he sounds exactly like you say, my mom passed away in November of 2009, I had stopped his "person books" that see into the future, he proclaims to be the best, well he is still sending paperwork to our house cause we had her mail forwarded here, if he's that good then he should know she is gone.........plus yes I also had the same problems trying to cancel her bil also and I was her power of attorney, sent several cancelation notices to him to have him stop...... but he continued to send his crap, finally I put return to sender on the envilope before I opened it, aftger a few times getting their own crap back with no money they did stop. If people who only want money keep harrassing your elderly parent, hide or take away their credit cards, block all 1-800 numbers, do all the mailing for your parent so you can control what gets sent out and what you keep, I stopped hundreds of dollars from being sent away because they just target the elderly and just keep bugging them till they feel like they have to pay, or they send gifts and expect cause they sent them something the least they could do is send money back, so I marked everything return to sender and am still doing it 8 months after her death and it still keeps coming.....had a huge fight with Readers Digest, threatning my lawyer on them, they stopped right away and oh gee jusyt for the harrassment let me keep the last book they sent for free after dragging me through hell. Back to Dr Rob the phsycic from Georgetown, I can't even fnd a phone number, and I have written him who knows how many letters and sent back his crap and it still keeps coming !!!!!! These are just a few things I did for my mom before she passed away cause I was her care giver and her power of attorney too, good luck and hope I said something that has helped the care givers of their elderly parents.
Still mourning for my mom
Karen from Thorold, Ontario

Thanks Lynne, its good to hear that our efforts are not fruitless!
I am however considering sending all our mail (my mom lives with us) to a mail box and then I can throw out the Dr. Rob junk mail before it comes to the house. I just intercepted another piece of mail from "Maria Duval" psychic and along with the letter asking for personal information she sent a coin to "put under the bed" - it has a pentagram on it! - Anway I have some strong words for her when I send back her letter! Keep up the good fight!
Christine

Hi There...........
I'm the wife of Ken, who has dementia and is in a nursing home. Prior to his going there he got caught in some scammers "web". Dr. Rob was one of them. I also sent his threating scam letters back with "Fraud mail", etc. on the envelope and wrote him telling him I was going to contact the Federal Trade Commission. I also called him names......LOL
Well, just last week I got a letter from him stating that he would not be contacting my husband again.. Right, when you call their bluff they back off. What a low life to take advantage of elderly folks. Can't stand it!!
Lynne M

We have a local TV station that will take a consumers complaints about different establishments, and delve into it for them. You'd be surprised how many times the harassing stops as soon as the cameras and questions start. Maybe it's time to shed some light on these things, I'll bet you'll be surprised how many other folks will come to the surface with the same issues.

inhym3.... GREAT IDEA!!

He's just a scammer, he finally stopped - I sent his letter back saying that I would report him to the district attorneys office, and that it was elder abuse!
I wrote all over the envelope "Post Master" - this is "Fraud Mail" and Elder Abuse" Return!!!! - and send it back. They just want money, but if you harass them back, they stop. We get so much mail like this, its so frustrating!!

I doubt anyone can collect from your mom anyway. Talk to a lawyer, like via free consultaion, legal aid, or hire one.
I know I wouldn't pay the guy if I were you. let him sue...he'd have to explain his bad business behavior!!

dimc40 - Contact Pro-Active again and talk to someone in management to see if they can help you. They are a reputable company. You may be able to return unopened product.

If not, you can re-sell unopened product on Craig's list or eBay to get some of your mom's money back.

Unless your mom needs her credit cards to shop, you should take them away from her. I don't know how she started getting the Pro-Active in the first place since I don't think Pro-Active contacts people - you have to call them.

If you haven't done it, make sure your mom's phone number is on the DO NOT CALL list. She will still get calls from charities, who are exempt for now, but not having a credit card will help.

my mom was getting pro active for 10 months! i called them and said what does a 83 year old woman need with pro active.
well the credit card companies dont care. i have no clue what to do.

Hi Folks--First let me apologize if my post appears once as a partial post and now as a complete one. I stopped in the middle of typing the first one to check old emails for verification of what I had written and when I tried to come back to my post, it was gone. I don't know if it cleared itself or posted.

In any case, what I was trying to let you all know was that #1 I'm sorry for not following up and letting everyone know how things turned out.

#2--what I did was follow the advice of one of the responders--I contacted the Better Business Bureau of Delaware and filed an online complaint--it's completely free of charge.

I don't remember all of the details because it was quite awhile ago, but I do remember typing in the exact text of Dr. Rob's "threatening" collection letter on the complaint form so they'd know exactly how emotionally threatening his words were.

In response to my filing, I received emails from the BBB of Delaware--letting me know they'd received my complaint; that they'd investigate; what their findings were.

At the conclusion of their investigation, Dr. Rob agreed to stop sending collection letters to my mom, to stop writing to her altogether. He did send one last letter to her stating something along the lines of "I'm sorry to see our association come to an end...you will not be receiving any further bills from me...etc. "

Thankfully, he did keep his word--no more letters, no more bills.

My mom was completely shocked when I told her how many other individuals were being swindled by him. She had actually become afraid to stop paying him; I guess because she was fearful that he just might have some power to make her life fall apart or be "hexed" if he got mad at her.

One thing I learned through this was that if I took the time to print out the research I had discovered--in this case, that was the comments made by all of you--it carried a LOT more weight than if I just told her about them.

Now I calmly ask her to let me research an entity before she sends money to them--I don't chastise her or make her feel foolish for thinking she should send them money. I just tell her, "Mom, let me check them out on the Internet and I'll print out what I find so you can look it over and decide."

That approach is working so much better than my previous approach--"MOM...you paid WHO to do WHAT!!!! They're crooks! Why did you send them money?!!!!"

Even though I just turned 60, I'm still learning and still realizing that the two very important gifts I can give my mom are dignity and respect. And raising my voice or speaking to her like she's my daughter--and a foolish daughter at that--instead of my mother isn't showing her dignity or respect.

But I still must admit that I hope individuals like Dr. Rob who prey on the fears of others and those who take advantage of people burn in hell for their actions.

Thanks so much for all your support.

Barb

Thanks guys, lets fight fire with fire!!

I'd be writing a letting saying that your Psychic Policeman plans to arrest him if he keeps sending collection notices, and that your Psychic says he forsees that he won't be getting any more money, but a long stay behind bars!

Yes, it is very exhaustive convincing someone that these people are scammers. I will write all those little messages all over the envelope. Thanks for the suggestion.

Lynne

Please you don't have to pay him, just send the letter or bill back saying you are reporting him to the District Attorney's Office. My mom stopped getting bills after that. I write all over the envelopes "MAIL FRAUD" "ELDER ABUSE" POSTMASTER STOP THE FRAUD!!! They eventually stop sending us stuff. But in between, now its the Sweepstakes I have to try and convince my mother that they are all fake. So exhaustive!

Same problem with Dr. Rob here. My husband has Dementia and ordered something. I do not know what it was. Dr. Rob continues to badger us by saying he will "pursue this matter more aggressively and will take additional legal steps necessary to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. He states that he has been "taken advantage of", etc. Now my husband is in a nursing home and we have to pay for his care. Dr. Rob is last on my list to pay. He is demanding, threatening and a criminal.

Lynne M

Mitzi, you are so right. I too have used the prepaid postage envelopes that were sent to solicit my dad, and sent them back their own correspondence with a huge note that said "PLEASE TAKE ME OFF OF YOUR MAILING LIST!" This has cut in half the amount of junk mail sent. Also my husband made these stickers that said "RETURN TO SENDER, FRAUDULENT MAIL!" This seemed to have worked the most.

Well a POA is definitely a plus in dealing with situations like this. I have "dear friends" of my parents that I contend with. I had to contact an attorney in dealing with these lifelong friends (I use that term loosely).

I would definitely file a claim and call the DA as suggested. This guy is a crook there are going to be people anxious to prosecute him.

As far as the unsolicited mail, what I've done in the past... is in the pre-postage paid envelopes, sent all my ads back in those. LOL Yeah, it works! LOL Take all of them out of your mailings, collect the ads and send them back. Seriously. It's even worth 42 cents one time just to piss them off (sorry, I'm a what's good for the goose is good for the gander type of gal).

My mother gave money out left and right. WHOA was I glad to get POA. Everything was marked "gift" so the attorney said I would have a hard time if I prosecuted, but I told him if necessary I could prove it escalated over the past 4 years from dad's stroke (meaning her declining mental health). He said with the "friends" that I did all the right moves. If anything were to escalate more, he said I should call and he would step in.

Let us know how things progress. But go get them! Anyone who goes after seniors I could slap! I won't let them take advantage of my own mother who I don't get along with. I think its disgusting.

Dear inhym3, OMG! My father received calls constantly from Jamaica, and made $300 worth of calls back to them, and didn't remember or denied doing it. I saw the phone bills, and had to pay them. They would call him and tell him to go to his nearest wal-mart store where they sell money grams. They told him he had won various amounts at different times. One was $1,000,000, another for $400,000 and on and on. He would take out $300.00 from his account, and go and buy a money gram and send it to them, thoroughly convinced that he had won money. My father also was in the PCH sweepstakes for years. I found out that he was sending them hundreds of dollars every month. OMG, it made me sick, to find this out. Here he was living in squallor, like he was poor, and paying everyone elses incomes. And guess what? There is nothing we can do to protect our elders from these predators from other countries. He got air mail items from Canada, Hong Kong, Holland, etc., etc. all requesting money for his sweepstakes winnings. Thank you good ol' USA for protecting our seniors from predators. Laws need to be changed to keep up with our fast paced changing society, and sophistication of these predatory practices. Reader's Digest, keept sending my dad books, FREE Gifts, etc. I informed them that from now on if he didn't order, it is to be expected to be a gift from them. AARP? Good luck. I'm finding out that every single piece of solitation mail he received, was intended to defraud him out of money, and even those that charge membership fees like AARP. Good luck there too. I have hundreds of stories. Wishing you all the best of luck, we all need it. Nauseated

You may need to get Power of Attorney for your moms/dads. They sound like they are no longer able to make good financial decisions for themselves. This would include being in charge of your mother's mail.

Elderly people will often send money to every charity that sends them a request. Often these requests resemble a bill so they pay them thinking it is something they owe. Of course, once you send one charity money, they sell their list so you get on hundreds of other mailing lists.

My mother started getting Reader's Digest Books. She didn't know why she was getting them. She had responded to one of their sweepstakes and unless she checked a little "No" box when she sent it in, she was enrolled in their Book Club. I can't believe a company that I think is reputable, like Reader's Digest, has to resort to disception in order to sell books. Once I contacted them, they did remove her from the Book Club.

Has anyone contacted AARP to see what they have to say about companies whose sole purpose is to deceive the elderly out of their money?

Julie Q

I have also had to battle with calls coming from Jamaica, asking my mother to send them money via western union so that they could process her "winnings" she gets at least 10 letters per day telling her she won the lottery and all she has to do is pay a "processing fee" - these are countless on a daily basis. We had to change our home number, but I don't know what to do about all the mail that comes to the house for her (we live with her) she always gets the mail (by the way she is 87) we only find out later when the collection notices starting coming in. The worse by far was this Dr. Rob - he is a real criminal.

If you have any suggestions about stopping the mail coming to the house, please let me know. We have talked to the postal service, but they say without my mothers permission, we can't forward the mail for her to the office or a PO box so that we can pull out all those fraudulent mailings.

Anyway, it is so sad to see how my mother can be so easily lied to.

Thanks, Christine

Hi, this is all so sad and called "Elder Financial Abuse". I know, because I have been working daily for 11 months trying to straighten out my own father's financial nightmares. He too was giving many organizations hundreds of dollars. I filed an Elder Financial Abuse claim with my Social Services Dept. in my father's state. He too was also paying a psychic money which also sent him a bill. Let them try to take an old man that they have been financially abusing, to a collection agency. I'm dealing with the same thing, a bill collector trying to get more money from my dad. They call my house everyday, I just tell them to try it. They never call back again, because they know it would not stand up in court. I have many stories I can tell you about, but not enough time or space here. Read past postings, and you can hear about the devastation. Good Luck to you all, and keep fighting for your loved ones. Nauseated

Check with the Consumer Protection Agency for your state and file a complaint on this guy. If you can find out how much money your mother has sent him, ask for it back as damages. I wouldn't pay him another cent. Let him take your mother to Small Claims Court - he won't.

Julie Q

My mother got the same letters, he is horrible and a monster - I am reporting him to the Delaware district attorney's office, I suggest you do the same. My mom is 87. Please let me know what you find out, thanks

Chris