Legalhelpers...not recommended...(long)

[CPO]

I retained a "legalhelpers" attorney the 3rd of March here in the DFW area.

I signed an auto draft contract the same day, and paid the $100.00 retainer.

The attorney appears competent and customer oriented. Actually a nice man, smart and perhaps out-of-character for the following post. I don't think the following is his fault.......

I paid the remaining balance on the 7th of April, cancelling the auto draft contract. As requested, the same day I delivered ALL the required documents.

Since that time I have heard nary a word from these people. I monitor the internet account they "set up" daily, advertised as a up-to-date status of your petition. That data has not changed since originally posted the second week in March.

I placed a call to their much vaunted 1-888 number last week and was told that my "petition was being typed and they would mail it too me shortly."

I have not seen it.

I placed another call this morning to the 1-888 number. I was told that "the petition was being typed and they would mail it to me shortly." I insisted I needed another explanation, and reminded them that I had fully paid in good faith and complied with their document request almost a month ago.

I informed them that the "updated" website data has never changed. I had received no emails, phone calls, no updates of any kind and now I'm getting the exact same story I received the beginning of last week.

I was curtly told that my payment had not cleared until the 19th of April, as though this was the excuse for any inaction.

I informed her that holding payment for almost two weeks before cashing it was no excuse for sandbaging my case.

I explained that if there was reason to hold my petition submission for a more effective time frame due to means test factors or more "cushion" from the last charge card use then that is fine. But, I'm unaware of any such factors.......and they certainly have not informed me of any.

I have not been kept up-to-date on my account by any standard they so advertise on both their website and/or in the advertisement your forced to listen too while on hold with their phone system.

In customer service, communication is paramount. When you ignore your customers, they disappear. When you make promises to keep your customers informed, create the template for that information and then don't use it that's just lazy and stupid.

THAT drives customers away.

And they post their experiences on the various internet sites and let everyone know what has happened.....

In the most acrimonious tone, I was informed that emails would be sent to my attorney explaining my disapproval, and he's sure to read it. This was a direct threat from this "representative" in Chicago that my "complaints" may hinder the performance of my attorney here in DFW.

I ask how I would know that he was the one actually typing my petition...

She stated he was...which is counter to what I was told during my consult.

So, i'm stuck. I have already paid these folks in full, have had little communication from them and what I do get is initiated only by myself, received dated, false and misleading customer status information and was threatened by the Chicago office that my complaints could effect their already dreadful performance.

I may need to visit the office here in the DFW area to get an actual status of my petition, but I will need to wait until I cool down...

I know I have responded to at least one other complaint here on this forum about legalhelpers, and that response pretty much inquired as to whether that poster had actually called the 1-888 number and gained any information.

I have learned from my own experience that the 1-888 number is, for all intents and purposes, useless.

As is their website...

As is their advertisements...

One way or another my petition will get filed with the court, and I will be successful in this endeavor. Whether Legalhelpers will be part of it depends on the next few weeks.

Fortunately, Texas is a great state for debtor protection, and I'm virtually judgement proof.

So, I'm not freaked yet....just pissed at shoddy customer service.

I cannot recommend Legalhelpers at this time.

Regards,

CPO

[CPO]

Just a quick note.........

I am not a terribly demanding consumer. I pretty much assume that people do the right thing almost all the time and I am not the one to look over one's shoulder to moniter the action.......

However, once I detect that one's performance is not going to meet even basic expectations then I get more demanding.

The more expectations are not met, the more demanding I get.

There comes a point at which I'm looking at "firing" the so-called provider....

I'm a patient man, and I figure if one won't perform with my level of patience, then it's obvious non-performance is a habit.

I will eventually get what is mine...defeat is not an option.

CPO

[spell]

Seems like you're getting pretty steamed at them.
But let's focus on moving from here forward.

Do you have a particular reason you need to file quickly?
Did they give you an estimate of the time required to type your petition?
I highly recommend you get a good idea of the time it'll take to process your returned petition as well.
Though a little slow, it seems like they're still getting it together. That's the issue with bigger firms, the tend to gather bigger lines to stand in.

[SinkingFast]

The Legal Helpers attny here only comes to town every other Wednesday afternoon/evening. I learned that by accident.

I originally scheduled an appointment for a Consult. Then we had a couple of bad Consults. We weren't in the mood for yet another terrible meeting, so I called to cancel our appointment. That's when the guy told me he only came to town every other week.

After hearing that, we weren't much interested. What if a problem came up??!! How was he gonna handle a situation without making a special trip??!! So we decided to pass on the Legal Helpers' attny and hire someone who actually works daily from an office here in town.

[Hopeless]

I feel your pain, CPO.

I have had many of the exact same experiences you have had, and then some.

That number IS useless - 15 minutes you will sit on hold to have someone give you wrong information AND then try to sell you "or someone you know" on their personal injury services!

Blech.

Let's hope for all of us using that firm that it works out for us despite their incompetence!

[manglicmot]

I'm using a local attorney here in town. I had my initial consult on 03/20/07. I paid all fees in full on 03/27/07 and filled out paperwork that day. I met with the attorney on 04/20 to have the final look at my paperwork before filing. The case was filed on 04/25, my 341 is 05/21. It took a little over a month from initial consult to filing which was well within my expectations. I'm relaying my experience just for contrast and to maybe create a sense of what par for the course is.

[CPO]

Seems like you're getting pretty steamed at them.
But let's focus on moving from here forward.

Do you have a particular reason you need to file quickly?

No, however I do need to know the approximate time frame of filing to plan my finances....Speed is not the issue, communication is.....At what point after 30 days would you suggest I contact them?

Did they give you an estimate of the time required to type your petition?

No, I don't want to know how long it takes to type a petition. I want my attorney to keep me informed of the status of my case. A simple email that says "we are working on it" would suffice.

I highly recommend you get a good idea of the time it'll take to process your returned petition as well.

Less than 24 hours for me to correct and return the rough petition. I have already completed multiple petitions per various scenerios to educate myself on the process. My info is accurate, current and easily documented


Though a little slow, it seems like they're still getting it together. That's the issue with bigger firms, the tend to gather bigger lines to stand in.

I have no problem waiting. However, I do require communication...especially communication promised and provided for within the firms systems.....And, don't lie to me or threaten me. Not a good thing.

Thanks for responding,

CPO

[CPO]

The Legal Helpers attny here only comes to town every other Wednesday afternoon/evening. I learned that by accident.

I originally scheduled an appointment for a Consult. Then we had a couple of bad Consults. We weren't in the mood for yet another terrible meeting, so I called to cancel our appointment. That's when the guy told me he only came to town every other week.

After hearing that, we weren't much interested. What if a problem came up??!! How was he gonna handle a situation without making a special trip??!! So we decided to pass on the Legal Helpers' attny and hire someone who actually works daily from an office here in town.

Great choice on your part. I would have done the same thing, even if it cost me more in the long run.

Seems to me a "part time" approach to serving your customers is a failing strategy....

Of course, even "full time" representation is no guarantee of good service...witness my little snafu......

I'm beginning to think that many of these attorneys attach themselves to these corporations to obtain business in a highly competitive enviroment.

Then, many become victims of the systems the corporate relationship forces on them. They are unable to serve their customers as they normally would as the process is dominated by this long far off corporate processor that screws them AND the customer.

But, what is the young attorney to do? He has to make a living, and this is a reasonable way to do so.

And, you and I pay for it....


CPO

[CPO]

I feel your pain, CPO.

I have had many of the exact same experiences you have had, and then some.

That number IS useless - 15 minutes you will sit on hold to have someone give you wrong information AND then try to sell you "or someone you know" on their personal injury services!

Blech.

Let's hope for all of us using that firm that it works out for us despite their incompetence!

Yea, lets hope............we just need our discharges'..............if they can get the PW done, filed, deal with any issues and get the judge to sign off on it then I'll forgive the "legal eagles" for their shoddy service, threats and deceptions.

I don't plan on coming back in a few years and doing it again...........

CPO

[CPO]

I'm using a local attorney here in town. I had my initial consult on 03/20/07. I paid all fees in full on 03/27/07 and filled out paperwork that day. I met with the attorney on 04/20 to have the final look at my paperwork before filing. The case was filed on 04/25, my 341 is 05/21. It took a little over a month from initial consult to filing which was well within my expectations. I'm relaying my experience just for contrast and to maybe create a sense of what par for the course is.

That's great service. There are so many factors that affect these filings that I cannot nail down why some become problems and others just sail through.

Your experience shows that it can be done efficiently, but inconsistantly.

Kudos.......

CPO

[demismom]

I had much the same experience you had, only the 800 number they provide always had someone on the other end fairly quickly (compared to SOME places I've been on hold with) and gave me an answer. When I got antsy about my petition taking so long, they actually contacted my attorney's office while I was on hold and I was told it would go out in two weeks. I called back and checked and they checked the computer and sure enough it was mailed out.

Once I got it - it had quite a few errors and I had tons of questions. They had put stickies on it everywhere for questions for me and I had stickies everywhere on it for them. I even requested that when they "fix" it send it back. I just got it Wednesday and mailed it back yesterday and it was pretty much done, I only had a couple of questions. Before they mailed it back the second time the attorney actually doing the petition called me (and yes it was MY attorney, not an office worker).

So, be patient, they're slower than molasses growing uphill in the dead of winter, but they ARE working on your petition.

[CPO]

I had much the same experience you had, only the 800 number they provide always had someone on the other end fairly quickly (compared to SOME places I've been on hold with) and gave me an answer. When I got antsy about my petition taking so long, they actually contacted my attorney's office while I was on hold and I was told it would go out in two weeks. I called back and checked and they checked the computer and sure enough it was mailed out.

Once I got it - it had quite a few errors and I had tons of questions. They had put stickies on it everywhere for questions for me and I had stickies everywhere on it for them. I even requested that when they "fix" it send it back. I just got it Wednesday and mailed it back yesterday and it was pretty much done, I only had a couple of questions. Before they mailed it back the second time the attorney actually doing the petition called me (and yes it was MY attorney, not an office worker).

So, be patient, they're slower than molasses growing uphill in the dead of winter, but they ARE working on your petition.

Thanks for this info, it helps greatly.

I'm not so upset at the length of time it takes to actually prepare the petition, as much as the complete lack of communication during the process.

To actually advertise how great their communication process is, bragging about attorneys' answering the phone and the "up-to-date" client website, and then not use it is my frustration.

If an attorney was to tell me that "these petitions are a pain-in the-butt..." and they will very busy completing it..."don't be worried if we don't contact you for awhile while we work on it...."

And, "we will contact you when we need info and your rough petition is ready for corrections..........."

Then I'm cool with that. I won't bother with contacting anyone.

To be ignored, lied too and threatened after waiting for ANY communication after 30 days is unacceptable to me....

Thanks again,

CPO

[demismom]

-

I agree they don't have a very good customer service dept. But, I guess I'd rather they actually be working on my petition than calling me to tell me they are. ;)

The not knowing WHAT is going on had bugged the living cr*p out of me, but once I actually had a petition in hand, I felt less anxious.

Also, I wanted to mention, we're in Michigan, using the Detroit office and were told that that particular office is swamped, they're having an unusually high amount of filings. Michigan's economy is the worst of all the states, so that's no surprise.