Marilyn Scheer Law group illegal practice of law , Internet

The BBB reports tend to mimic each other.  If that is so, it is probably because the BBB will post anything that is reported and people copy each other. There is no investigation.  Marilyn Scheer cannot even appropriately respond to these anonymous complaints because of the attorney-client privilege even if she wanted to do so.  The experience and the record has been that clients who mislead the firm, failed to cooperate or interfered with the process would use the BBB in an attempt to retrieve their money after work was performed. They go on the BBB and write what others say.   Many people just got tired of the process--Marilyn Scheer did not create the loan modification process and  cannot control the lenders--  Moreover, she was the victim of embezzlement during 2010 by former staff.  Scheer used all her resources to  wind down the firm, despite no help from law enforcement.  There was no scam but there are evil and vindictive people in the world--that is true, who will write anything about any one.

Yes, the firm failed--this is a tough economy and the length of time lenders stretched out the process for a variety of reasons, coupled with the embezzlement doomed my efforts.   I worked countless hours dealing with lenders as set forth in Bill's response, but there was never a guarantee of result and when people throw in the towel or are not truthful, how is that my fault. Do you think people on the BBB are going to say they mislead me or did  not cooperate--no, they write that everything was my fault and despite doing the work, they should receive their retainers back.  How could anyone stay in business that way? These people misquote the law--if what these people say is true, let them add their names and be held accountable--but do you see their names? No. Because there are defamation laws in this country--that is libel and slander laws and one can be held responsible for false reports. There are two sides to every story.

 I did not make people take out their home loans, I am not responsible for the economy or their personal situations.  What I tried to do until physically and financially, I could not do it any more because I am broke, having sold everything I own, was attempt to help them navigate through a very complicated and  inefficient system.  Believe me, I wish I had never tried to help people
in this process. It destroyed me professionally and financially. I have very many successful happy clients, but do they write reviews. No, usually only people who are upset or angry take the time in an effort to get their way.  This firm did not take on any new clients after March 2011 and I have spent the last two years trying to wind the down the firm --there are plenty of people who would have walked away.  I did not walk away--I struggled and struggled to help as many people as I could and Bill was only one of them. There are many, many more-- 

I just wish to say that I did get a loan modification with Marilyn Scheer's help.  It is a long and difficult process, and I was turned down by my lender 3 times.  I had part time employment and was also self-employed in multiple businesses, and I have rental income from multiple tenants.  So, my case was very difficult and time consuming.

My lender is supposedly one of the better banks to deal with, and yet they made the process extremely difficult.  They pretend to be your "friend", and tell you they want to help you, and advise you not to pay for professional help, saying that "help is free".   But they demand a mountain of documentation initially, and then multiple additional documents going forward, some of which they lose (in my case at least).  They don't even promise to return calls for 48 hours, and then they still sometimes don't return those calls, and they also don't keep phone appointments.  You have one "point of contact" with them, so you are "stuck".  Lost days quickly turn into lost weeks and lost months. Whether it is intentional or not, their policy seems to be delay, delay, delay, deny.  Then they foreclose.

Marilyn Scheer, on the other hand, always returned my calls and Emails promptly.  She relentlessly "hammered" on my lender.  My lender knows her, and knows that if she is involved, they can expect anything they request to be furnished quickly and accurately.  I found that she knew the system, and had connections, and could break through those "logjams" that the lender set up.  My case continued for over 2 years, but she stuck with me.  I carefully followed all of her directions, and I wrote many letters myself, which she always re-wrote and converted my rather "lame" letters into professional and effective letters.  There was no limit to the time she would spend on my case, all for the initial fee.  I think it is only fair to her that I post this.

The BBB rating for Marilyn Scheer's law firm is an F with approximately 65 complaints in the last year.  The internet is riddled with people complaining of the same pattern, they take your money with promise of service that is never provided and you get no refund. While Mrs. Scheer would like to represent the complaints as competitor misbehavior,  I do not believe this to be true. Her pattern of keeping money only appears to be affecting a small number of people because the complaints are being lodged among so many different internet forums.  Efforts to organize all complainers in one forum so we may better estimate the breadth of the scam is the next step. It is imperative that all legitimate complaints be directed through BBB and more importantly California Barr Association. These reputable organizations will vette the facts and ensure fairness to Mrs. Scheer. For now we can only gather our numbers to see how many feel refunds are in order. If she's correct and these are all competitors, this process of organization will help her because it will separate the legitimate complaints from those lodged to smear her performance; further, I would expect competitors will not throw their hat in the ring for a Class Action lawsuit. The general sentiment appears less focused on the loss of the money, which most have accepted is not going to be refunded, and more on ensuring that Mrs. Scheer does not repeat the process with new clients. As an attorney I'm certain Mrs. Scheer will be supportive of any process which pushes the facts into the open. Evidence suggests complaints are legitimate.   

SCHEER LAW’S REBUTTAL TO THE LIBELOUS

 (NEGATIVE) REPORT

             The scurrilous and extremely misleading, recent posting by an anonymous source  is not
 by a client or an authority, but by a competitor out to undermine the integrity and good work of the Scheer Law Group.  We at the Scheer Law Group pride ourselves on being one of the few, successful firms providing mortgage relief to homeowners in today’s very challenging economy.  The posting is inaccurate and false on all accounts and is intentionally designed to damage this firm by a former
staff member who was discharged for failing to uphold the standards of the Scheer Law Group. The Scheer Law Group is in the process of commencing litigation against this former staff member.

           Each point raised by the seriously misinformed individual from the  February 11, 2011 report will be addressed below:

Attorneys are able to provide services in other states via the multijurisdictional provisions of ABA
Rule 5.5—adopted in all but four states (and the Scheer Law Group does not provide services in
those four states). This is because loan modifications themselves are based on federal/uniform laws, involving national banks. State law is rarely a factor in loan modifications even though the real
 property may be located in different states. To the extent state law issues are involved,
the Scheer Law Group associates with local counsel in that state.

 This firm does not take up-front fees, but utilizes the attorney trust account approach.  There is no requirement of a refund under SB ’94, if services have been performed just as is the case with any
retainer for legal services.   The attorney trust account approach has been expressly approved by a recent federal statute (MARS) governing legal services involving loan modifications and mortgage
 relief.

The Scheer Law Group makes no guarantee of result or outcome and this disclaimer is clearly stated in  in the firm's retainer contract.  No attorney can guarantee a result and guarantees of outcome are prohibited by the California Rules of Professional Conduct.  The anonymous source for the negative posting against this firm is obviously not an attorney (note, the numerous misspellings and improper
use of language). The words: “100% money back guarantee” sounds like something out of a
scam artist's mouth—it is certainly not language used by anyone at the Scheer Law Group.

          It is indeed difficult to maintain the necessary professional commitment and conviction to
service worthy homeowners when unscrupulous competitors make such unsubstantiated attacks--designed only to further mislead already frustrated and confused homeowners, trying to save their properties.  That is the problem with the internet and such unsupervised postings.  Anyone
wanting to discuss the issues mentioned in the false and malicious posting of this anonymous
source is encouraged to call Marilyn Scheer directly on her cell phone at 323-336-2525.