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Report: #360528

Complaint Review: Legal Helpers D/b/a/ Macey & Aleman - Chicago Illinois

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  • Reported By: Chicago Illinois
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  • Legal Helpers D/b/a/ Macey & Aleman Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.

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I really should have known better than to retain a group of faceless attorneys to file my chapter 7 bankruptcy. I was aware that it was a collective effort amongst several lawyers, but what I didn't know is that NO ONE was going to have any clue what so ever as to what was happening with my case. Of course the ignorance only began *after* the fees had been paid in full - they certainly knew every detail up to that point.

I began this process in Feb. of this year...now it's August, and after months of unreturned phone calls, and E-mails, the case is still not filed - and the paperwork I sent in was complete, and AIR-TIGHT. I'm still getting hounded by creditors, to whom I give the Legal Helpers information as I was instructed to, but even THEY are not able to get a hold of anyone in the firm.

My list of complaints is endless, but here are a few highlights:

- Took several months and many phone calls for them to update my Address and phone information. By the time the petition made it to my new address, it had been two months from the date it was mailed. This is the same amount of time they give you to review, and correct the petition.

- When I finally did receive the petition, all of the financial information was completely butchered. Every single figure I had given them was incorrectly entered. It was as though it wasn't even mine -- but it had my name on it.

- The firm LOST half of the pay stubs I had submitted, along with my tax return. I had to send these multiple times, and yet up till the end of July, I was still getting letters in the mail telling me that they have not received them, and to "submit immediately, or the case will be closed". Each time I call to discuss this, the person on the other end has no idea what I'm referring to.

- When someone from the firm does happen to call me and gets my voicemail, they NEVER leave their name, direct line, or the reason they're calling - just the 800 number. When I call back, the people I speak to, again, have no idea who called me or what it was for.

- Just today someone called from LHs (WOW!!) and said that since my husband and I make $80k a year, we probably wouldn't be able to file chapter 7.
Good G*D. if we made 80 grand a year, I would not have even needed to have that conversation because my bills would be paid. Again, NOT the figure I had given them (now multiple times) - and this was coming from the person who is supposed to be filing my case. Later in the day he called back and asked why my husband was out of work on and off over the last year.....um, where did THAT come from??? My husband has *always* had a job, albeit not a high paying one, and all his stubs were in my file. Makes me wonder.... one minute we're making a ton of money, and the next - my husband is unemployed. Both totally untrue....

So you see, I am still in the middle of my battle with LHs. I thought lawyers were supposed to HELP, not make things worse. If you're considering filing for Bankruptcy (which is bad enough as it is) go with a private, local attorney that you can speak to face-to-face, and who will answer their phone. They'll probably charge the same, if not less.

Eire
Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 08/07/2008 05:37 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/legal-helpers-dba-macey-aleman/chicago-illinois-60606/legal-helpers-dba-macey-aleman-horrible-i-should-have-known-better-chicago-illino-360528. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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0Employee/Owner

#8 Consumer Comment

Paralegals

AUTHOR: HalW - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, August 12, 2011

By the way, Legal Helpers of Chicago, how many of your highly trained call takers have paralegal degrees?

I find your statement laughable that they provide an "immediate response" based on my experience with your firm and those many others on this site and others.

Perhaps all of us victims should contact the Attorney General of Illinois and they can add this to the suit they have filed against you for your practices in the area of "debt settlement". 

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#7 Consumer Comment

Your Contract

AUTHOR: HalW - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, August 12, 2011

Perhaps your effort to provide good customer service by using "highly trained" call takers needs a careful review.  Is it good customer service to refuse a client access to an attorney when they insist?  Is it in the contract that your attorney(s) may or may not respond to requests for a conference?  Does your attorney(s) explain all these things to the client BEFORE they sign the contract?  Is it common practice for clients to need to hire another attorney to review your contract before they accept yours?  No excuses - keep reading the list of complaints on this site and others.  I am amazed the Bar Associations in multiple states or the Arttorney Generals haven't shut you down.  Of course, the legal profession seems to protect its own.

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#6 UPDATE Employee

Wish I Could Help

AUTHOR: Legal helpers - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, September 28, 2009

Unfortunately, I am unable to ascertain who posted the "With You" comment.  I would be happy to attempt to address any service issue.  On a general note, every client that hires the firm for bankruptcy representation signs a contract and receives detailed information regarding the firm and bankruptcy procedures.  The contract clearly states that in an effort to provide superior customer service to the firm's clients, superior to what is commonly available in the legal profession, we offer a group practice setting. 

We provide toll-free client service by highly trained legal assistants who are trained to be able to offer, under the guidance of the managing attorney in the location, to any client that calls to discuss an issue about the case.  This is explained in the detailed information given to every client as well as in the contract every client signs.  This procedure is there to allow our clients better access and immediate responses to their important legal issues and concerns.  With regard to this particular comment, there is no indication about any legal issue or service issue in the complaint and nothing by which I could identify the person who submitted the comment in an attempt to reach out, as is normal, to them to resolve any issues or concerns.  Perhaps the comment is simply a competitor, disgruntled former employee, or some other person trying to disparage my law firm.  A fair complaint would provide some information which could lead to a resolution.  I certainly understand the fact that a person may not want to offer any personal information on a website and perhaps the person already reached out to the firm privately to resolve any issues, but there is really no other reply possible here. 

All I can say is based on my experience which tells me that the way my firm's policies and procedures are implemented and carried out office-wide has lead to thousands of satisfied clients with successful results.  Also, my firm receives a LOT of phone calls from clients of other firms who are ecstatic that the law firm has staff that picks up the phone and talks to them and who aren't forced to talk to an answering machine or voice mail and have to wait days even talk to someone.  My firm also receives a lot of calls from clients of other firms who have gotten incomplete, at best, legal advice from other attorneys who do not have the experience and knowledge base, nor the training, that attorneys at Legal Helpers have.  In fact, Legal Helpers attorneys are often consulted by other attorneys for advice and are referred clients by court officials and trustees who deal with the firm's quality legal product on a daily basis.

On a side note, our website makes it clear that we are a law firm that practices in multiple jurisdictions across the country.  We are not a sole practitioner with one location and limited staff and resources to help our clients.  In fact, this is one of the firm's advantages over the "traditional" one, two or three attorney law firms.  The firm's clients get the advantage of years of experience, immediate responses, and the peace of mind to know that they have entrusted their financial situation to a firm that has successfully represented hundreds of thousands of clients in bankruptcy for over 15 years! 

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#5 Consumer Comment

With you

AUTHOR: Furiousinindiana - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

They are horrible. Unfortunately we had no idea it was a big firm. We thought we were dealing with a local attorneys office in indianapolis. We had no idea till after we paid them that we would only be able to talk to operators at the 800 number who know nothing and are sometimes abusive and rude. I think the attorneys don't talk to you on the phone is so they can charge more. You have to make an appointment drive two hours see them for 15 minutes and they get to charge you hundreds for the appointment. Then they do nothing or ignore what you tell them. I wish I had known. Now we are consulting another attorney, possibly paying thousands more, which we don't have, just to straighten out their mess.

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#4 Consumer Comment

With you

AUTHOR: Furiousinindiana - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

They are horrible. Unfortunately we had no idea it was a big firm. We thought we were dealing with a local attorneys office in indianapolis. We had no idea till after we paid them that we would only be able to talk to operators at the 800 number who know nothing and are sometimes abusive and rude. I think the attorneys don't talk to you on the phone is so they can charge more. You have to make an appointment drive two hours see them for 15 minutes and they get to charge you hundreds for the appointment. Then they do nothing or ignore what you tell them. I wish I had known. Now we are consulting another attorney, possibly paying thousands more, which we don't have, just to straighten out their mess.

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#3 Consumer Comment

With you

AUTHOR: Furiousinindiana - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

They are horrible. Unfortunately we had no idea it was a big firm. We thought we were dealing with a local attorneys office in indianapolis. We had no idea till after we paid them that we would only be able to talk to operators at the 800 number who know nothing and are sometimes abusive and rude. I think the attorneys don't talk to you on the phone is so they can charge more. You have to make an appointment drive two hours see them for 15 minutes and they get to charge you hundreds for the appointment. Then they do nothing or ignore what you tell them. I wish I had known. Now we are consulting another attorney, possibly paying thousands more, which we don't have, just to straighten out their mess.

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#2 Consumer Comment

With you

AUTHOR: Furiousinindiana - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, May 26, 2009

They are horrible. Unfortunately we had no idea it was a big firm. We thought we were dealing with a local attorneys office in indianapolis. We had no idea till after we paid them that we would only be able to talk to operators at the 800 number who know nothing and are sometimes abusive and rude. I think the attorneys don't talk to you on the phone is so they can charge more. You have to make an appointment drive two hours see them for 15 minutes and they get to charge you hundreds for the appointment. Then they do nothing or ignore what you tell them. I wish I had known. Now we are consulting another attorney, possibly paying thousands more, which we don't have, just to straighten out their mess.

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#1 UPDATE Employee

Resolution

AUTHOR: Legal Helpers - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Unfortunately, I do not have enough information in this complaint to resolve your issue immediately and I must request that you give me a call directly so I can try to help resolve your situation.

Obviously, there is confusion about your rate of pay. Rate of pay is obviously a big factor in determining eligibility for filing and in determining what type of bankruptcy will work.

I can be reached at 1.888.303.0431, ext. 223. I will be happy to review your paperwork.

I can assure you that no one here has any interest in NOT filing a case for you. We want to help you get out of debt. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for people to give us paycheck stubs and not realize how much money they "gross" in bankruptcy terms.

If you have pre-tax deductions for pensions, 401(k)'s, health insurance, etc... those deductions are NOT counted when discussing gross pay for bankruptcy purposes, even though they do reduce your taxable gross income for the IRS every year.

I will be happy to take a look at your paycheck stubs and try to help sort out the confusion over pay rates, etc... Again, my number is 1.888.303.0431, ext. 223.

Respectfully Submitted,
Richard K. Gustafson, II, Partner

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