Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 134,000 members

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:28 pm Subject: Harold Shepley and Associates (PENN.)

Just wondering if anyone has any reviews on this firm? I started with them in NOV. They had no complaints from the BBB and I was in dire need of help. I can't avoid any setbacks!

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:01 pm Subject:

As long as they have no outstanding complaints, things look pretty good. You've been with them 9 months, have things gone well for you so far?

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:01 pm Subject:

Does this company offer consolidation plans or debt settlement programs? If you enrolled in their consolidation plan back in the month of November, you should get some updates on your accounts from them. Give them a call and inquire about the latest standing.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:18 pm Subject:

Thanks for responding!!! They are a settlement firm, and sent me a confirmation stating that they had settled one of my debts already a Chase account. The whole process just makes me very upset and nervous as I still have two large accounts one from capital one and the other from MBNA to deal with, and my current credit score is 515 and I would like to own a home someday, and now I am worried that my score may bleed into my wife's score as we were married last OCT.

Any Suggestions or reassurances PLEASE!

lll · Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:29 am Subject: Harold Shepley

I also joined with Harold Shepley and Assoc in 5/07 and so far they seem to be doing a very good job. They always answer my questions and they seem like they do care.

Tiffany Hansen · Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:48 pm Subject: Harold Shepley and Assoc

I joined with Harold Shepley in Oct of 07 I have been very pleased with them, but I have one credit card that filed a lawsuit against me, it goes to trial April 22,08 my debt negotiator said he would have it paid by then, but I still worry as there won't be enough money for my other debts to be paid.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 5:43 am Subject:

Quick question for those that have used their services. The only thing that I could find on their website about the fees they charge is that they charge a monthly payment that is based on your debt. Anyone care to give any additional details on this fee and any other fees that might be present.

Collector · Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:47 am Subject: Scam Company

They wont pay your creditors or communicate with them they have three attorneys that handle debts and they dont answer the phone or return calls. They will wait till your debt is out of statute then take their 25% settlement fee of the whole balance on top of their other fees. Since they dont pay the creditors your credit is not fixed and many times your creditors will sue you anyway. Ask them if they will show up in court to defend you or will they charge you more money on top of the program fees and how much do they charge per hour?

feeling ripped off · Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:26 pm Subject:

They did the same thing to me as they did to collector. They waited until my debts were "past the statute" and then just took 25% of the balance for themselves.

As shady as can be, they sent me letters saying they were "paid off". When I got sued by one of the companies, I found out what they were really doing, which was giving the companies NOTHING, and then telling me it was settled and uncollectible.

I wish I would have never given them my money. I wanted to have a good feeling when this was done, like I paid the companies back at least part of my balance. Now I just feel sick knowing that the creditors got nothing and Shepley got a few thousand dollars. Crying or Very sad

Harold Shepley · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:20 am Subject: How the program really works

SECURITY AND PEACE OF MIND
I am Attorney Harold Shepley and I am choosing to respond to the negative response and give a detailed explanation of how our negotiation program works.
First and foremost we begin our negotiations by sending out a cease and desist /power of attorney letters to all of the clients creditors. While this may sounds relatively simple, everyone must understand exactly what is now occurring. We have just transferred the burden of harassing calls from the client to our law firm. For most clients this alone is such a breath of fresh because they can now start answering their phone again. The paralyzing feeling the creditors cause is now lifted and clients feel like they can actually live again. Meanwhile the 10 or more calls a day now come to our law firm. So did we just send a cease a desist letter? No, we just transferred what could be 300 or more harassing phone calls per month onto our shoulders for possibly the next 36 months. This is why so very few debt settlement companies continue to offer this service. We remain steadfast in our service to the client
Next, we employ several strategies in our negotiation efforts. Sometimes we to settle with the original creditor. Sometimes we choose to settle with the third party collector. Sometimes the creditors are so stubborn that they refuse to negotiate and therefore a debt can go beyond the statute of limitations. Is that our choice? No! We want to settle, but I am here to represent my clients interests to the best of my ability.
What does this mean “beyond the statute of limitation”? The statute of limitations is the period of time in which a creditor can bring a valid cause of action. Once this time passes the client has a valid defense that the debt is too old. The pitfall to this defense is that it must be brought in the courtroom once you are sued.
Our clients will never have to deal with this because we stand behind our settlements even those past the statute of limitations. This means, if a client gets sued on a debt which is settled by our firm, we will defend our find someone to defend this action in court. The client obviously must notify us so we know what is going on, but once again the burden falls on us.
The fact is for all of our clients, we are with them from beginning to end holding their hand the whole way start to finish. If the person in question had bothered to call in and speak with a staff customer service member then he/she would have been told everything explained here. As ignorant and rude as this person is, we will still be here to defend any lawsuit that may arise, provided the client informs us that they are being sued. Why? Because we stand behind our services.
Remember the consultation is free. Give my law firm a call. Besides, the only thing you have to lose is your debt!

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:13 am Subject:

Hey Harold,

Letting a debt go past the SOL does not make that debt settled. The debt is still owed. Letting the debt go past the SOL just makes it very difficult for the creditor to sue and win a judgment assuming someone shows up and defends the suit.

I don't know exactly how your business operates but if all you are doing is letting the SOL expire and then charging your client 25% of the full balance and telling them it was settled then you are commiting fraud in my opinion.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:04 pm Subject:

If you feel that this firm is handling things in an unethical manner then file with the PA Supreme Court Disciplinary Board:

http://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/pa_attorney_search.php

PA Attorney Information
Harold W. Shepley
PA Attorney ID: 76267
Current Status: Active
Date of Admission: 11/27/1995
Lawfirm: Harold Shepley and Associates, L.L.C.
Other Organization:
District: 4
County: Somerset
Public Access Address Harold W Shepley & Assoc
485 Berlin Plank Road
Somerset, PA 15501
Tel: 814 445-3970
Fax: 814 445-4437

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:12 pm Subject:

I am not defending them but they have a very good reputation with the BBB and have been members since 2004. The BBB only processed a total of 3 complaints about this business in the last 36 months. They also voluntarily participate in the BBB arbitration. Honestly they have one of the best reputations in the debt settlement industry.

What Harold Shepley posted in his defense make since and can be a strategy used by law firms. If you truly have an issue call them and try and resolve it with them. If your are not happy you can take it us the an arbitrator.

Here is the link to the BBB report.

http://us.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=113&id=46a6a9cd-5402-454e -9476-e4df22e6f371

BParalegal · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:26 pm Subject: Shepley

As far as credit repair is concerned, there is nothing their firm can do for you that you can't do on your own. Also, if they charge you for "credit repair" services before they actually "repair" your credit, they are breaking the law -- the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act. If you need to get something off of your credit report that is a mistake or shouldn't be on there, contact the Federal Trade Commission. It's the FTC's job to investigate and fix it. Otherwise, just contact your creditor directly and see if they would be willing to update your credit report. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy, by law, can stay on your credit report for 10 years. Also, your attorney has no control over how things get reported to the credit bureaus. If you get a law firm to do credit repair for you, you will need a power of attorney for them to handle your finances. Do you really want some lawyer to have a power of attorney for your finances? Think about that. And why would you pay for all of that when you can do it yourself for free?

Also, I love how this firm touts that they are a "Christian" law firm. I worked for this guy and he is quite the A.H. I personally don't think he knows much about bankruptcy law. His associates don't know crap and he pays his best employees $7-$8/hr. to slave for him.

I guess you do whatever you can do to get business out in the sticks of Somerset, PA.

If anyone has problems with a bankruptcy firm, the proper authority to notify is the U.S. Trustee, not the BBB. The U.S. Trustee oversees the bankruptcy system. And don't waste your time with the BBB; they don't give a hoot.

Checkin it out · Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:55 pm Subject:

I have read all the blogs here, read blogs on other companies and also read the website and I have to be honest Harold Shepley & Associates don't seem so bad. It sounds as if they are taking care of the guy with the staute of limitations issue and the above person sounds like a disgruntled ex-employee looking to fling mud at the company. I know someone who went with the Shepley group and although it isn't easy to get out of debt anywhere, they have always been professional, caring and shoot them strait on things. I will proceed with caution, but I know there are always 2 sides to every story.

Joe1331 · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:07 am Subject: Shepley & Associates

I have been using their services for over 20 months, and I can honestly say “They do what they say.”

We own a small business that lost a major customer and put us behind by using personal credit to pay vendors. When interest rates went sky high we utilized them to try to help prevent us from claiming bankruptcy. They have been there every step of the way for us. Yes, we have been sued, and yes they defended our case and got us a settlement. They have also settled some of our accounts for 50% of the balance.

On one of our major accounts (Business credit line of 60,000.00) they helped us to reach an agreement to repay the settled amount over 4 years. This was even after the case was filed. The owner (Harold Shepley) Contacted me directly and gave me his personal number to help lead us through this very troubling, at least to us, case. As they do not handle “Business Bankruptcy” he advised us to talk to a highly rated Pittsburgh law firm specializing in business bankruptcy. They thought we should just go ahead and file, but Harold thought we would be able to work a deal out. We followed his advice and they did work it out for us.

We are still in the program and I am very happy with the results. I would recommend them to anyone needing a Law firm that actually cares. I know they do, I have had questions and concerns and they have “ALWAYS” been there for us. I actually started out using another settlement company and they did nothing for us but take our money, after six months with them I was fortunate enough to find Harold Shepley and Assoc.

I will happily respond to any questions about their service.

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