The Semrad Law Firm

Very unprofessional. Does not return phone calls and mails you information weeks after you should have been notified. They did not file all my debt with the case, and the paralegal was rude, heartless, and unprofessional.

I met with [redacted] last week and tendered a refund in the amount of $1,148, which I believe has satisfied her grievance.  Please note that this amount exceeds the $813 that my firm received in fees and also includes the filing fee that [redacted] paid to the court.

[redacted] case was dismissed on November 5, 2015 and [redacted] did contact the office prior to the dismissal.  The attorney from my office mistakenly noted
that [redacted] desired that her case be dismissed.  Upon catching the error, we could have
vacated the dismissal order or...

filed a new case on [redacted] behalf.  We recommended [redacted] file a new case
and offered to do so for free because a new case will provide [redacted] with
much more financial benefit than her previous case.  [redacted] opted to leave her case dismissed
but file with a new firm.  In order to
resolve her grievance, we have offered [redacted] a full refund in the amount of
$813.33, which represents $1,188.33 in total funds paid to the firm less expenses
in the amount of $375 for court filing fees, credit reports, and credit
counseling.  I will await her response.

In 2013 I was offered a position at the City of Chicago. However I had outstanding parking tickets 3352 which prohibited me from getting the position the lady was nice to inform me to go to *** to file bankruptcy and come right back with filing number so I did but she never said what chapter so I came back with number and I got the job ..as time progressed I filed a chapter 7 minor debt not knowing parking tickets didn't discharge..In Feb 2014 I was discharged amd.my tickets were valid again.now I realize I was pose to do a chptr 13 . I filed chapter 7 pro se and now I need a chapter 13 it was dismissed in 2014 cus schedules were wrong.now I need a attorney ..In June 2015 I go.to *** saw advertisement. The attorney at the time Kristen never disclosed to me tht I would not get a discharge if I file the 13 because I had to wait a timeframe. I was in compliance from June 2015 and paid off early 2017.Now I have a new attorney Roberto *** and now it's discharge time he tells me I can't get a discharge.What!He tells me sorry he wasn't my attorney at the time and he dont see it in the notes tht it was explained when filing..Me:Ok I paid 4000 n attorney fees an his option is to re file and pay 2000 @10% For 3yrs or keep the current plan and pay 100%.are u kidding me..I dnt have any money to throw away am.who gets in a plan that won't discharge let alone pay 100% back the purpose is to consolidate or I could have just gotten on a payment plan with the City over 3yrs an it would have been paid off.So *** is a fraud..overpriced and they don't disclose crucial information ..I am now at risk of.losing my job because I don't have 3352 to pay in parking to tickets thanks to *** My case is completed but not discharged..

we spoken with the client via phone, and below is the email sent for resolution.Good afternoon Ms. M[redacted], After speaking with [redacted] you would be able to Re-affirm your car, they quoted a balance of $1096.16 and monthly payments of $318.86.,  please keep in mind that we do not...

have this in writing so these numbers are not guaranteed. The cost of the conversion to a Chapter 7 would be a total of $1200 spread out over 6 months.  If this is the route you would like to pursue let us know when you would be available to come in to our Dunwoody office (address listed below) and we will get you set up with a time. Things we would need you to bring in for conversion:   -The final settlement documents with terms of the divorce -Your 2016 Taxes -July and August pay stubs

Mrs. [redacted] is correct in most of her allegations.  She did file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy with our firm in 2011 and did pay off the balance in April 2016.  Currently, she is eligible for a discharge and we are awaiting the Chapter 13 Trustee to close the case. ...

Unfortunately, my office only represents Mrs. [redacted], not the Chapter 13 Trustee.  The Trustee, [redacted] is court appointed and reports only to the United States Trustee.  Upon receiving this grievance, I contacted the managing attorney for the Chapter 13 Trustee, [redacted]  Mr. [redacted] informed me that the case was recently audited and will be closing shortly.  He assured me that he is watching the case to make sure it moves along in the process.  If the case has not moved ahead by the end of August, I will file a motion to compel the Trustee to close the case.  However, I am reluctant to file such a motion as the United States Bankruptcy Court is very deferential to the Trustee’s process. 
This morning, I called Mrs. [redacted] and spoke to her spouse, Tony [redacted]. I assured Mr. [redacted] that I will monitor this case to make sure is closes.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/03/25) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@robertjsemrad.com
[redacted]
Revdex.com CASE # XXXXXXXX
On February 17, 2015 Ms. [redacted] came to the Law Offices of [redacted] J. [redacted] & Associates...

for a free consultation and met with [redacted] an attorney with the firm. Ms. [redacted] indicated that she was two months behind on her vehicle and had other miscellaneous debt including student loans. Mr. [redacted] advised Ms. [redacted] on filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy in order to protect the vehicle from being repossessed by the finance company for lack payments. Also, the chapter 13 would allow Ms. [redacted] to pay back the vehicle at a reduced interest rate (roughly 5%) from the current rate in the finance agreement that she had signed. Finally, the chapter 13 would allow her to pay a small percentage of the total amount owed to the miscellaneous debts that were roughly $3800. Mr. [redacted] informed her of the firm's fees and the amount ($700) Ms. [redacted] needed to put down to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy. Ms. [redacted] left our office after her free consultation.
On February 19, 2015 Ms. [redacted] called our office and set up an appointment for later that day to start preparing the filing of her chapter 13 bankruptcy. Later on that day, Ms. [redacted] came back to our office and met with [redacted] who is an attorney at the firm. Although Ms. [redacted] did not have the $700 to file the case Ms. [redacted] spent approximately 1.5 hours with Ms. [redacted] preparing her chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. In addition, she ordered Ms. [redacted]'s credit report and also ordered Ms. [redacted] last 4 years of taxes from a certified public accountant. After Ms. [redacted] finished, Ms. [redacted] paid $200 of the $700 that was necessary to file Ms. [redacted]'s bankruptcy. Ms [redacted] set up a two post dated debits (March 6th & March 20th) from her checking account for the remaining $500. Ms. [redacted] also needed to provide Ms. [redacted] a few paystubs in addition to completing the online credit counseling course that is required to be completed before a person can file a bankruptcy.
On March 3, 2015, Ms. [redacted] called and left a message for Ms. [redacted] regarding sending in the paystubs and taking the online course. Two days later Ms. [redacted] called back and informed a member of our customer service department that she would like to cancel filing her case. The next day Mr. [redacted] contacted her and Ms. [redacted] informed him that she had changed her mind regarding filing bankruptcy and would like a refund. Mr. [redacted] explained to Ms. [redacted] that there would be no refund because the $200 she put down did not even cover the costs of pulling a credit report, ordering taxes, and the several hours of attorney time spent in the preparation of her bankruptcy petition.
The firm did reach out to Mr. [redacted] in order to resolve her complaint on March 24, 2015 and left a voice message for her. In order to resolve this grievance and to maintain good will, the firm will refund $163, which represents a full refund minus the costs incurred by the firm in ordering the credit report and tax transcripts. We will await instructions from Ms. [redacted] on whether she would like to pick up the refund or have the funds sent.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/06/20) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@robertjsemrad.com
Upon reviewing this grievance, I contacted Ms. [redacted] to discuss the matter. We met this morning and reviewed the liens. My...

firm will file a motion to reopen the case and avoid the lien at no additional cost to Ms. [redacted].
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/06/20) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

I started Debtstoppers 3 years ago, they were great then! I called about 3 months ago to ask them for some paperwork for my school and to spoke to a African American man name Pierre [redacted] He was VERY rude, he cursed at me for not paying my balance (I didn't know I had a balance), and hung up on me. Yesterday I called to re-file my case, the secretary said she'd have someone call me back the next day. Well at 9am this morning I received a phone call from the same rude man asking why do I want to file again and saying, "I'm not going to do [redacted]! Don't ever call this firm again?" I called 3 different numbers to report him and they all got back to him and he answered saying, "You're not going to get around me, stop calling here" and hung up in my face. I called a different number back and was connected to him again and he tried to change his voice to pretend to be a white man. I told him this is not very good customer service and he responded, "This is not a customer servic

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/08) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@robertjsemrad.com
I have reviewed Ms. [redacted]'s case. The delay in discharge was caused because the trustee did not have a copy of Ms. [redacted]'s...

2013 tax return. Upon learning this, Ms. [redacted] did provide a copy of the return, which we forwarded to the trustee. We represented Ms. [redacted] at the motion to dismiss and were successful in having the motion withdrawn. However, this triggered a new case audit which slightly changed that amounts due to each creditor.
This afternoon, I called the Trustee's office and they confirmed they will be sending the final disbursement on Friday, May 22nd. Once these checks are cleared, the trustee will close out the case and refund the balance to Ms. [redacted]. I left a message for the team leader requesting that this process be expedited and have not heard back yet.
I understand Ms. [redacted]'s frustration. She has paid her case off since the beginning of the year. However, my office represents only Ms . [redacted]. The Trustee represents the creditors and the estate and we have no influence over the time it takes for her office to close out a case. In the past cases where we have asked the Court to intervene, the Court has given wide latitude to the Trustee regarding the closing process.
I will continue to monitor this case and will keep Ms. [redacted] updated as to the progress.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/05/08) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Mr. [redacted] called me and advised of his findings and I feel more confident that my case will come to a end very soon. Mr. [redacted] has provided me with his contact information and stated he would follow-up with me.

In 2012 I used this firm to file a bankruptcy due to my wages being garnished. The first person I dealt with made me feel as though I was dealing with a used car dealership. He spoke very fast and I felt as though I were being rushed through the process. I still decided to go through with the it anyway...against my better judgment. I wish now that I had taken the time to explore other options but at the time I just wanted the wage garnishment to stop.

In the four years of working with this firm I had 4 different lawyers. This place seems to have an extremely high Churn rate because I have never dealt with the same person twice. Moving into 2015 I lost my job and had difficulty keeping up with the payments. I was able to get back on track or so I thought. I paid $150 to the trustee upon the request of the firm and was told that they would submit the paperwork to my new employer (which was not done in the proper amount of time and even though the trustee was taking the money out of my account it was too late. They money was refunded to me and I was told that the bankruptcy had officially been dismissed. I was also told that the money paid out during the time the case was open would be paid out to all of the creditors involved.

Fast forward 2016. I am now again being garnished by the same creditor that I originally went to Debt Stoppers for. They are garnishing my wages for the same amount as the original request from 2012. When I called to find out why, I was told that they never received any money from the dismissed case. My question at this point is where did the money go? I have emailed Debt Stoppers and as of this complaint, have not received a response.

Is this even legal? Who ended up with the thousands of dollars I paid out from 2012-2015?

This has been an absolutely terrible experience!

I have tried to contact the law firm several times in regards to my case number and no one has tried to help. I finally went in to speak to the newest in a string of attorneys, only to find that she wasn't "available". I spoke to Craig B and he said he would follow up with me to give me the best of course of action and that was three weeks ago!! I am tired of chasing this horrible firm down only to come up with nothing in the end!!! What's worse is I have all the emails where they were supposed to "contact me by the end of business", but never did. I have been more than fair and I'm tired of waiting!!!

Me and my husband filed jointly in Febuary and it has been a nightmare with these people ever since. We have gone deeper into debt because of these people. They included old debts that were weren't too concerned on paying back we were more concerned on keeping our cars, getting our license cleared and stopping wage garnishments. It is now May 30th we have an income of about $1,600 a month they set our repayment for $1,275 per month. We have rent to pay and 2 children and these people don't care at all. They told us to return one of our cars (with no guarantee to have a way to and from work or be able to pick my child up from school). I still have wages being deducted and I have to fight with the creditor still! most recently $360 was taken from my check. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE! they are stuck up robots who look down on you for having a hard time financially. They knew we had more debt than income and still made us repay the maximum. They didn't go over what was included in the bankruptcy, how long it was or anything. Professional robbers are what they are file bankruptcy with someone else who cares and will help.