Campos Chartered Law/ Hess Kennedy

I'd really like to talk to some of you who have used HK and haven't been happy with their service or lack of it.

Well, Guest - you should be able to find plenty of unhappy former customers of HK on here as well as other boards on the internet.

The Campos Chartered Law Firm offers two programs. debt management (aka Consumer credit counseling) and a debt settlement program. They are two very different programs. The Debt Management program's main benefit is lowered interest rates and one payment per month. The payment isn't necessarily much lower but it does put more of your money towards the principle to get you out of debt faster, usually in 2-6 years without damaging your FICO or credit score. Unfortunately when people receive a quote they usually lean towards Debt Settlement because of how much lower the payments can be, how much more money is saves you and how much faster it gets you out of debt. The downside of the program is the deterioration of your FICO score, harassing phone calls and letters from collection agents as well as the risks of judgements or wage garnishments which are rare. Companies that offer these services are heavily monitored by the FTC. There are countless numbers of marketing companies that have agents explaining the programs and ensuring clients provide the necessary criteria for program qualifications. If a marketing agent lies or fogets to mention something important and gets someone to sign up for a program, the client receives the proper documentation that covers everything before they sign up. So if they don't read it, then they let themselves get deceived or mislead by someone who is NOT an employee of the law firm. That's why it is important to read everything before you sign it. The Campos Chartered Law Firm has a great rating with the BBB especially when it is in an industry where you have to deal with thousands of frustrated people daily who are in financial distress and looking for someone to blame. I have a lot of knowledge on this topic and am happy to answer any questions or address any concerns for anyone interested. Thanks for reading.

This guy is a joke. He sends out unsigned form letters making empty threats -- that end up in the trash. I am not even sure the letters are written by attorneys.

There are many better, and more experienced, consumer advocates out there.

I had originally signed up with Mezey & Associates in April 2007 and in November 2007 I found out my account had been transferred to Campos! No notice, no letter, no nothing.......and I do mean nothing. I have paid for 10 months now and not one debt has been remedied. Not one of my creditors has been notified. I recently was served (yes, served) a summons at my home to appear in court to settle a debt or face garnishment, etc. Well, I swallowed the big pill, tapped my 401(k) plan at work and will just take care of business myself. All of my creditors are very willing to work with me and my credit won't stay in the dumper. Run people, run!!!! You can do this yourself. It takes time and effort but you will not regret saving your credit, your pocket book, and your self esteem. We all get into trouble now and again -- mine was extreme medical bills because of my husbands terminal illness and the insurance company not paying, etc. Went through our savings, home equity, credit cards, etc. Michael Moore hits the nail on the head with his documentary SICKO -- but that is another subject. Keep the spirit -- I did and this will not get me down!!!

Unbiased, sorry but I have to disagree with you statement that the risks of judgments and wage garnishments are rare. Not rare at all, and happening more and more often. I was sued for judgment by a collector even though I was in a debt consolidation plan and had made a few payments on the debt. The collector had only had the debt for 1 month after the original creditor turned it over to them, and the debt was only $2500, so we're not talking a huge debt.

There are others on here who've had multiple suits for judgment filed against them when they were in a settlement program, so it's very risky.

Hello,

In October 2007 I signed up with Campos Chartered Law Firm. 2 days ago I got my first debt collection notice. I just found this website and my question is, is this law firm a scam and should I discontinue their services? Or can it really help me get out of debt, just as I was told? I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

Mandy

How much debt have you placed with them, and how far behind are you? If Campos is part of Hess Kennedy, run and don't look back...

They cannot prevent you from being sued, and I found that I was able to successfully settle my debts on my own, and for as low an amount as most settlement firms claim they can negotiate. Wish I had done that long before getting mixed up with the whole settlement/consolidation con.

Tiffany99- I placed about 12,000 with them, and I stopped paying on them in October, just as I was told to do. How can I settle my debts on my own? I would appreciate more information on this. Thanks

Mandy

Call your creditor/collection agency and offer a settlement that you can afford. They may say they can't take that figure and give you a counter-offer, but keep countering back until you reach a figure you can manage.

Don't give them access to your account by doing a check by phone, debit/credit card, post-dated check, etc. Get the terms of the settlement in writing from them and tell them upon receiving that, you will send a cashier's check.

Does anybody know if you can get out of the law firm after you sign the contract?

I am not familiar with the HK contracts...have you looked over your contract to see if there is an exit clause?

No I have not yet look to see, I just got with this law firm realized from all the complaints that they are not trustworthy! I'm trying to figure out how to get out of this mess.

Has anyone successfully left the law firm? If so, how did you do it and did you lose all the money paid into the program? I am in desperate need of some help! If anyone has any information, please share!!

I terminated their services in January '07. I just typed up a letter telling them that effective immediately, I would no longer be using their services for the purpose of settling my debts, and hereby revoked my authorization for them to electronically debit my checking account, any further attempts would be considered unauthorized and fraudulent, and I would advise my bank to file an affidavit of fraud.

I went on to tell them exactly why I was canceling my contract with them, asked for a refund of all money that was in my settlement account as of that date and then sent the letter via certified mail/return receipt requested. Just to be safe, I also went into my bank and had them block all future debits from Hess Kennedy, in case they ignored my letter.

I did not ever receive any kind of response or acknowledgment that they had received my letter (other than the post office sending back the return receipt with a signature). I also did not get a refund of any kind, so I started calling and calling, to no avail. After months of being ignored, I finally filed a complaint with the Florida BBB and the Florida Attorney General's Office because that is where their office is located. Their "office manager", Adam Foremane, responded to both complaints with a lot of crap, but did refund the money I was asking for. I think I received my refund check from them in July.

he has another one called liberty relief in new york i'm tryin to get my money back does anyone have any ideas on how to do this i turned them into the bbb