Let me explain EXACTLY how The Palmer Firm, Seideman Law Firm, Iniguez Law Firm and Mossler Law Firm work. First of all, Seideman is no longer in "business" since 2006, claiming they had too many client's to service. That is when Palmer started. Suddenly they are no longer accepting clients. Now it's Iniguez and Mossler. While these "law firms" have different addresses, attorney's etc., believe me when I say, they have nothing to do with the settlement of your debt. Your debt is settled through a company called Lexxiom, Inc. and are located in Southern California. The attorneys provide the name, and that is it. I have no idea how it is legal and how it's done, but that's how it is.
When a prospective client sees an ad on T.V for debt settlement, they call the number given, provide all of their information to the unknown person on the other end of the line. The prospective client is then told there will be a one time fee of x amount of dollars, payable to the company seen on T.V. Banking information is taken over the phone, rarely payment is made in actual check form, however that is accepted but discouraged. The agent then, in most cases, faxes the "Legal Service Agreement" to the prospective client. The agent will tell the prospective client that it is imperative the agreement is returned immediately. In my experience in speaking with the clients, as a former employee of this company in CA, client's felt rushed as if they would miss their opportunity to get their debt settled if they didn't sign, date and return the forms by the next morning if not that day. Unfortunately, the client's also trust what the agent is telling them as far as what is in the agreement, what the fees are, etc. So the client then signs on the dotted line, and returns all necessary paperwork without actually reading the service agreement. I must also point out that the service agreement absolutely does state all fees charged, the possibility of litigation, etc.
So now the client is enrolled with the debt settlement services. Great. Not really. There is a retainer fee that needs to be paid to the "law firm", but it's really going to the company in California. I'm sure a portion of it goes to the "attorneys", but probably not much. I am unsure of how the retainer fee works these days, but it used to be that 8%-10% of the total amount owed was the retainer fee. You are charged $65.00 monthly, for maintenance. I never quite understood what that was for. I was asked numerous times what exactly was the maintenance fee used for, and honestly, I never had a very good answer. It's a money making fee, plain and simple. Then we have the settlement fee, which is 33% of the amount that you are saved. And yes, if they save you over $600.00, you are going to owe the IRS. It is considered income. This is something else a majority of the clients are never told until it is too late. So, the company saves you X amount of money, and now you have to pay off the settlement fee before anything other accounts will be touched. Depending on what was saved, the settlement fee can be rather outrageous. I have seen some settlement fees at $6,000.00. If a client is paying $400.00 monthly, it's going to take them 17 months to pay that off, because what is really going into the trust account is $335.00. Remember the maintenance fee? In the meantime, while the client is paying off the settlement fee, the creditors are getting impatient. And they will sue you for the money! I should also mention that the time frame the client is given for being in the services? Always count on another 2+ years on top of that.
Now, when the client is sued by a creditor, they are served a summons. The client is supposed to call the law firm, speak with someone in litigation, the representative in litigation requests the documents be faxed to the office to speedier service. That's a joke right there. I can't tell you how many times I had spoken to client's that had not heard anything from the law firm in over 2 weeks, with a court date arriving much to quickly. The representatives cannot give you legal advice, or at least they are not supposed to. They are not attorneys or paralegals. They are people off of the street who have applied for a job. Plain and simple. Most are young and inexperienced, but not all. When the legal representative does call the client back, it is to let you know you need to contact a local attorney that we have acquired to represent you. The company got into some trouble a while back because we were "handling" all legal issues from California. Whoops! So the client calls the local attorney, who then tells the client there is a fee for hiring him to appear in court, so on top of everything else you are already paying, here you have another fee. Half of these attorney's don't show up to court, and rarely call the client with updated information. It's sad.
Bottom line is this, do not go with ANY debt settlement company. They rarely help people get out of the debt they are in. If you are contemplating enrolling in this type of service, I ask you to really do your research. Call the creditor, I know for a fact they will work with you. Rarely they will not. If you are retired or permanently disabled, and your only income is pension, disability, etc., the creditors CANNOT touch you. They CANNOT go into your bank account and freeze it and they CANNOT garnish your wages because you do not work. The only option for them in this situation is to put a lien on your home, which they may do. But unless you are planning on refinancing or selling, you have nothing to worry about. And if someone is in serious debt, speak with your local counsel regarding bankruptcy. It's a better option, I promise you.
I know I most likely have left alot of information out, but this post has already turned into a novel, and I apologize for that. I just want to make sure all of you out there know what debt settlement companies are all about. Making money from the naive and elderly. Unfortunate, but true.
Linear Mode
