Apple Law Group Inc

[redacted], [redacted]Revdex.com COMPLAINT #[redacted]On 10/27/14 Mr. [redacted] enrolled in a debt negotiation program that required 59 payments of $222.  He signed his contract and initialed every page.  He breached his contract and  made only 7 payments then canceled services.  7 payments...

were insufficient to enable the accumulation of sufficient settlement savings to enable settlement.  Prior to enrollment, on 10/27/14 he was provided an in-person sales presentation at the conclusion of which he signed a Certification indicating he understood the operation of the program and his responsibility to complete the payments.  On 1/27/15 in a recorded compliance call with our office, he confirmed his understanding of the program by responding to 28 separate questions including "You understand if you fail to make your required program payments none of your debts may be settled and there may be no settlement savings to refund;" and "You  understand any refund is limited to the amount, if any, in your settlement savings account."Mr. [redacted] agreed not to communicate with or make payments to his creditors while on his program but he did so anyway, thereby nullifying the hardship status necessary for settlement.  He made payments to FNB Omaha #6575 on 10/20/15, [redacted] on 10/16/15, Wells Fargo #9008 on 9/27/15, and [redacted] #[redacted] on 9/26/15.While on his program ALG notified all enrolled creditors of its representation, sent cease and desist letters, responded as appropriate to his communications, responded as appropriate to creditor communications, evaluated application of validation techniques as considered appropriate, evaluated application of the statute of limitations as considered appropriate, ran interference for him with his creditors for 11 months, provided him legal representation for 11 months, and managed other aspects of his programOn 10/14/15 Mr. [redacted] was sent the balance in his settlement savings account.

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.Apple Law Group never settled...

any accounts although they took money out of my account monthly. Apple Law Group tried to withdraw money out of my account in August 2016, but I did not have enough money transferred to that account. They never contacted me and I thought they would rerun the payment as most companies do. My Mom had a brain aneurysm rupture and I was out of state while all this took place. They had no reason to stop the withdraw of the monthly payment, but I believe that was their mistake, not mine. As of today, Apple Law Group has taken thousands of dollars out of my account to pay-off debts, but I have two lawsuits because they never took care of the accounts as per agreement. As of today, nothing has changed since the original complaint.
Regards,
[redacted]

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.
Regards, I gave them $10,000 and they kept all my money they refunded me $1,800 lucky about that but I still want my rest of my money
[redacted]

We are responding to the above-entitled complaint.Mr. [redacted] Apple Law performed no services, did not resolve his debts, and is entitled to a refund of his payments. His allegations are denied.Rejecting bankruptcy, Mr. [redacted] retained ALG to assist with his debt problems on January 27, 2015. He...

signed his contract and initialed every page. He agreed to make monthly payments in the amount of $406 per month for 42 months based upon his debt load in excess of $23,000. Parts of these payments were for savings, and other parts were for fees. He breached his contract and made only 13 payments, less than one-third of those required, then cancelled services. 13 payments out of 42 required payments were insufficient to enable the accumulation of sufficient settlement savings to enable settlement of his accounts.The terms of the representation and fees associated with same were clearly and conspicuously disclosed prior to and upon retention, and were further explained in the text of the executed agreement with ALG.To insure his understanding of his contract and the operation of his program, ALG performed several procedures.First, on 1/27/15, Mr. [redacted], a representative of our law office and “debt presenter” for this purpose, met Mr. [redacted] in person and provided him a sales presentation. At the conclusion of the presentation he signed a Client Certification Form that stated Mr. [redacted]: 1) met Mr. [redacted] in person on 1/27/15, 2) provided him with copies of his contract, a Disclosure Form (which he acknowledged and executed) and Right to Cancel Form, 3) provided him a sales presentation, and answered all of his questions whereupon he attested in writing that “The presenter provided me a sales presentation, answered all of my questions and I feel that I have been adequately informed about the debt settlement program, ” and 4) “I signed the debt settlement contract and enrolled in the program of

Ms. [redacted] complains that no services were performed and as a...

result of her participation in her debt negotiation program her credit score declined, some of her accounts were turned over to collection agencies, that she made 24 payments, and that she received no refund. Her allegations are denied.
In December 2014 Ms. [redacted] enrolled $22,000 in a debt negotiation program and agreed to make monthly payments of $391 for 42 months. She signed her contract and initialed every page, as well as a Certification acknowledging she understood the program, its operation, the fees, and her responsibilities. She breached her contract and made only 14 payments, not the 24 payments she erroneously claimed in her complaint, then cancelled services. 14 payments were insufficient to enable the resolution of her aCCOuntS.
With regard to her allegation her credit score declined, she was contractually informed up front that was a possibility. With regard to her allegation some of her accounts were turned over to collection, that is false; in fact, at least one of her enrolled accounts was already in collection at the time of her enrollment. With regard to her allegation no services were performed, that is false. Services performed include notification of all enrolled creditors of our representation, sending cease and desist letters, performing a validation analysis, performing a statute of limitations analysis, responding as appropriate to her communications, responding as appropriate to creditor communications, running interference for her with her creditors and providing her legal representation for 14 months, and resolving $6,761.16 of her debt for $1,492.28, a savings of $5,268.88 or 78%, and managing other aspects of her program.
While she agreed not to communicate with her creditors while in the program, she continued to do so, and, worse, made payments to them, thereby nullifying the hardship status required for settlement and demonstrating that she misrepresented her hardship status to the law firm upon enrollment with the expectation of having the law firm run
interference for her with her creditors and later cancelling services and demanding a refund in order to obtain free services at our expense.
On 6/13/16 we responded to Ms. [redacted]'s request for refund along with an explanation of services performed. In that communication we refunded the balance in her
settlement savings account, the maximum amount to which she is contractually entitled. Accordingly, there is no basis for further refund.

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.
I did not understand ALG would keep my money in 2 separate accounts. or just keep my money for 2-3 years before doing anything with it. why would ALG take attorney fees if they didn't do anything! just look at all the complaints on ALG. that explains everything. I want my hard earned money back! ALG is a rip-off!
Regards,
[redacted]

In February 2015 complainant enrolled $41,000 in a debt negotiation program and agreed to 42 payments of $651, but breached her contract and only made 2 payments, then cancelled. Despite her agreement not to do so, she continued to...

communicate with her creditors, and worse, make monthly payments to them which nullified the hardship status necessary for settlement. Complainant manipulated ALG to run interference for her with her creditors while she continued to pay them with the expectation she would cancel and obtain a full refund and obtain free services at our expense. A separate response has been mailed to the client.

We at Roncor Group have resolved client concerns.

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.I did not understand ALG would keep my money in 2 separate accounts. or just keep my money for 2-3 years before doing anything with it. why would ALG take attorney fees if they didn't do anything! just look at all the complaints on ALG. that explains everything. I want my hard earned money back! ALG is a rip-off!
Regards,
[redacted]

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.
Good Morning Mrs. [redacted],
Below is the response I attempted to enter on the response form and attached is the attachment that goes with it.  Thanks so much. 
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.
 
When I made the decision to consolidate my debt, I made it at a desperate time and by trusting that I was working with an honest and trustworthy company. I called the representative that I worked with several times explaining I was worried about my credit, should I pay my debts while they are "negotiating," asking him to explain everything again because I was so concerned. I was told that debt consolidation is hurtful to your credit (i.e., poor credit rating) but a better alternative than delinquency and bankruptcy. If they have recording of these conversations I would gladly give them permission to let you hear them. The representative continued to tell me, "the attorneys are doing their jobs, talking to the companies and trying to come up with the best negotiation possible. They won't do anything without speaking with you first. If the calls from the companies have stopped then they are doing their jobs." I explained the calls hadn't stopped and he went on to reiterate "the attorneys are doing their jobs" and that I should not answer my phone, pay these companies, since they are in negotiations. So I didn't.
 
On April 29, 2015, I spoke with a representative of my bank at [redacted] Credit Union due to a separate situation that concerned my professional license. During this conversation I was asked about my credit card. I am a 34 y/o mother, professional and responsible human being, so what was I to do? Cover my ears say "I'm not listening." I simply told the [redacted] representative, I am working with a debt consolidation company who is in touch with you guys and in negotiations and I'm just waiting for an agreement, further explaining that I was not supposed to speak with them about it. This is when I became aware of the fact that Apple Law Group had NEVER contacted [redacted] and I was late, reported to the credit bureaus, etc. I was in shock and I left several messages for the "representative" that I spoke with from the beginning, to no avail. So yes I called the other credit card companies to see if they had ever been contacted by Apple Law Group to see if what I was being told was true and I was informed by each of them that they HAD NEVER SPOKEN TO APPLE LAW GROUP, NOR BEEN CONTACTED BY THEM. So afterApril 29, I began to try to reach agreements with each of them myself to fix what had been done. Please note in their letter to me that the dates that I contacted my credit card companies are after theApril 29thdate that I have indicated. Since it was apparent I was not getting what I was being told I was getting, what I had paid for and the representative from their company was not returning my calls I absolutely put a stop to my payments because there was no reason to pay them or remain in contract with them.
 
After making my complaint with the Revdex.com I received the nastiest letter from Apple Law Group (please see attached) basically threatening to take legal actions against me if I continue to pursue them to do the right thing. In this letter they refer to me as a bully for asking for my money back. Interestingly, they are the one's acting like bullies by taking on a weaker person to steal their "lunch money," if you will. What do I have to gain by making an already horrible situation (i.e., a nasty divorce) into a nastier situation by ruining my credit and battling an office full of attorney's? I'm not asking for anything more than what I gave, so what would my purpose be? They may see my payments as no big deal, but 1300 dollars is a lot to a single mother of 3, who is trying to hold her life together. Additionally, it is important to note that the "representative" they refer to in their letter, [redacted], which they sent to my home was simply a notary who shrugged his shoulder when asked any questions explaining "I'm just the notary." Mr. [redacted] spent no more than 15 minutes in my home, he saw the disarray I was dealing with (i.e., moving truck, people everywhere, etc), he was most certainly not a "representative of our law office and 'debt presenter' for this purpose," to meet with me to provide a "sales presentation." I do not believe I will get the remainder of my money back from the Apple Law Group although I deserve it, but I do hope they never do this to anyone else and instead of threatening me and bullying people like me out of 1300 dollars here and there, if they believe they are correct then maybe they should take on someone their own size and speak with the following companies, whom I believe 100% when they say they never heard from Apple Law Group: Citibank, American Express, [redacted] Credit Union, FNB Omaha, etc. In essence Apple Law Group is saying these companies are lying, which seems pretty bizarre that each of these well respected and independent companies would be making up the same lie. In their response to the Revdex.com they claim I'm manipulating their company for free services? What did they do for me????? Yes I want and deserve my money back. In its entirety, not just the two payments, but the payment for the notary, etc.
Regards,[redacted]

[redacted], [redacted]
Revdex.com COMPLAINT #[redacted]
On 10/27/14 Mr. [redacted] enrolled in a debt negotiation program that required 59 payments of $222.  He signed his contract and initialed every page.  He breached his contract and  made only 7 payments then...

canceled services.  7 payments were insufficient to enable the accumulation of sufficient settlement savings to enable settlement.  Prior to enrollment, on 10/27/14 he was provided an in-person sales presentation at the conclusion of which he signed a Certification indicating he understood the operation of the program and his responsibility to complete the payments.  On 1/27/15 in a recorded compliance call with our office, he confirmed his understanding of the program by responding to 28 separate questions including "You understand if you fail to make your required program payments none of your debts may be settled and there may be no settlement savings to refund;" and "You  understand any refund is limited to the amount, if any, in your settlement savings account."
Mr. [redacted] agreed not to communicate with or make payments to his creditors while on his program but he did so anyway, thereby nullifying the hardship status necessary for settlement.  He made payments to FNB Omaha #6575 on 10/20/15, [redacted] on 10/16/15, Wells Fargo #9008 on 9/27/15, and [redacted] #[redacted] on 9/26/15.
While on his program ALG notified all enrolled creditors of its representation, sent cease and desist letters, responded as appropriate to his communications, responded as appropriate to creditor communications, evaluated application of validation techniques as considered appropriate, evaluated application of the statute of limitations as considered appropriate, ran interference for him with his creditors for 11 months, provided him legal representation for 11 months, and managed other aspects of his program
On 10/14/15 Mr. [redacted] was sent the balance in his settlement savings account.

Apple Law Group, Inc. Out of Newport Beach, CA are rip offs they claim to help you with getting your debt paid down. What they do is rip off your money you pay them to put towards your debts. This firm is the lowest of the low. They prey on desperate people. My daughter being one off them. They took $10,080.00 of her hard earned money as she paid faithfully for three long years and trusted them to be ligit and help her get out if debt. She has a sick child and works when she is not home with her sick child. They took her for a ride. We need to start a class action law suit
against this company. Please she needs this money back to pay theses bills.

Review: Apple Law Group promised to cease collection calls from creditors and to represent me with regard to debt settlement. Neither was achieved, however, they collected over $800 from my bank account through direct debit. Some of my creditors were not even aware that I was in process of debt settlement, while another was not even settled. The "firm's" outcome was basically, "oh, well, discover didn't want to settle..." leaving me with the only option to file for bankruptcy. When I asked for further help, they closed my account and told me to basically go elsewhere and they kept my money for no services rendered. They were difficult to reach on the phone and email response was slow. I feel that I have been scammed and according to other complaints made, I am not wrong.Desired Settlement: I believe since promised services were not made, I should receive a refund and if not a full refund, then a large portion. $17 from $800+ is not an acceptable refund. I will contact the bar association since I don't even think this is a real legal firm.

Review: I had the Apple Law Group working with me for an alleged debt settlement program. I was instructed by their front man [redacted] who is the one I initially spoke with and he provided me with the preliminary information on the program. [redacted] told me during the screening that I was to stop paying my bills because the law group would handle all of my bill payments. I spoke with this man late September 2014 and the notary public individual came by my house to have me sign all documents regarding this program. I signed the documents October 4, 2014. Later in October I was contacted for non payment of one of my credit cards, I called [redacted] and was told to not speak with the creditors the law office would handle them. When I signed the paperwork in October I ag[redacted] to have $808.00 taken out of my checking account monthly after an initial $903.00 which covered the initial service charge. The first payment came out October 7, 2014 and the $808.00 payment came out 7 November 2014. Two payments totaling $1711.00 was deducted from my checking account and not one of my bills were paid. I made a couple of payments that I could afford myself but when I called the Apple Law Group customer service number the first time in November I asked them why no money had been sent to my creditors. I was told that the withdrawal had to build up to a certain amount which they did not specify and then payments would go out. The law group told me to just inform the creditors that my lawyers were handling my payments. When I told one of the creditors my law firm was paying my bill I was told they had not been contacted by any lawyer or law group. So I called the law group again and the customer service person I spoke with told me because I was active duty military I was not eligible for enrollment into the program. [redacted] never mentioned this and I told him I was in the Army during our phone interview. I submitted written notification to close my account with them.Desired Settlement: The last I spoke with a representative from this law group I was told I would receive a call on Jan 19, 2015 to inform me on the progress with my refund. It is 4:42 p.m. and I haven't heard from anyone from that company. I want to receive the $1711.00 that was supposed to be reimbursed when my account was closed in November 2014. I have not received my funds and when I call their customer service I receive promises that my account was closed and the money was being processed for reimbursement. The last time I spoke with their customer service was January 16, 2015. I seem to always get the same young lady and she never wants to provide her name. I just want to get my money back so I can get back to paying my debts myself.

Business

Response:

Subject: Response to Complaint ID: [redacted]Ms. [redacted] enrolled $40,000 in a debt settlement program in October 2014. She signed her contract and initialed each page. She agreed to make 32 payments of $808 but only made 2 payments then cancelled. Part of these payments were for fees and part for a settlement savings account used to settle debts. Having made only 2 payments prevented the accumulation of sufficient savings to enable settlement of her debts.

Review: Turned our non collateral debt over to them for them to help us after my husbands back surgery. They assured us they could help and not let us get behind because they would make settlements with them and pay off the balance. We were not behind on payments at the time we just did not get behind and have problems catching up when only one income temporarily . They took payments out of our bank account for 10 months, there was no communication with them I would e mail and call and want updates of our account and if all the accounts was working with them or not. NO response, or they would say we were to new to have it all ready for us yet. We ended up getting sued by a creditor and we had to come up with settlement amount right away then there was another one and another one. I sent a e mail to Apple Law telling them no longer wanted services from them. When calling all of our accounts I found out not one payment had been made in the 10 months of payments and none had been called and talked to about a settlement. We owe more than we did to start with because of the interest. I am in the process of settling all our accounts myself and paying them off before they all sue us. They did nothing to help in the 10 months and made the situation way worse than it was and no one would communicate with you and you never could talk to a attorney it was always like telemarketing people handling everything. I would NEVER recommend this group to anyone!Desired Settlement: they took payments every month of 277.00 dollars for 10 months with NO services for that money. I am doing the job I was paying them to do and now we owe more than we did when obtaining their services.

Review: For the service I received from this company from May 2015 - November 2015 cause me to file bankruptcy. I would receive calls from my creditors and I did what I was instructed to do. I would tell my creditors that I, was in a debit reduction program and I gave them Apple Law group contact number. My creditors stated they never received call back or never contacted by Apple Law Group. I constantly would call Apple Law Group to find out what the status on my case and they never gave me any information. I finally, got concerned and though I might have got caught up in a scam, so I called them in December and told them I wanted to cancel my program. They told me I had to put it in writing which I did. I continue to call the company to find out the status of my refund and they told me it takes 90 days to get it.

Today, I received a refund in the amount of $127..20. This is unacceptable. I paid them $563.00 in May and paid $468.00 from June - November 2015. Today, I received a refund in the amount of $127..20. This is unacceptable. I paid them $563.00 in May and paid $468.00 from June - November 2015

the letter I received stated I signed my contract stating "All fees in my agreement are nonrefundable. I never received any services nor my creditors. As I stated this poor service cause me to file bankrupt.Desired Settlement: For the service I received from this company from May 2015 - November 2015 cause me to file bankruptcy. I would receive calls from my creditors and I did what I was instructed to do. I would tell my creditors that I, was in a debit reduction program and I gave them Apple Law group contact number. My creditors stated they never received call back or never contacted by Apple Law Group. I constantly would call Apple Law Group to find out what the status on my case and they never gave me any information. I finally, got concerned and though I might have got caught up in a scam, so I called them in December and told them I wanted to cancel my program. They told me I had to put it in writing which I did. I continue to call the company to find out the status of my refund and they told me it takes 90 days to get it.

Today, I received a refund in the amount of $127..20. This is unacceptable. I paid them $563.00 in May and paid $468.00 from June - November 2015.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted] alleges Apple Law owes her a refund of all her

payments because Apple Law performed no services and caused her to file

bankruptcy. Her allegations are

denied.

On 4/8/15 Ms. [redacted] rejected bankruptcy and enrolled

approximately $37,000 of debt in a debt resolution program and agreed to make

52 monthly payments of $468. On 4/8/15

she was provided a sales presentation by a representative of the law firm and

afterwards willingly signed a Certification acknowledging that she understood

the program and her obligations under it. She signed her contract and initialed every

page. She breached her contract and made

only 8 payments over a 9 month period, then cancelled services. 8 payments were insufficient to enable the

accumulation of sufficient settlement savings to enable settlement of her

debts. She was previously refunded the

balance in her settlement savings account, the maximum refund allowed.

While she was advised of the adverse consequences of continuing

to communicate with her creditors, she continued to do so, and, worse, made

payments to them thereby undermining Apple Law’s work and nullifying the

hardship status necessary for settlement.

With regard to her allegation Apple Law performed no services,

that is false. While on her program Apple Law notified all enrolled creditors

of its representation, sent cease and desist letters, performed a validation

analysis, performed a statute of limitations analysis, responded as appropriate

to creditor calls and correspondence, responded as appropriate to her calls and

correspondence, ran interference for her with her creditors for 9 months,

proposed and responded to creditor offers, and provided legal representation

for 9 months.

With regard to her allegation Apple Law caused her to file

bankruptcy, that is false: as of the date of this response no bankruptcy has

been filed. Ms. [redacted] chose debt

settlement as the means of resolving her debts and was advised of the risks,

costs, and consequences of premature termination of her program. For the foregoing reasons, there is no basis

for further refund.

Review: This is organizaion took my payment of $282 a month and managed to get my interest rates sky high. I hired them for debt colsolidation. I heard their advertisement on the radio [redacted]. I am a 65 year old diabled wowan and feel they took me for a ride. I have been paying them every month sine March 2014 not only have they not paid any one of my creditors, the interest charges are mounting as we speak. I paid them approx 3900. In the meantim of the past year I sent them paperwork from a lawyer [redacted] that informed me that [redacted] was their client sueing me for almost $3000. The initial debt was only $approx 1500. I inturn faxed all the copies I got from the lawyer to [redacted] at Apple but I had spoken to him the same day to tell him the story plus tell him that the paperwork was on its way.I recived the ok from the fax that it went through. In May I went to check on my accounts in [redacted] and my savings acct of $1256 was on hold from the courts that is how I found out that [redacted] was suing me. I then call Apple and [redacted] hands it over the Law Dept. They tell me there is not enough money in my account to pay so borrow money from my family and then they would put in the $600 they had for me. Well at this point I was livid I had that money in an accout for my buriel expenses. Needless to say they confiscated all of my savings to date. Then I get a letter from the law dept stating that the only way out is if I claim bankruptcy and they would represent me...........No way, I hired a private lawyer foranother $14,000 who has since filed bankruptcy for me. I had no choic.Go to the bank and now they had a levy on my checking account for another 1300. I am on SSI Disability, a fixed income and had to borrow the $1400 from a family memeber to pay for my new lawyer. I would like someone to go after them first for FRAUD, THEN MY MONEY. I AM OUT A TOTAL OF ABOUT $6,000 OF WHICH I PAID THEM APPROX 3,900. I NEED HELPDesired Settlement: I would like all of my money back, a letter to my bankinfg corporation and my 1,256 back to my saviings account which was their fault too.

Consumer

Response:

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.

July 9, 2015[redacted]The Apple Law Group- Law Dept.5000 Birch St. Suite 3000Newport Beach, CA 92660Re: [redacted]Debt ConsolidationTo Whom This May Concern:I am in receipt of your letter of 6/12/15 and check in the amount of $261.07. I am not accepting this check. I paidto Apple Law Group $3,666. The breakdown I received of funds is incredible since you have not done "one thing"to alleviate the debt.The Apple law Group never even had the interest charges stopped so that my debt was much more than when Istarted. What is Maintenance Fees of $1,027? What were you maintaining?The Apple Law Group did not respond to [redacted] and [redacted] for which they were hired by[redacted] to collect my debt. . Therefore, [redacted] went ahead and had a court subpoena my saving~ and startedproceeding to dip into my checking account.I had no other recourse but to hire an outside lawyer, [redacted], ESQ, at a fee of $1400. Due to your deception, Ihad to borrow from a family member to file bankruptcy. I had no other recourse in the matter.I hired Apple law Group to consolidate my credit cards not to put me into a financial mess. I am a 65 year olddisabled women, living on a fixed income and feel your company took total advantage of me. I have informed thefollowing: Federal Trade Commission; Consumer Financial Protective Bureau; Revdex.com; Senator[redacted], NJ Senator; his assistant, [redacted]; Councilman, [redacted], Jr; Senator [redacted],California; Senator [redacted]I need for you to reevaluate the situation and come back with a complete and total refund.Sincerely,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

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.

July 9, 2015[redacted]The Apple Law Group- Law Dept.5000 Birch St. Suite 3000Newport Beach, CA 92660Re: [redacted]Debt ConsolidationTo Whom This May Concern:I am in receipt of your letter of 6/12/15 and check in the amount of $261.07. I am not accepting this check. I paidto Apple Law Group $3,666. The breakdown I received of funds is incredible since you have not done "one thing"to alleviate the debt.The Apple law Group never even had the interest charges stopped so that my debt was much more than when Istarted. What is Maintenance Fees of $1,027? What were you maintaining?The Apple Law Group did not respond to [redacted] and [redacted] for which they were hired by[redacted] to collect my debt. . Therefore, [redacted] went ahead and had a court subpoena my saving~ and startedproceeding to dip into my checking account.I had no other recourse but to hire an outside lawyer, [redacted], ESQ, at a fee of $1400. Due to your deception, Ihad to borrow from a family member to file bankruptcy. I had no other recourse in the matter.I hired Apple law Group to consolidate my credit cards not to put me into a financial mess. I am a 65 year olddisabled women, living on a fixed income and feel your company took total advantage of me. I have informed thefollowing: Federal Trade Commission; Consumer Financial Protective Bureau; Revdex.com; Senator[redacted], NJ Senator; his assistant, [redacted]; Councilman, [redacted], Jr; Senator [redacted],California; Senator [redacted]I need for you to reevaluate the situation and come back with a complete and total refund.Sincerely,[redacted]

Business

Response:

Client's allegations are false and absent of credibility. Client agreed to make 36 monthly payments of $261.07 for 36 months but made only 13 payments then breached her contract and cancelled services. She failed to provide us a copy of a lawsuit for six months by which time the debt became a judgment. While she agreed not to, she continued to make payments to her creditors which nullified the hardship requirement needed for settlement. She attempted to extort a refund and filed a bankruptcy which omitted our refund which is required disclosure. For the foregoing reasons the complaint has no credibility and should be dismissed.

Review: I am dealing with severe financial hardships due to a nasty divorce. I was left with no choice but to consolidate my debt in order to pay other household bills. I was told by the representative that I was not to speak with my credit card companies or to pay my bills because the "attorney's" would start working on my case the moment they received my first payment and they would continue contacting my creditors. I continued to get calls and for the first time in my life I wasn't paying my credit card bills. They received their first payment at the end of February. When I followed up with the representative, due to my concern for the ongoing calls and rapid decline in my credit score, I was continuously told "the attorney's are doing their job" and that I was not to pay my bills or speak to my credit card companies. On April 29, I became aware that the attorney's had not called any of the credit card companies. Consequently, I went from a terrible financial situation to a much worse financial situation since I now hadn't paid $42,000 worth of debt in over 60 days and some were over 90. Each of the debts had accrued late charges and interest, also some were in collections and several reported me to all three credit bureaus; my debt had grown to over 45,000. I attempted to find out what had happened, but the representative returned one call and left a voicemail then I did not hear from him after that, despite my attempts. They received one approximately $800 payment and one $650 payment. Now, due to the abovementioned my credit is ruined and I am having a hard time on several levels although I tried to do the right thing. They were dishonest in their self disclosure of the process and what they were goingto do for me. Once I stopped payments I received a call from a debt collector in the Apple Law Group and I informed him that I was aware they had not done anything regarding my case and I want my money back. However, I have yet to receive it. Please HelpDesired Settlement: I would like them to actually do what they say they will for their customers. the hardships this has caused me are detrimental to my children's well-being as well as mine. When people get to a point of having to do something like debt consolidation they are desperate and already having a very difficult time. It is disgusting that they would knowingly contribute to this. I would like a refund of my money, as they did not in any way perform what they promised.

Business

Response:

In February 2015 complainant enrolled $41,000 in a debt negotiation program and agreed to 42 payments of $651, but breached her contract and only made 2 payments, then cancelled. Despite her agreement not to do so, she continued to communicate with her creditors, and worse, make monthly payments to them which nullified the hardship status necessary for settlement. Complainant manipulated ALG to run interference for her with her creditors while she continued to pay them with the expectation she would cancel and obtain a full refund and obtain free services at our expense. A separate response has been mailed to the client.

Consumer

Response:

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.

Good Morning Mrs. [redacted],

I hired Apple to settle my $40K of credit card debt. They did and with no hassles. Their program works but you have to make the payments.

Review: I hired Apply Law Firm to handle my credit reduction. The creditors continued to call me and were unaware of the debt reduction agreement with Apple Law. They withdrew $1600 from my checking account over a 9month period and NOTHING was ever done regarding an agreement with my credit card companies. The paper work showed nothing except the monthly management fee of $79 and was told when we cancelled the refund would be sent. I made countless calls to the law firm regarding my refund which took 3 months to receive. This company did NOTHING to help my credit and pay my credit card bills and when I did receive a refund it was only $17. I feel this is taking advantage of a person already in a hardship trying to reduce my debt and doing everything they told me to do. I feel like I should receive more of a refund as nothing was done with the monthly payments they took out of my account. I would not recommend this company to anyone and I believe the attorney general and Bar association should be aware that this company takes advantage of people like this. This company is a scam. I feel many of these fees should be refunded as they did nothing to help me. Others should be warned about this company.Desired Settlement: Want my money back that I paid over a 9 month period as nothing was done to help me.

Business

Response:

[redacted]