Consumer Business Debt Counseling A.k.a Johnson Law Group failure to perform as promised. Change payment amounts after quotes. All resulting in bankruptcy. Orlando Florida
We contacted the above mentioned in an effort to consolidate our credit card debt. At first they are full of promises and guarantees of financial freedom in as little as 3 to 4 years if you use their service.
We went through a complete list of our creditors with all information concerning amounts, due dates etc., and were given a quote by their representative as to what our initial payment and monthly payments were to be. We were informed that we no longer needed to make payments to our creditors as CBDC aka Johnson Law Group was in charge of our case and they would handle it.
Weeks and months went by with us paying them and our creditors continued to call us demanding payment. We would call our contact to be told "Don't worry, the creditors are trying to get one more payment from you. We are taking care of everything."
Meanwhile the credit card companies are adding interest and penalties, which turned into over the limit fees on 5 out of 8 credit cards filed with them. After continued calls from creditors, when we finally managed to get through to our representative we were finally told that the quote we were given would not be enough to cover the necessary payments, and that we would have to increase our payment in order to get out of debt.
All of this comes after we are given a price that we made clear was the maximum we could afford and was assured everything would be handled on our behalf. Now it has become necessary for us to proceed with bankruptcy proceedings all thanks to this company.
So a WARNING to anybody considering doing business with these companies 'RUN AS FAR AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!'
Daniel
Shelby, North Carolina
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Thetruth
Irvington,Alabama,
U.S.A.
rebuttal
#4Consumer Comment
Tue, August 12, 2008
Perhaps you should have done your homework on the Debt Settlement process.
Debt Settlement is a hardship program and best for consumers that don't qualify for debt management, can't continue paying minimum payments, can't borrow to pay off debts and don't want to file bankruptcy.
Every settlement company out there will work with you to establish a savings program that will be used to pay off your debts over a period of two to three years. You will have one monthly payment and the amount you will pay back is typically between 40% and 50% of the amount owed when you joined the program. No settlement company can stop the accruing interest but when they settle with the creditor it is still a significant savings. No matter what settlement company you would have went with the process pretty much works the same. Had you been patient and stuck it out you would have been fine. Oh and no I don't work for the Johnson Law Group . I have been working in the debt settlement and non- profit credit counseling industry for years and I see all the time where people don't listen when we disclose things or don't do the homework on what they are getting into before they sign the contracts.
D. massey
Shelby,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Reply to Thetruth
#4Author of original report
Tue, August 12, 2008
It is obvious you must be in the employ of one of the mentioned companies. With that said a few facts....
1. At no time did I mention asking for a return of funds from the aforementioned company.
2. At no time were we told to continue making payments to our creditors or violate any terms of use or service.
3. There was never any mention of making a lump sum payment to any of our creditors enrolled in the program.
So unless you have the paperwork or phone call transcripts, as we do, to prove your claims try wasting someone else's time.
I stated the facts as they pertain to what happened in our case as I am free to do so. Perhaps you or others have had success in dealing with this company,and if so congratulations. I however did not and chose to let my opinion be known.
Thetruth
Irvington,Alabama,
U.S.A.
Realistic Expectations
#4Consumer Comment
Fri, August 08, 2008
Debt settlement is an hardship program designed to help people who can no longer afford the required payments to their creditors each month , can't afford the payment for a debt management plan, can't borrow to pay off debts and don't want to file bankruptcy.
The objective is to achieve a settlement on the balances owed to your creditors.
I know for a fact that Johnson Law Group when doing the compliance call with you asked you " Is it true you have expressed to us that you can no longer afford to make the payments to your creditors each month and that you decided that you DO want to enroll in a debt settlement program ? ". You were also explained " You have stated that, because of circumstances beyond your control (hardship),you are unable to meet the minimum paymentsrequired by your creditors. If you do not make
required minimum payments to your creditors youmay be breaking the terms of your agreementswith them and your actions will probably be reported to consumer reporting agencies as late,delinquent, charged-off or past due balances.
Your creditor may also raise the interest rate on your account and impose other penalties. Your account balance may continue to grow as your creditor adds accrued interest, late fees, overlimit fees and penalties. Your balance may continue to grow until a settlement is reached with your creditor.
After that they sent you payment work with a payment confirmation schedule of how much money was to be paid to them and how much was to be saved each month.
North Carolina is a Non- Garnishment state and would have been very easy for them to settle these debts with them on your behalf. It takes time to accumulate funds to pay the creditors a lump sum,especially if you were doing a 3-4 year program. Had you stuck with the program they would have been able to settle these debts and eventually stop the calls. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the third party collection agency has to stop calling you and deal with your attorney.
You most likely got impatient and couldn't deal with the phone calls from the creditors before they sent it to collections and decided to file bankruptcy. Which is fine , but don't blame Johnson Law Group because everything was disclosed up front and you chose to enroll and then expect them to give you your money back after you got impatient and changed you mind.