Palmer Rodak & Associates

We have reviewed Ms***'s (***'s) response and reviewed the billings statements at her request There were three minor typographical errors, which were immediately corrected The first two were September 11th and October 20th - total charges were $ That credit will be issued to Ms*** The last minor typographical error was "In Exhibit A of the RFPD, line the business name is
incorrect, it is "*** *** ***" (not *** ***)" - the first part of the name was missing and there was no charge for this correction Ms***'s balance due at this time is $1,less the credit of $- the total balance now due is $1,582.51, which is due by December 20th, however, we will extend Ms***'s due date to December 31, The fees due are for services rendered, which included a necessary court appearance, necessary communication with opposing counsel as required by code of ethics, and document preparation for Court.
Again, Ms***'s statements that our office manager was unprofessional is simply untrue Ms*** will say what she will, but she knows that her statements are untrue and she expressed vulgar language and hung up the phone on the office manager without resolving the issue Again, we do our best to provide the best customer service to all of our clients and we cannot resolve all of their issues, especially during this highly heightened emotional time
Palmer Rodak & Associates

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.A client should not be required to edit and pay for clerical errors from a professional firm. My address was sent to the firm, as they filed a change of address with the San Diego County court.  I received a very rude call from the office manager who interrupted me every time I spoke, and was clearly trying to cover up the mistake her office made.  At no time did I ask the attorney not to communicate with opposing counsel, I simply asked that discretion be used in that communication at which the attorney became defensive. If I am paying $250 an hour for a service, I would expect that service to be of good quality and not wasted. The attorney was also late to my hearing. The bills need to be audited and adjusted accordingly. 
Regards,
[redacted]

There were a total of three clerical errors on documents (spelling), which were corrected right away.  Our attorneys maintain the utmost professionalism at all times and sometimes it is necessary to communicate with opposing counsel in order to resolve/settle cases or certain issues to save our...

client's additional court fees.  Attorneys have an ethical obligation to communicate with opposing counsel and Ms. [redacted] did not want us to communicate with opposing counsel at all.  Billing was sent out late to the client because she failed to provide us with her current mailing address and as a professional courtesy, we sent the statement electronically.   The office manager only contacted the client after the client's request to do so.   She did not raise her voice or "scream" at Ms. [redacted] at all.  There are 9 employees in the firm to attest to this fact.  This is a family law firm and we do understand that this is a highly emotional and frustrating process as family law almost always is.  We understand Ms. [redacted]'s emotional situation and when the office manager spoke with her regarding her bill, she became very hostile and angry and was in fact the one yelling at the office manager, as other employees could hear her through the phone and she then abruptly told the office manager to "[redacted]" and hung up.  She was clearly very upset, and unfortunately, we cannot always resolve all of our client's emotional issues, and sometimes even recommend counseling.
We maintain our professionalism at all times and we are very concerned with client satisfaction and positive results.   The attorney fees that are due are for services rendered, which Ms. [redacted] will receive a billing statement for and will need to pay.

Review: In my short time as a client of Palmer Rodak, I have seen over 50% of the forms and documentation out of their offices with errors and mistakes, which I had to spend time and money to correct. My attorney spent hours with opposing party counsel only to come back with three questions for me. They also sent my bill three weeks late electronically and demanded payment two days after I received it, because they stated that is their billing policy. I have yet to receive a paper statement in the mail, and received an email and then phone call from an emotional and upset office manager who then interrupted me to tell me she was right. This is the most unorganized and unprofessional company, particularly for a law firm which charges clients $50-$300/hour for services, including re-work on their mistakesDesired Settlement: My billing statements should be audited against form errors and actual work completed. $5,000 in billing charges for one hearing and a number of errors and mistakes and a screaming office manager is ridiculous.

Business

Response:

There were a total of three clerical errors on documents (spelling), which were corrected right away. Our attorneys maintain the utmost professionalism at all times and sometimes it is necessary to communicate with opposing counsel in order to resolve/settle cases or certain issues to save our client's additional court fees. Attorneys have an ethical obligation to communicate with opposing counsel and Ms. [redacted] did not want us to communicate with opposing counsel at all. Billing was sent out late to the client because she failed to provide us with her current mailing address and as a professional courtesy, we sent the statement electronically. The office manager only contacted the client after the client's request to do so. She did not raise her voice or "scream" at Ms. [redacted] at all. There are 9 employees in the firm to attest to this fact. This is a family law firm and we do understand that this is a highly emotional and frustrating process as family law almost always is. We understand Ms. [redacted]'s emotional situation and when the office manager spoke with her regarding her bill, she became very hostile and angry and was in fact the one yelling at the office manager, as other employees could hear her through the phone and she then abruptly told the office manager to "[redacted]" and hung up. She was clearly very upset, and unfortunately, we cannot always resolve all of our client's emotional issues, and sometimes even recommend counseling.

Review: I had previously used my debit card to make a payment over the phone. My card number was recorded and then charged later without authorization. I called the business and they said they had a pre-authorization form for that amount to be billed monthly but I never signed a pre-authorization form nor did I agree to have them keep my card on file. They said they fired the last office manager but the new one is the woman who charged my card. I received no phone call, email or letter saying they were going to charge me either.We were also billed every single time the opposing party contacted the attorney. The only suggestion given by the law firm was to ask the opposing party not to contact them so often, as if we could control that.Desired Settlement: The best outcome of resolution would be for at least half of the amount billed for the excessive phone calls by the opposing party to be refunded. We had no control over the amount of times they called the law firm. The opposing party made it clear that they simply wanted to increase our bill, especially after we took the law firm's advice and asked that they not call as often because we're charged each time.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

In response to the consumer complaint, it is my opinion and belief that all the statements in the complaint are inaccurate and do not reflect the incident which occurred. I will send a response to the consumer directly as well.

The consumer did in fact use a debit card for a previous authorized payment. Within our office practice, we have multiple clients who make monthly recurring installment payments to which they have signed pre-authorization credit card payment forms. This consumer had such an authorization payment form, however, my previous office manager retired (she was not fired as stated in the consumer's complaint) and inadvertently had this consumer on the monthly recurring payment plan. It is not our practice to contact a client that is on a monthly recurring payment prior to each payment that is made if we have their pre-authorized payment agreement. When the payment was made, the consumer called and we immediately reversed the payment per the consumer's request and only charge the consumer's credit card for the payment that was authorized. As to the contention regarding charges, we are a law practice and represent each client's interest. When opposing party or opposing counsel contact our office, we have a duty and obligation to our client to address each and every call or correspondence.