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Reviews About The Children

About The Children Reviews (153)

Review: I contacted About The Children in February 2014 to assist me with drafting the divorce paperwork to file for divorce in Nevada. The customer service rep on the phone told me that there would be a $98 enrollment fee and then $990 for them to contract an attorney to draft my divorce paperwork. I had to pay $350 of the $990 before obtaining my rough draft of the divorce paperwork. I received the rough draft via email and instructed to review it and inform them of any revisions. Prior to providing the revisions, I spoke to my assigned rep, Lee, and expressed my concerns about my revisions because I was not an attorney and was not sure how to word some of the revisions I wanted to add. Lee told me that they would make sure my revisions were reworded so that they contained the appropriate legal wording. When I received the second rough draft via email, my visitation schedule was not added and my exact wording was just copied and pasted anywhere in the document. I replied via email informing them that the visitation schedule was missing and that my revisions were just copied and pasted into the second draft in the random, non-relevant sections. I never received a response. I have been trying to get someone to help with drafting my divorce paperwork for months. Attorneys were demanding large retainers to assist me and refused to draft the paperwork and allow me to represent myself in court. I thought that this company could help me save money on getting the paperwork drafted but they could not do anything better than I could do myself. They lied about contracting an attorney to draft my paperwork. There is no way an attorney would have drafted such poor quality paperwork. I really want a refund. I have tried to dispute this company's charges with my credit card company but they refuse to refund the charges. This company should be put out of business. I understand that they may not be attorneys themselves but they told me they were contracting one to draft my paperwork.Desired Settlement: I am demanding a full refund of my $98 enrollment fee and the $350 I paid to have the divorce paperwork drafted.

Business

Response:

ATC is not a law firm. We are a Parental Advocate Group who work in conjunction with attorneys who type simple court documents for our members. ----- When Mrs. [redacted] contacted About the Children in regards to her request for a simple divorce we complied. After presenting Mrs. [redacted] with the simple divorce documents we had prepared for her by our Nevada attorney , it was brought to our attention that she had many revisions to make to her documents. ----- The extensive revisions included assets pertaining to real estate ,financial liabilities , division of automobiles etc… ----- Although Mrs. [redacted] would like our help with this issue, both parties have agreed not to move forward because her needs do not fall into the category of simple court documents. Subsequently, Mrs. [redacted] has been issued a FULL refund in the amount of $448.00. - - - - We truly wish Mrs. [redacted] the best of success, [redacted], About The Children, LLC

There organization is a joke judge wouldnt even here me out because paper wrk wasnt done rite they get your money an an could give 2 ss about you or your family judge told me could have got it all done rite for 125. But I listened to these people an fot took for 800 plus I want my money back but no can do the email u sayn I signed a paper sayn theres no refunds complete bull tjey should be ashamed for takin advantage of family's

Review: These people are super professional until they get your money. After that the customer service goes to hell. First they sent me to the wrong place to file the paper work.I live in Michigan city ended up paying 50 dollars in parking. Then once I finally got to the right building, which was no where near the place they sent me; I was informed that none of the 10 pages of paper work they sent me were even ever used IN THE STATE of Illinois let alone cook county. I was told by the clerk I could fill out 3 small forms and pay 420 dollars and everything would proceed. I sent the forms to ATC. They typed my name in the spots where my name was needed and sent the paper back.however I only sent the papers back yo show them they sent me the wrong paperwork. When I called Lisa was very snide and tried to tell Mr the paperwork wasn't wrong, she tried to say it was extra papers needed. After the clerk said the papers they sent were never any good and I shouldn't have paid anyone else other than the courthouse child support division I called and explained to them they sent me the wrong papers and their papers can't even be used. When I asked for a refund I was hung up on. I called back and Lisa was very snide I told her I would take legal action because they are scamming people. She laughed and replied "go ahead'Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund of 690 dollars. They sent me the wrong address I spent extra time and money riding around trying to find the right building. They sent the wrong paper work and I was able to go ahead and file paperwork on my own right there with the clerk..in all I ended up paying ATC 690 dollars and paying another 420. When the 690 I paid them for the paperwork they sent could not be used.

Business

Response:

Mr. T[redacted] is not being truthful. The simple line that says that he was told a particular document(s) was not even used in the STATE of Illinois is silly – documents and procedures (can) vary from county to county. That he would include such a statement in an attempt to collect a refund is sad. For reference, here is an overview of what transpired (it should be noted that the root of his “complaint” is that he didn’t understand why he had to pay FILING FEES (the $420 he mentions) to his county court…): -----Mr. T[redacted] first called us on 12/04/2015 He needed to establish paternity, We had the professional in the area where the child has resided for the past 6 months prepare the documents. His documents were done in a timely manner, He went to file the documents. He called when he was on the way stating he was lost and could not find the building, at this time he was told we don’t live in the area and don’t have driving instructions on how to get there. We suggested he use map quest. We have no idea where he parked or why it would cost someone $50 to park. Once he went into the building he called stating that some of the documents were not excepted due to what COOK (NOT the state) county requires, He then faxed me the 3 documents that the county wanted him to fill out and we had them back to him within a few hours, Mr. T[redacted] the next day called and was mad that that county clerk’s office required a filing fee, We explained to him previously that filing fees are through each county and pricing is different. He said he didn’t understand why he had to pay to file. We explained filing fees have nothing to do with ATC. But we explained to him to ask the clerk for a fee waiver. Most clerks offices offer them. At this time he tried saying well these documents are wrong again the clerk won’t accept them. At that point we explained to him that the documents could not be wrong and should be accepted due to the fact those came straight from him that he got from cooks county office. WHEN THAT DIDIN’T WORK WITH US, He then went back to not wanting to pay the filing fees. Again we explained ATC has nothing to do with court fees. Mr. T[redacted] was screaming and yelling on the phone and then hung up. Due to the above, no refund is due. We truly wish Mr. T[redacted] the best of success. Sincerely, ATC, LLC

Review: ATC offers a service online, on the phone they say one does not need to contact anyone else, they do all the "Legal Work" including Legal Advice. They say nothing about "non-refundable" or that they will be deducting money directly from you till AFTER the "retainer" has been paid.http://www.123aboutthechildren.org/Members/Terms.aspx( username - [redacted] )( password - 01[redacted]3$ )If one does NOT agree to the terms and conditions - that's as far as one can go on the website.Desired Settlement: I would like my money refunded - though in the "Terms and Conditions" it says its not refundable - which aren't given till the money is paid upfront.

I sought to use to use this company in my divorce because I couldn't afford a traditional attorney. The first man I spoke with was polite and sounded genuine in that the company would be able to assist me in my divorce. The next man I spoke with was quite rude and very short with me. The only time he even sounded halfway sincere was when I paid him hundreds of dollars to start working on my rough draft. Shortly after paying that amount I received assistance from an attorney that agreed to take my case. I called the company to ask them to stop working on my paperwork and to ask for a refund since I had not yet received anything from them. The woman with whom I spoke with not only said I was not entitled a refund (this was never mentioned before I asked about it) but insisted that I pay them an additional $300.00!? I was just dumbfounded that even though I had not received anything from them not only they refused a refund but also insisted that I pay them more money for a service I am not using! That's like buying a product and not being allowed to use it. I felt very taken advantage of by this company.

I viewed their website and filled out the online request for more information. Within an hour a representative called from ATC. After answering a few questions and "qualifying" for their program (the lady was very nice), it was time to provide my $98 enrollment fee by giving my visa or mastercard number. Because that is tied directly to my bank account, I did not provide the card number and asked if there was a way to verify that they are, in fact, a legitimate company. The only response to that was to view their website and their blog.

I chose to not provide the $98 enrollment fee and do some research on this company. I am very glad I did not give them access to my account. This is why:

At no time did the representative advise there was a flat fee of $699 as I see has happened to others by ATC charging the $98 enrollment fee and then charging $25 per month thereafter.

What the representative said on the phone was that I had to pay a $98 enrollment fee and IF the documents or case was not handled within the first 30 days, then a $25 per month fee would apply UNTIL it was complete. The only other thing she said was, "the most anyone has ever paid was $990".

This was very misleading, assuming that they charge $699 over monthly installments of $25/month after the $98 enrollment fee. This was NOT was I was told.

This is not a bad deal, at all, actually because this can be a very expensive and daunting task to handle. Why the total fee was not disclosed, I don't understand, and believe that is why people have filed complaints. This business should be more up-front about the total cost.

Review: I called About the Children to help with a cout issue I was going through. When I spoke to a person they told me it would only cost a one time enrollment fee of $98.00 that could be refunded if they were not able to help me. After I paid the $98.00 a case advocate called and explained how much more I would have to pay and this was something never brought to my attention before I paid the enrollment fee. After hearing how much it would cost total there was no way for me to pay that amount. And I didn't have alot of time before I had to have all my paperwork done for the court date. When I read the reviews it says they will refund you if they are not able to help and I feel like they were not able to help me. There is nothing stated that you will be charged this extra money so they are scamming people to believe its only $98.00 to help once they get the money they call you asking for more money. So I called to request a refund and the lady told me I can't get a refund cause they were able to help me I just could'nt afford them which if I knew in the beginning how much it would cost all together for their services I would of never paid the enrollment fee. also I heard her mention she can cancle my membership so they don't take out a monthly fee which was never mentioned when I called and enrolled.Desired Settlement: All I'm asking for is a refund of $98.00.

Review: I responded to an online ad stating this company could help me attain custody of a grandchild. I spoke with a woman, Tasha on or about July 25, 2014. She explained the companys enrollment costs; which I agreed to pay at the time. On or about July 28, 2014 I spoke with Veronica, who told me my case manager would be a man named Eric. Eric and I spoke on or about July 30, 2014; at which time he explained financial costs, time frame, support, visitations and other options for my custody case. I have decided not to pursue the custody case and requested a refund; which I am being told is not allowed because they do not give refunds. At no time did anyone ever tell that they do not give refunds, nor is this mentioned in any of the emails. I am on SSI Disability, which I told Tasha; and I now realize that I cannot afford the amount quoted. Barbara has refused me a refund twice now;I got upset and told her to go ahead and keep my money; but I really need my refund. I feel this company missled me and intentionally did not mention their "no refunds" until I requested one. How am I supposed to get my money back without more unaffordable legal fwws?Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund of $448.00, this is the amount for enrollment ($98.00) and partial payment ($350.00 of $690.00) for documents that I never received. refund is expected because I cancelled my case due to inability to afford.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] enrolled into our program on 7/25/14 and paid her

enrollment fee of 98.00. On that same day , Ms. [redacted] was contacted by our

welcome department to inform her of our website questionnaire and our “no refunds” for enrollment or document

fees policies. Ms. [redacted] verbally agreed to our Terms

and Conditions at that time. On

7/28/14, Ms. [redacted] filled out the website questionnaire - in order to select

a Parenting Plan, and fill out the questionnaire, it was necessary

for Ms. [redacted] to click “I

accept these Terms and Conditions” to continue her website activity. Again, in our Terms and Conditions online, it states

in writing that there are no refunds for enrollment fees or document

fees. On 8/1/14, Ms. [redacted] paid $350.00 towards her document fees of

$690.00, with the agreement that Ms. [redacted] would pay the remaining balance of

$340.00 before her documents were sent to her via UPS.

Ms. [redacted] was contacted on 8/4/14 that we needed additional information from her (Ms.

[redacted] agreed to fax that information to ATC) to

continue assisting her. Ms. [redacted] emailed ATC on 8/12/14 and asked to cancel her

account and requested a refund because of money troubles. Ms. [redacted] was then

reminded of her agreement to our Terms

and Conditions, and told we would

place her account on hold until her finances were more stable. Several calls

have been made in an attempt to contact Ms. [redacted] with no reply from her. On

8/13/14 ATC received the Revdex.com complaint on Ms. [redacted]’s behalf. We have made it

clear to Ms. [redacted] of our no refunds policy on several occasions and believe no

refund is in order. We now have Ms. [redacted]’s account on hold and look forward in continuing to assist her. As a courtesy, ATC

will apply her $98.00 enrollment fee towards her document fee so her remaining

balance will be $240.00, instead of $340.00. We hope this will help Ms. [redacted]

in moving forward and addressing her family

court issue. Sincerely, [redacted], ATC, LLC

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10176022, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

I will go ahead and consider the matter closed, even though I do not agree with their decision. Nothing they offer, except a refund, will help me. I do not need or desire any service they offer. I truly feel they took advantage of me; as they were told that I am disabled nd my funds are limited. plus, if I paid for documents; then why haven't I received them?

Regards,

Review: I was led to believe that I would be guided in paperwork to complete and file for set visitation with my step sons. I was also led to believe that if I paid in full, that I would be "put to the top of the list" and that all would be completed within 7-10 business days. When I signed up, I told them of the urgency of the situation. It took much longer than that as the company was apparently waiting on me to get them information I was never told they needed (example - parenting plan that it took two business dasy to advise they were missing). When I called initially to say that this was taking too long, and asked them to stop service and for a partial or full refund I was told it was too late as an attorney had been paid. I was then was shocked to see that I was just "assigned" an attorney to work on my court documents three days later! The "rough draft" was incorrect (silly things a lawyer should catch, such as referring to my daughter as my step daughter, sons ages being wrong, saying I wanted two days a week and every other holiday and this was 50/50 time share?!). At this point, because it took so long, I had gone to the legal aide at our county courthouse and filed generic paperwork for mediation (which is all I wanted ATC to do- get mediation!!) and then when the rough draft had so many errors, I called and asked them to just scrap the whole thing. What if I had not reviewed it and let this paperwork go to a mediator or judge? I would have been made to look like a fool! I voiced my complaints last Friday to a Price and since then, I have called and left multiple messages and no response. I am horribly dissapointed in the service and feel that I was led to believe they would, and I quote "be there to guide me every step of the way" and now, when I voice that I am unhappy, everyone has suddenly vanished. My "advocate" Eric, has been MIA since last Wednesday the 5th. If they really wanted to help and assist, why has no one called me back for nearly a week?Desired Settlement: I would like half, if not more, of the $690 I piad for completed documents refunded. It took entirely too long and I will not be using the documents they sent. $690 is a LOT of money to my family and I and I feel like I was scammed. I am not 100% sure they even used an attorney to draft the paperwork? I understand the $98 I paid to enroll will not be refunded, but they can at least give me back half the $690 I paid for documents that will not be used. Thank you.

Business

Response:

No refund is in order – ATC did everything we were supposed

to do, and member did not (per the “Terms and Conditions” that he agreed to)

allow us an opportunity to correct/modify documents when they were still in the

“Rough Draft” stage… ----- further - it is believed that Mr. [redacted] utilized our documents and

“filed on his own” ----- Our account supervisor reviewed this complaint, reviewed the documents, and then called Mr. [redacted]. ----- Here is supervisors assessment of this account:

----- Dear Compliance, ----- I just spoke to Mr. [redacted]. I explained I

looked at the Revdex.com Complaint and printed out his (Rough Draft) documents.

I said I then went through them and found them to be done well. I also let

mbr know I went through his recorded call log and extensive notes told him that

his complaints regarding not being called back were unfounded. ----- I let him

know that it was my own personal opinion that he used our (rough drafts)

to then file documents on his own. ----- I paused and waited… he did not deny

this. I explained this is not the first time someone has used our

documents to do their own and that we are updating our program so this kind of

thing doesn’t continue to happen. He said nothing…. I stated we

have his signed Confirmation Letter and no refund is in order. He

responded that he understood, and the call was ended. - - - - As I informed the

member – no refund is due. ----- [redacted] ----- ------ We sincerely wish Mr.

[redacted] the best. ----- R [redacted], About The Children, LLC

Consumer

Response:

Review: 9966917

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

Jason Luke

See my email sent to Barbara regarding our conversation from Friday 3/14/14. I do not appreciate being called a "liar" and accused of using the companies documents to file (these were not used AT ALL and what I did submit can be shown if needed). It should be noted that no response to this email was ever received to date.

On Friday, March 14, 2014 6:26 PM, [redacted] <j[redacted]@yahoo.com> wrote:

[redacted],

Review: In Dec, 2014 I contacted ATC in hope that would be preparing a court document for me to file with the family courts. They sent me a rough draft , I sent it back. Each month they were taking 24.99 from my checking acct. On Feb,2015 I contacted them for an update. They claimed they hadn't received the draft , yet they didn't bother notify me. When I voiced my concern ATC agreed to cancel the monthly banking fees and to reimburse Feb's fee as a courtesy. I've been canceled out all together and scammed out of 846.00. Thank you , for your time and patience. Hazel P. JohnsonDesired Settlement: 98.00 Membership 49.00 Mthly.fees690.00. Temporary order 846.00

Business

Response:

A few things to note: As indicated in Ms. [redacted] complaint,

she RECEIVED the court documents (in “rough draft” format) that she paid for… Rough

Drafts are sent to members for their review to either approve as is, or to

request that changes/modifications be made. Ms. [redacted] indicates that we never

informed her that we did not receive her email request for modifications to be

made - All members need to understand that communication is a “2-way street” and

a simple call from her remedied the situation.

----- in addition, in her complaint, Ms. [redacted] indicates that we “all

together” cancelled her account – FOR THE

RECORD: on 2/19/15, it was confirmed (clarified) to Ms. [redacted] that the email

that was sent to her was not that she was “canceled out all together and

scammed…” but rather that her MONTHLY BILLING of $24.99 was (per her request) CANCELLED…

======= Ms. [redacted]’s complaint does not justify any type of refund, as we

emailed her final documents (for her final approval) to HER NIECE’S EMAIL

ADDRESS PER MS. [redacted] REQUEST... ======= Here is an accurate description of

what has occurred, and our continued willingness to resolve this issue::: =======

Ms. [redacted] enrolled with A.T.C . on 12/1/2014. After

agreeing to our Terms and Conditions (T&C), Ms [redacted] answered the questions on our website and was

given a follow up call by her family service representative on 12/15/2014. On

12/15/2014 Ms [redacted] requested that we prepare court

documents and paid $690.00 to have

document prepared. In addition we received a signed contract

agreeing to our services. On 12/29/14 Ms [redacted] received her rough

drafts of the documents and was asked to review them and either approve of the documents or make any revisions. Ms. [redacted] made revisions

and her documents were then updated and the Final

Draft of these documents were sent to her via email on 12/30/14 for her to request any additional corrections or

revisions or to approve documents as “ready to ship”.

Several emails and phone calls were made to Ms. [redacted] requesting

that she revise the final draft or approve of them with no reply. Ms [redacted]’s account with us is open and has never been closed. Ms. [redacted]’s

monthly fee was discontinued as a courtesy to her, and we are happy to

send the final draft to Ms.

[redacted] via UPS if there are no additional changes needed. Per our solid agreement, we ask that Ms. [redacted]

contact us as soon as possible to complete this

process as we are waiting on her revisions or approval for shipment. We look forward to hearing for Ms. [redacted] and

resolving this issue. Sincerely, [redacted], ATC, LLC.

Review: I received my paperwork on time and went and filed the paperwork. Made it too court and the judge laughed in my face at the paperwork. He said it had been improperly wrote and that better research should of been done on new arkansas laws. I was so embarrassed. He stated for me to hire a lawyer and have them do the paperwork because the documents I received would not hold up in court. I have hired a lawyer for my court case and also enclosed her number 5[redacted]08 because she is the one not only handling my custody issue but she is also handling my complaint against this company if I do not get a full refund. She may be contacted as well. She also has the paperwork I sent and she states I have a strong case to pursue legal actions towards atc due to the paperwork not being done properly and the humiliation in court. You almost caused me to lose my child because I was not properly prepared because of such a sham of paperwork done poorly. I would like a full refund and refunded I will not pursue legal matters.Desired Settlement: 990.00 RefundFull start up cost and any payments been made refunded.

Business

Response:

We are beginning to believe that Mr. [redacted]’s description as to what has occurred

is inaccurate…

In an attempt to have Mr. [redacted] provide us with a “letter of rejection”

from the court, we have (several times) attempted to contact Mr. [redacted] by email

and by phone.

Mr. [redacted] neither answers our calls or responds to our emails.

In addition, the contact phone number for (his) referenced attorney only

goes to a voice mail with country music.

We want to address Mr. [redacted]’s complaint, but we need his cooperation. We

are asking that Mr. [redacted] either provide us with the court’s letter of

rejection, and/or that he, or his attorney call us directly at the phone

number(s) that we have provided him.

We look forward to addressing this issue with him.

For the record – here are two (2) phone numbers we can be reached at ###-###-#### or ###-###-####, M-F, 8-5pm PST.

Respectfully submitted, [redacted], ATC, LLC

Review: I called this company from the internet to have my papers drawn up for my custody of my seven year old daughter. When I spoke to them they told me it would be $98.00 to start and $24.99 a month until the case was finished. Of course being a single mother pregnant now sounded alot better than the $500.00 I have already been offered, but could not afford so I paid the $98.00 and got my paperwork to fill out online to get stared. The next day I recieved a phone call from someone assigned my case in which at this time he informed me that it can cost up to $990.00 for my papers to be done, but they were going to help me with a hardship of $590.00. Then I became angry,I called and talked to a lady and explained that if I would have know that it would cost an extra $590.00 on what I was already paying then I would have never signed up and asked if my $122.99 could be refuned since there was no help that I can afford because I had been misslead. The lady told me that I can not that I was told about the $990.00 on my first conversation. Question for everyone if you can get your papers done for $500.00 why would you decide to go with a company and possibly have to pay over $1,000.00. About the Children is about them and hope that no one is tricked like me and never attempts to get their help because they will take your money and leave you empty handed.Desired Settlement: $122.99 the amount they were paid to do nothing for me.

Business

Response:

We already refunded Ms. [redacted] $24.99. While we are

willing to compromise in providing Ms. [redacted] with an additional refund, we

feel that we must respond that Ms. [redacted]’s description of what occurred is

not accurate. It would be unfair to our business, if we did not give our account

of what occurred, based on documented contact(s) we had with Ms. [redacted], and

what was actually necessary for Ms. [redacted] to “log on” to our Member-Only

Website. ----- When Ms. [redacted] enrolled for our services on 4/4/14, per our

standard practice, she received a “Welcome Call” approximately 20 minutes

later. This call is made to specifically go over our services, INCLUDING our

prices and our “no refund” policy… In addition to being told verbally about our

service and fees - it is a REQUIREMENT that our members read and accept our

“Terms and Conditions” (T&C) (which states in writing, what members are

told verbally – including our fees, refund policy…) BEFORE they are able to

access the website portion of our services (which is the 1st step after

enrollment). It should be noted, that these T&C are not in small print or

“hidden” from our members - if Ms. [redacted] may recollect, they are written in

a “full page” format… ----- On 4/16/14 Ms. [redacted] read and accepted these T&C

and COMPLETED her website activity, and spoke with a Family Service Rep - and

(due to her financial situation) was qualified for our Financial Hardship

Program (a $300 discount of our typical fee). At this time Ms. [redacted] did NOT

cancel or ask for a refund… She called us on 5/9/14 whereby she quoted our

exact fees, yet at the same time she claimed she was misled. During this call,

Ms. [redacted] used nasty curse words towards our employee, and the call was

disconnected. Ms. [redacted] never canceled her service, so her monthly charge of

$24.99 was charged to her credit/debit card on 5/6/14 PRIOR to her call to us

on 5/9/14 (although no refund is/was in order, as a courtesy, we refunded this

$24.99 to her on 5/29/14). ----- In short – although no refund of Ms. [redacted]’s

enrollment fee of $98 is due to her, as an additional courtesy, she may call us

to discuss a partial refund of $49. Ms. [redacted]’s file has been marked as such

and she can call (805) 571-8879 to accept this refund. ----- We truly wish Ms.

[redacted] the best of success in dealing with her family court issue. ----- Sincerely, [redacted]o, ATC, LLC

Review: I will like to file a complaint regarding About the Children. I was trying to get visitations with my child, About the Children advised me that they could assist me with this process. I informed the representative, I did not have a current mailing or resident address. The representative advised me that this wouldn't be an issue, and I will still be assisted. In order for me to receive their services, I was required to become a member, which was a one-time fee of $99. After that there was another fee of $990 for completing the legal documents, etc. I paid both fees in full through my credit card, thinking I was going to see my daughter soon. On various contacts, including by phone and email, they continuously requested my child's address, which I restated that I did not have. After learning I was misinformed about the key information I stated to them in the beginning, I spoke with somebody stating I wanted a refund. Later on that day, a male representative called me saying he will send me an email for somebody who locates addresses for their organization. I never said that I will follow up with this email or anything. The last thing I said was I wanted a refund. That same day, I went to my bank to dispute this matter, and was awarded my funds back. However, About the Children disputed my dispute and got my funds reimbursed to them. I've tried contacting About the Children regarding my refund for the $990 because there were no services produced by them, but they stated that they cannot give me a refund or provide me with any services because my account has been terminated.Desired Settlement: I would like my $990 refunded, with the exception of four months member monthly fees, which comes out to $890. I want this refund because they did not produce any services to me, and they are not understanding my issue due to various conversations with several different people.

Review: I have yet to receive the documents I was promised after paying almost $500 for said documents months ago.Desired Settlement: I would like the said documentation delivered or my money refunded.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] enrolled into our program on 12/19/14. On

12/20/14 Ms. [redacted] paid $490.00 for her document preparation fee. On 12/20/14

Ms. [redacted] was asked to sign the receipt for the document fees she had paid and

asked to fax or email that signed receipt so when her (rough draft) documents

were ready for her review, we could send them to her email. On 1/29/15 Ms.

[redacted] was contacted and told that her rough draft documents were ready and we

still needed her signed receipt. It took THREE WEEKS of repeatedly asking Ms. [redacted]

to send the receipt back to us to no avail. On 2/18/15 Ms. [redacted] sent over a

receipt she had rewritten herself and signed. I let Ms. [redacted] know that we

would need our receipt signed and sent back in order to release her rough

drafts. At this time, Ms. [redacted] was upset and couldn’t understand why we

needed the receipt we made versus hers. we informed Ms. [redacted] that as a

business, we have in place policies that need to be followed. Ms. [redacted]

was truly not happy that her manufactured letter would not suffice. At this

time, Ms. [redacted] asked if ATC would send her receipt through the mail .

Although it is an unusual request to send a fee receipt through the US

Postal Service, ATC complied with Ms. [redacted] request and “snail” mailed her

receipt. She seemed to be struggling with our on-line procedures. At this time

we let Ms. [redacted] know that all of our correspondence revisions for documents

etc… are all done via email and it is necessary that Ms. [redacted] be able to

comply with our on-line policies. Ms. [redacted] assured staff at ATC that she was

able to move forward. Ms. [redacted] was then asked to sign the receipt we mailed

to her so that we could send her rough draft documents for her review via

email. On 3/9/15 we finally received the signed receipt regular mail from Mrs.

[redacted]. On 3/9/15 after receiving Ms. [redacted] signed receipt, we emailed “rough

draft” documents for her review or approval.------ On 4/6/2015 Ms. [redacted]

called to say she did not receive her rough drafts via email that we had sent

on 3/9/15. I asked Ms. [redacted] to check her spam folder as she has a Yahoo

email. It has been our experience in the past with yahoo email, that sometimes

document emails end up in the spam folder. She said she had no documents in the

spam folder and I offered to resend the rough draft documents again,

preferably, to a different email. Ms. [redacted] said she had another email account

and gave a Gmail email for documents to be sent to. Those documents were then

resent to her gmail account first thing on 4/6/15. Later the same afternoon,

the Revdex.com complaint was received. Clearly we have done all we can to make sure

Ms. [redacted] received her rough draft documents. After receiving the Revdex.com

complaint we called and left a message with Ms. [redacted] regarding our confusion

for the complaint, as well as to make sure Ms. [redacted] did receive her documents

through her Gmail account. We await Ms. [redacted] reply back to us regarding

receiving her documents via email, and hope that she gets back to us promptly

to resolve her issue. It should be noted, that the standard cost for the typed

court documents that Ms [redacted] needs is $690, and we have agreed/qualified Ms.

[redacted] to pay a (financial hardship) fee of only $490. ----- As you can see by

the above response, we are and will continue to provide Ms. [redacted] the work we

have completed, and no refund is in order. We invite Ms. [redacted] to call us so

that she may approve her rough drafts and her final draft documents may be sent

(via UPS) to her. We truly wish her the best of success. Sincerely, ATC, LLC

Review: My son [redacted] and I contacted About the Children about working on his behalf filing papers in getting joint custody of [redacted]'s 4 year old daughter. We spoke to an advocate from About the Children and was told that they have 47 attorney's throughout the U.S. that will be available to present the papers to a Judge in our local area. Later found out that this is not true and asked for a refund of the initial startup cost of $98.00 that was paid to get About the Children involved in our case. I spoke to Eric from About the Children and he stated that while the attorney is not preparing the paper, but will be available if needed. That is not what we signed up for, but asked Walter will the attorney be directly involved and I was told "YES". About the Children wanted $559.00 to produce the court order visitation/joint custody paper on Garrick's behalf. I told Eric that we would like our money refunded because we were mis-lead into believing the attorney would be more involved that was is the facts.Desired Settlement: Refund the $98.00 because no service was performed just us filling out information online. We have done all the work so far and About the Children has done anything to warrant keeping the $98.00 down payment.

Business

Response:

There is some confusion in this 3rd party complaint, and this should not be considered a serious complaint – (Attorney’s DO prepare court documents for our members…) - - - -We spoke directly with members mother (Janet) and confirmed that we have recorded that after (her son Garrick) enrolled for our service, he received a 2nd "courtesy call" confirming how our program works, our fees, how an attorney is involved...and in addition it was a requirement that Garrick accepted our Terms and Conditions before completing his website activity… ---- In any event, in our conversation with Janet today, she stated that she was fully satisfied that we are issuing her a full refund of the $98 enrollment fee she paid for her son. ---- We also agreed that ATC is still available to help Garrick, and we will leave his account open for three (3) months, and will waive his enrollment fee, should they choose to use our services in the future.---- We truly wish them the best of success in resolving their family law issue. ----Sincerely, [redacted], ATC

Review: We were not told our initial payment was non-refundable and were promised our case would be filed immediately while we made payments. He knew of the time crunch and still assured us. We got the information today for payment and process and were then explained to that the case would not be started until x amount of money was paid and not sent to be filed until the remaining balance was paid off. The childs well being is in danger and we were scammed.Desired Settlement: All we are asking is to have our initial $98 payment refunded because we were lied to and mminipulated into something we were not given full disclosure on.

Business

Response:

On June 16, 2013 at 1:14pm, our services were explained to the consumer. and he enrolled into our program. After his enrollment, the consumer received a (same day) courtesy call at 2:15 pm where his enrollment was confirmed, and he was provided logon information to our user website. After reading Mr. Noone’s wife’s complaint, of 6/19.13, I called and spoke with the consumer, and confirmed that it was necessary that he (had) accepted our Terms and Conditions (which confirms in writing; our fees, refund policy…) BEFORE he was able to log onto our company’s website and complete his website (which we received).…-----

Our records indicate that Mr. Noone accepted our T&C’s on 6/18/13, and spoke with his Case Advocate on 6/19/13. During the consumer’s conversation with his Case Advocate, (and due to his financial situation) Mr. Noone was qualified for our “Financial Hardship” program (a $300 reduction). The consumer asked that a Case Advocate give him a “callback” on 6/29/13 to discuss a possible payment to start his document preparation process. -----

Shortly the consumer’s conversation with his Case Advocate (also on 6/19/13), Mr. Noone’s wife (Marissa) contacted our us requesting a refund, and subsequently filed a complaint to the Revdex.com, also on 6/19/13. -----

Rather to attempt to defend any position, we accept M[redacted]’s input and concerns, and understand how confusion may have occurred. After speaking directly with the consumer, we have issued his account a full refund, and offered him a free membership to our program, should he decide to address their family court issue (the consumere indicated that he (they) may need our service in the future). ----- We apologize for any confusion, and wish them the best of success.

Review: I contacted About the Children (ATC) to prepare my child custody documents for the state of Texas. I was assured that the documents would allow me to see a judge and have my case move forward. My case was very standard, did not include divorce and was very straight forward. This process started at the beginning of 2014. I paid over $800 for a set of documents that I submitted to County Courthouse where my child and I reside.When I submitted my Order in Suit Affecting Child Parent Relationship, the judge marked it with notes that were to be addressed before my appearance on March 17th, 2015. On that day, I would stand before the judge and select a court date. I emailed and called ATC on March 10th to let them know the judge had marked notes on the document they prepared that said she would not accept the documents as they were because they were not formatted correctly for the state of Texas and that there were affidavits missing. ATC made some changes at my request, but when I took them with me to the court house on the 17th, the judge looked over the documents and said they were still not worded or formatted correctly for the state of Texas. She handed back everything that I had submitted and said I would have until July 16th to submit a new set of documents in order to have my case move forward and select a hearing date - or it would be dismissed. I now have to pay someone else to recreate these standard documents if I would like to protect my child. When I called ATC, the director, Barbara, said I needed to show proof that the court refused my documents. I called the judge's coordinator and the district clerk. Neither office had ever heard of such a request so I was unable to provide ATC with any document which I told to ATC. At this point, Barbara will not even return my calls or emails to try and resolve this issue. It is obvious that the service I requested - court documents for child custody - was not provided to me.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for the documents which could not be used in a Texas court.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] failed to mentioned that she contacted

us nearly a year after we SHIPPED her typed court documents to her. In

addition, if her court documents were not in an approved format, the court

would have never accepted them in the first place. The reality is that

additional information and revisions were required – and we assisted Ms.

[redacted] with this, at no additional cost to her. As part of our service,

revisions and typos are done at no (additional) charge until the member “approves”

of documents and they are shipped to member. Keep in mind that these revisions

we requested long after court documents were prepared… and changes in

circumstances in her court case dictated that there were additional issues that

needed to be addressed. ------ Here is a partial assessment of timeframes, and

what transpired: ====== : Ms.

[redacted] enrolled into our program on December 26, of 2013. At that time, we prepared court

documents for her for the for a fee of $740.00. Ms [redacted] (after extensive revisions) approved of her documents on 1/23/2014, and they

were shipped to her UPS on the same day. ------ On 12/17/2014 – eleven months after

shipping her final documents, Ms. [redacted] called requesting additional

revisions to her documents… Although this was unusual, we complied with Ms. [redacted]’s request (and more)… going so far as

reshipping the revised documents via UPS to her with no additional charge on

12/22/2014. It should be noted that major revisions after original approval (an definitely after such a long period of time) usually require an additional fee of $150.00. We did not charge Ms.

[redacted] any additional fee. ------ On 3/16/2015 – fifteen (15) months after her initial documents were prepared Ms. [redacted]

called and claimed that the court was going to dismiss the case if she

didn’t have specific notes from the judge added to her documents. With concern that Ms. [redacted]’s case would be dismissed, ATC went above and beyond to provide her with

what she said the judge was requesting. Once again, Ms. [redacted] was not charged

for the excessive revisions that normally cost an additional fee of $150.00. Ms. [redacted] then

called on 3/18/2015 and spoke to a supervisor claiming that the court had

rejected her documentation. As is ATC’s standard practice, we asked Ms. [redacted]

to provide us with a letter of rejection from the clerk of the court. No

rejection letter was provided by Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] again

called back on 3/20/2015 to say she wanted a refund for her documents. Ms. [redacted]

informed that at a minimum,

she needed to provide ATC with the rejection letter. No rejection letter or “case dismissed” proof was ever produced by Ms. [redacted]. ------ All members are made aware that ATC make no promises - that ALL final

decisions are made by the judge - this includes making some parents “jump

through hoops” as it may seem… A number of factors may have come into play – timeframe

(including waiting too long…), change in circumstances, additional requirements/demands

by the judge… We have exhausted our efforts in assisting Ms. [redacted] and have let her know that moving forward in continuing her family

court she will need the assistance of an attorney. For the above reasons, we maintain that no

refund is due to Ms. [redacted]. However, she may contact me at (805) 845-3074. In

a show of good faith, we will issue Ms. [redacted] a courtesy refund in the amount

of $150. We truly wish her the best of success. Sincerely, [redacted], ATC, LLC

Consumer

Response:

Review: 10548051

I am rejecting this response because:

Due to the limited character count in the original complaint process, I could not go into the level of detail I would have liked. Yes, the documents were sent to me in 2014, but unfortunately, it was not until March of 2015 that my documents were denied in court. I was not made aware until a couple weeks before my scheduled date. In addition to the $740.00 I was charged an additional $98. The changes made in December were extremely slight, and by no means major. That is probably why ATC failed to even mention that they usually charge a fee. How can I be expected to pay when I did not know there was even a charge?

Review: This company has been taking money from my account for services but I have not received anything from them. They sent an e-mail with some sort of "ROUGH DRAFT" that looked and read that of something a fifth grader could have written.After receiving this I realized that we were being ripped off and froze my bank account to avoid anymore withdraws. These was suppose to be LEGAL DOCUMENTS TO PRESENT IN COURT FOR CUSTODY OF CHILDREN. I e-mailed them and cancelled the services and requested a refund for services that were never rendered, only to be told that there would be no refund, and had the nerve to state that I would owe them more money.I want a full refund of all funds given to this company, and something done so others will not fall prey to such scammers.Desired Settlement: ALL FUNDS PAID TO THE ACCOUNT OF DERRICK DEFOE( THE ACCOUNT IN WHICH THEY WERE DRAWING OUT OF MY BANK ACCOUNT)

Business

Response:

On March 26, 2014, Mr. D[redacted] became

a member of ATC to receive assistance in the preparation of documents to address a family court issue. Before using our

services, Mr. D[redacted] read and accepted our Terms

and Conditions on 3/27/14. After

speaking with his family service rep on 3/27/14 Mr. D[redacted] paid $250 towards his document fee. Then, on

4/3/14 Mr. D[redacted] made another payment of 150.00 towards his document fee, which left him with a remaining balance of $340. “Rough Drafts” (because he had not given his final

approval) were then provided to Mr. D[redacted]. AFTER Mr. D[redacted]

reviewed his documents, he submitted corrections/modifications to these

documents, and subsequently approved of them. - - - Mr. D[redacted]’s “Final Draft” documents were

provided (emailed) to him on 4/22/14 and Mr. D[redacted] was asked to

review documents and to pay the remaining balance

to have his documents sent to him via UPS. On 4/29/14 Mr. D[redacted] was reminded that we still needed him to

make corrections or (approve) the final drafts, pay his balance, so that we may send his documents vis

UPS. --- On 5/8/14 Mr. D[redacted]’s

wife asked for a refund via email. An email response was then sent from the

family service supervisor that no refund is available, as the requested documents were prepared. In addition, Mr. D[redacted]

was reminded that an

outstanding balance of $340 was still due. The “poor quality” statement that is used to describe these

documents is unfounded – the documents were prepared properly. ATC

prepared Mr. D[redacted]’s documents to his specifications and no refund is due. It should be noted that we have a contract

signed by the parties involved and collections may be in order. We

would like to speak with Mr. D[redacted] to complete the shipping process of his

documentation. As a courtesy, Mr. D[redacted] may request a

waiver of his remaining balance to settle this issue. We look forward to

speaking directly with Mr. D[redacted] to resolve this issue in a satisfactory manner

– again, we are willing to cancel his remaining balance, and provide him with

the documents he has approved of. We

wish Mr. D[redacted] the best in the future, Sincerely, [redacted], ATC

Business

Response:

This continued complaint is unjustified. The original

complaint actually contradicts itself because it states that they want a refund

because they have not received any thing from us, YET IT STATES, “They sent an e-mail

with some sort of ROUGH DRAFT" (document). In addition, their

complaint states that the documents that they received were not what they were

led to believe. We don’t quite understand what they were expecting – we can’t

just add or make-up things to include in finished document (court documents are

court documents…). The follow up complaint also states that Mr. D[redacted] received

his “Rough Draft” documents. After Mr. D[redacted] responded to us with required

changes to WHAT HE RECEIVED, the Rough Draft became Final Drafts emailed to him for his approval.

AFTER we provided Mr. D[redacted] with these documents for his final approval, they

complained and requested a refund! ----- We stand by our original response to

their complaint as being 100% accurate and truthful, and that no refund is due,

and in fact Mr. D[redacted] still has a remaining balance owed to us. ----- As a

courtesy, we have waived the remaining balance that Mr. D[redacted] has with us, and

(because we like to help people) we have approved a refund in the amount of

$100 to Mr. D[redacted]. His account has been noted as such and simply needs to call

us, and confirm his address to activate his refund. We truly wish Mr.

D[redacted] the best of success. Sincerely, [redacted], ATC, LLC

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10044505, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Please send the $100.00 dollar check payable to;

[redacted]

### B[redacted] Rd

[redacted] ,AL [redacted]

BECAUSE: all the charges were removed from her account on my behalf. I did not receive any finished documents as stated in the response and do not wish too.. I just want this mess over and will try and reimburse Ms [redacted] the balance of monies removed from her account on my behalf as I possibly can. I will chalk this up to a lesson learned.

Regards,

Review: I am filing a complaint due to this company not providing the documents promised. I have followed up with them 4 times and tried calling today again and the phone number says all circuits are busy. The documents should have been completed 3 weeks ago. Last contact made with someone who works for this company promised Monday September 21st at the very latest. Well I still have not received anything from them and everything has been paid for.Desired Settlement: I am requesting a refund of my $690.00 dollars. That was the amount paid to have these documents drawn up.

Business

Response:

Ms. P[redacted] enrolled for our services on 6/5/15, and received our standard Welcome Call within an hour after enrolling. This call confirms the services we provide, and it includes a statement that all fees paid are non-refundable. On 6/15/15 Ms. P[redacted] Spoke with a Customer Service Rep. and was qualified for our Financial Hardship Program, which lowered the cost of our services from $990 to $690. This amount was billed to her debit/credit card on 7/23/15. ===== Prior to logging on to our website, it was necessary for Ms. P[redacted] to accept our Terms and Conditions, which explain in detail what Ms. P[redacted] was informed verbally (including that all fees are non-refundable, and that we will correct any typos, and/or required changes to her documents at no additional cost to a member.) On 8/6/15 Ms. P[redacted] contacted us and ask that we resend questions that she had previously answered (these answers she needed to provide are/were required in order for us to have her court documents typed.) ===== We received Ms. P[redacted]’s renewed answers on 8/10/15. ===== On 8/17/15, we informed Ms. P[redacted] that we still needed a copy of her previous Court Order for reference… Ms. P[redacted] provided us this missing information on 9/9/15. ===== On 9/17/15 we received Ms. P[redacted]’s signed contract which further included that all fees are non-refundable. ===== We emailed the (Rough Draft) of Ms. P[redacted]’s documents to her on 10/2/15 for her approval, or to have her inform us of any changes to documents that were required. On 10/5/15 member sent an email that she had requested a refund (we never received a refund request prior to her Revdex.com complaint.) ===== It should be noted that although in Ms. P[redacted]’s complaint, she states that she tried to contact us a few times, our records do not show this. We help a lot of people, and have never heard anyone inform us that “all circuits are busy”, perhaps this was due to her living in Hawaii(?). In any event, communication is always a 2- way effort… as it is, with all members of our organization, both phone and email contact continues to work well… While we always attempt to get our 1st draft of documents to members within 7-14 business days after receipt of last bit of required information submitted by a member, sometimes oversights or delays occur. In this situation, it did take us 18 business days to provide Ms. P[redacted] with her initial documents, and we apologize for the delay of a few extra days. Due to the work involved, and her signed contract, Ms. P[redacted] is not eligible for a refund. Ms. P[redacted] may contact us of any changes she needs done to the documents, or she may give her final approval. Our goal is to complete this process, so that we may send Ms. P[redacted] her finish documents. In addition, we will UPS “overnight” her finished documents at no additional cost, or Ms. P[redacted] may contact us for a courtesy refund in the amount of $100. ===== We truly wish her the best of success. Sincerely, ATC

Consumer

Response:

Review: 10829105

I am rejecting this response because: I had waited 3 weeks for the rough draft and called to check status 4 times. On the fourth call I was told I would receive it by Monday which was 3 business days later and still did not receive the documents. I then filed the complaint. Four days after the complaint was filed then they sent the rough draft to me. I did not open the rough draft of the documents I just sent the email back. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee on their website, stating that the $100 deposit is non refundable, which is fine, but I am demanding that my $ 690.00 be refunded back to me for services not rendered. How ridiculous that they are saying that they will only refund me the deposit of $100 and keep the $690.00. Unacceptable, court documents are very time sensitive, this company should be aware of that. 3 weeks for the rough draft is way too long. I could have done them on my own in that amount of time.

Regards,

[redacted]

Business

Response:

Review: I was lured by these peoples false information. Was told if I went on web site and agreed to membership they would take out $98 out of credit card. I had not even got on web page and my phone alerted me that they pulled $98 out with out me agreeing. I tried calling the 2 representative back that called me and it went straight to voice mail! As far as Im concerned that is theft!Desired Settlement: I want a full refund in to my credit card asap. and I want to let them know they are very unethical and have no permission to take money from my visa card

Business

Response:

This consumer is satisfied, in that no funds were ever billed or removed to/from her credit/debit card account (so no refund was needed). ------ NOTE: This transaction was never processed/ billed – it was “voided” the same day of Ms. [redacted]’s informed us that she did not want to move forward with our assistance… ------ FOR THE RECORD: Ms. [redacted] enrolled into our program the last hour of our work day on 3/4/15. On the same day (3/4/15) Ms. [redacted] provided us her credit/debit account information, she received a “Welcome Call” at 4:46pm. That night at 9:31pm Ms. [redacted] filed a complaint with the Revdex.com. The next day (3/5/15) at 8:18am, we returned a call to Ms. [redacted] and (per her request) the transaction was “voided” which means that no funds were ever removed or charged to her account. We truly wish Ms. [redacted] the best of success. ------ Sincerely, ATC, LLC

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Description: LEGAL DOCUMENT ASSISTANCE

Address: 660 Mayrum Street, Santa Barbara, California, United States, 93111

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