Prepaid Legal Services - Failure To Deliver The Services That They Advertise Is this a scam ? a society of greedy pedlers, who do they care about? Ada Oklahoma

Do you know if you would have called the firm and told them about the problem, that is highly likely they would have found you someone else. Prepaid Legal Pays these law firms big, big bucks every month. If they have to refer out, they send you a letter later wanting you to give an opinion on the referral.

You just assumed and doubted that they would and a big mistake on your part. You didn't even try.

You've got it wrong, Pre-Paid Legal Does not pay lawyers monthly for anything. Pre-Paid Legal, and its numerous copy cats, use the 'double dip' approach to make money. The attorneys on their 'list' pay to be on the list, much like a private referral service, and consumers pay to have access to information and 'discounted' services. Pre-Paid Legal's status varies from state to state.

In NC they have to register with the Bar, but it doesn't mean that the Bar approves or recommends them, it is a measure of protection for the consumer, as the lines of selling a membership and practicing law without a license is very thin indeed. Most pre-paid legal memberships are canceled within 6 months of beginning. That 26-35 dollar a month 'membership fee' cannot be reckoned with by most regular folk when there is not a real long term benefit, beyond a free will, and maybe getting a traffic citation handled at a 'discount'.

Anything civil, or heavy criminal, and you will find that it doen't cover being sued or suing someone, or lets say you have a auto accident, and you are charged with vehicular manslaughter. I've posted this info before, and it hasn't been refuted, and my continued advise is to invest the 'membership fee' into an interest bearing account, so when you do need a lawyer, you have enough money for a decent retainer.

Many lawyers do initial consutations for free, or a small nominal fee, and research on these folks is as easy as searching your state bar's web site and going to your local courthouse and asking the clerk to search for cases involving the prospective attorney. The worst sales pitch I've ever heard from a pre-paid rep was that pre-paid legal is like an HMO for you legal needs.

I think that speaks loads for it. It was so saturated in my area that I now hardly ever hear of it, except once in a blue moon someone will mention it, usually someone who doesn't know much about legal matters, only that they will be 'financially independent'...just wait until 3/4 of the folks they are able to sign up drop it, and they get commission chargebacks. Unless this has changed, let me know.

Truth,

Sorry Al, but your "truth" is little to none. To start with, PPL DOES pay the firms they contract with, and quite a bit too. If you need proof of this you can check their budget which, as required by law, is open to the public because they're a public coorperation. You can find links to it from most stock exchange websites. To say they double dip, and I know you use this to emply they receive referral fees from the firms, would constitute fraud on a massive scale as they publicly state they pay the firms they contract with. Do you have evidence supporting this fraud? It's easy to make the claim but lets be realistic adults here. The same officials that took down companies like Enron would nail PPL in a heartbeat for such an act.

You mention the NC Bar and how they don't recommend PPL. That goes without saying as doctors and the AMA didn't approve or recommend health insurance when the concept started as neither the AMA or buld of doctors would profit off it. Now doctors only recommend the insurance that will bring them the most profit. Why should the NC Bar be different? The Bar won't profit from PPL nor will the attorney's who aren't part of a provider law firm, so of course they don't approve or recommend it. (Can we say Duh.)

As to a long term benefit, this is easily a long term benefit except that people being creatures of habit don't take the time to learn what may or may not be a legal situation and then don't consult their attorney's when they recognize such a situation. I use my membership regularly, not because I've begun seeking new ways to get into trouble, but rather because the problems in my life that I used to ignore I now take a few minutes to consult with my attorney about. Most people have problems that lead them to get the service. Let's be real here, you don't get a $26 service just in case you get a traffic ticket. The average driver will never get enough tickets to justify the service. They usually get it to resolve an existing problem whith the intent being for it to be short term. I've know people who have signed up three or four times until their membership is refussed because their not smart enough to keep the service. The harsh reality is that almost every situation a person encounters can have legal ramifications, thus there will always be a long term benefits.

You're right that many INDEPENDANT lawyers will do a brief initial consultation cheaply or free. The "but" is that they're consultation usually breaks down to the fact that you have a legal situation (which you already know) and you should hire them (at their full rate) for what he may be able to do for you. You'll be covering the expense for research on your topic and all letters or phone calls made on your behalf. The average attorney in Cumberland gets paid between $40 and $65 dollars an hour depending on their skill level. This is not what they charge, this is just they're personal gross profit. You add in the cost of secretaries, paralegals and additional staff and you end up with the $100+ per hour you get charged. They can't afford to give up these fees so any conversation is designed to get you to purchase their services so they can stay in business. The benefit to PPL is that you pay no additional fees for consultations, regardless of how many you need, and you receive a free letter or phone call on your behalf to try an solve the problem out of court. If you can't resolve the problem with a letter than you have the choice whether or not to pursue it further and you've spent nothing beyond your $26-25 a month. Since the attorneys ARE paid by PPL and most problems can be solved with a letter or phone call it's in the best interest of the attorney to resolve the problem outside of court rather than getting bogged down with medial cases that they're covering for 75% of their normal rates.

You can investigate attorneys but if you've truly done it than you know it's not easy. The information the bar provides is usually vague at best and often omitts information that would rank attorney's so you're in a position where you don't know which ones are better than others. When you go to the courts, cases are often not filed by attorney but rather by case name. This makes it difficult to search for cases especially if that attorney was part of a team or firm. When you get the case you need the legal knowhow to understand what's being said. As a general rule, most of those with the knowledge and expertise to read a case and truly distinguish a good attorney from a bad one tend to be members of the legal community and already know many to most attorneys in the area either personally or professionally.

Ultimately, you contributed very little to the PPL discussion. I can't speak as to saturation in your area but I am a realist an understand that many to most people will drop the service within the first year. That's all a part of doing business. Is there an opportunity, yes there is. The fact that many have made millions and many continue to hit that plateau proves that much. Is it quick and easy, no. That's where people get themselves into trouble. They join up as associates, stay on for six months to a year, during that time they exaust their market of easy sales, than disappear when they actually have to put forth an effort to make a sale. Most of these individuals will meet limited success in any venture they persue simply because they're too bent on instant gratification. It's the mentality that if you pay me more I'll work harder, when they should be saying if I work harder I'll get paid more. Those that have been successful with this have invested years of their lives and spent real time working very hard towards their goals. The wealthy of PPL started off in the same position as everyone else. They sold the same product for the same price using the same tools and had the same drop out rates. If everything else is the same then why did they succeed while other failed? Because success and failure is determined by the person, not the product. If you can't stand the hard work, criticism, and rejection that comes with being in business than you better off remaining someone's employee and let others focus on wealth and success.

By the way, if you'd like some real ways that people can use this service long term, just let me know. I'll be glad to help.

Just a little of the REAL truth,

I, too, disagree with the presumption that PPL does not pay its law firms.

If there's one entity that's paid residually and passively, it's PPL and its law firms.....every month!

Now, if this was a post disputing whether or not they actually pay their associates residually and passively, I couldn't make the same claim.