ComplaintsforFive Lakes Law Group PLLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 9/9/24, I called and spoke with Junior, account manager at five lakes regarding termination of debt relief services that began on 7/18/24. Five lakes has been debiting $650 from my bank account by weekly since around that time to negotiate debt solutions with my 12 creditors. They told me to stop making payments to my creditors to "force their hand" in reaching an agreement. They were able to negotiate one settlement with one of my creditors and agrees to pay them monthly from my escrow account. No other attempts at negotiations were made to the other creditors. Meanwhile, they are debiting money from my account, $650, twice a month for their "fee" which was stated to be around $6000 for the negotiation and all that was left was one payment for the creditor. There was nothing left but $30 in my escrow account to pay the other creditors as promised, but only that i would need to add more money to the account. When I called to terminate, I saw that I had $669 in my escrow account, but five ********************** stated they would keep the money for their fee for the resolution offer even though they have taken other money out of my account for their fee. The contract clearly states that I can cancel and the escrow account is mine to manage. I would like my remaining $669 refunded to me as they have done nothing else to resolve my debt other than just one account which I see they have already received money on. There is nothing on their app that gives a breakdown of where this money is going or any type of fee schedule in the contract. All you can see is that the money is gone or that a payment went to the creditor. It seems that the company is punishing me for terminating the program and told me that if I stay in the program, they will pay my creditors, but the fees will stay the same. My credit is ruined and i am having to rebuild it after the confusion and financial chaos this company has caused. I have been able to resolve all my debt with the creditors directly.

  Business response

  10/29/2024

  Ms. ****, Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns. We confirmed your enrollment into the program on July 12, 2024. At the time of enrollment, the Account Specialist reviewed your Debt Resolution Retainer Agreement with you prior to your signing. Information about the estimated timing of resolutions can be located in the section titled "Retainer Agreement" in paragraph 9 "Timing For Resolution of Debt". It reads, in part, as follows: "The time required depends on many factors including the balance of the debt, the amount of time the debt was owed, Clients available funds and Creditors willingness to engage in negotiations. **** does not and cannot guarantee a particular result and cannot guarantee that Clients debts will be resolved within a defined timeframe. If Client fails to save sufficient funds, **** will not be able to negotiate and/or resolve Clients debts. **** may extend Clients estimated program length to complete the debt resolution process and payment of all accounts. Typically, FLLG will make a good faith attempt to resolve a debt when Client has accumulated approximately 40% of the current balance, which typically occurs between 3-6 months into the program." Your first resolution offer was presented to you and accepted roughly one month after your enrollment, exceeding the established expectations. Additional efforts would commence as the funds in your dedicated account allowed. **** was only able to complete one of the scheduled resolution payments prior to your requested termination. Your monthly deposit was used to care for payments to your creditor, program fees and accumulation of funds for future offers. Your full account ledger is always available to you directly through ********************************* (CFT). At the time of your requested termination, the fee related to your authorized resolution was accelerated and there were no funds remaining to issue a withdrawal. While **** had earned the fee by meeting all established expectations to do so, we will be issuing a goodwill refund of $669.25. We are hopeful this is a satisfactory resolution to your concerns.

  Sincerely, FLLG 

  Customer response

  10/29/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ****

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I closed my account with Five ********************** on August 10, 2024. This was due to their mishandling (which ****** A admit to) of an account with Discover. I had paid them 442. threat before. My balance including the 442.: was $2,453. I was told all agreements were null & void as of August 10. I just was inforned by Five Lajes-they are keeping all of my monies for fees. At a minimum , I want my $2,000 back.

  Business response

  09/05/2024

  ************, 
  
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns.  We apologize for any frustration you have experienced.
  
  
  Upon review we were able to confirm that prior to your requested termination, you approved two resolution offers. For each offer, at minimum the first payment had been made.  As the criteria to earn our fee as it relates to those items was met, the remaining funds in your dedicated account were allocated towards that outstanding fee balance.
  
  
  Regarding the matter with your Discover account, we are understanding that, due to the status of the account at the time of enrollment and available funds, we were unable to secure a satisfactory resolution offer.  As a goodwill gesture, FLLG will issue a refund in the amount of $2,445.04, which is equivalent to the balance in your dedicated account at the time of your requested termination.  Please allow 7-10 business days for these funds to be available in your account.  We are hopeful this will be an acceptable resolution to your concerns.
  
  
  Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  FLLG

• Initial Complaint

  08/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I canceled an agreement over the phone with a lawyer. It was a mistake to get involved with them to assist in debt consolidation. I received notice of the cancellation and still they took ****** from my bank account after it was cancelled. I have emailed them today requesting a return of the money. The reason I canceled is because they failed to tell me that there have been so many complaints posted on line and on the BBB site. They either do not do the job or have been sued for a return of the money by others who believed their promise. I'm broke. They stole from me with intent and knowing my financial situation. Will you help??

  Business response

  08/21/2024

  ******************,
  
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns.
  
  
  Review of your program confirmed that at the time of your requested termination, your initial program deposit was already processing.  Once that payment cleared, it was refunded to the account on file. The payment of $266.27 was refunded on August 14, 2024.
  
  
  We are hopeful this is a satisfactory resolution to your concerns.  Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  FLLG

  Customer response

  08/21/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to **** am grateful for your help and for the refund. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I was attempting to help my grandson who got himself into a financial mess. Unfortunately he signed up for a debt resolution service without my knowledge. On March 12th I deposited $26,949 to fund resolutions. I gave them my account number to use for this purpose ONLY. Unfortunately they chose to add my account number to their system as the method of bi-weeikly payments and they began taking $463.50 out of my account every two weeks amounting to an additional $2317.50 despite the fact that they did not have authorization to do so. Since there was little to no action I called them on July 19th with my grandson on the line requesting that they refund the money to me. They stated they would and it would be in my account on July 27th. So far nothing was deposited or attempted to be deposited. Called again on August 9th and was told they made no attempt to refund that money and needed my grandson's permission. I advised them he gave them permission on July 19th but they didn't care they needed him on the line AGAIN. This organization, in my opinion has literally stolen $2317.50 and due to the lack of refund they have stolen another $26,949. Since they refused to take my account number off of their records I cancelled the account and opened a new one to avoid more theft. Everyone should be very cautious doing any business with this company because all they do is take your money and hold it in their own accounts. and do little to nothing to help the client.

  Business response

  08/21/2024

  Ms. *******,
  
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns.  We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration you have experienced.
  
  
  We are eager to assist you with your concern however, given the information provided, we are unable to locate your grandsons program.  Without being able to access his program, we are unable to conduct the necessary research to resolve this issue.  We strongly encourage you to reach out with your grandson's name, address and phone number so we can properly address this concern.
  
  
  We look forward to the opportunity to further assist you.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  FLLG

  Customer response

  08/26/2024

   
  Complaint: 22123291
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Not rejecting, just providing info you requested.  *************************, ************************************************************************************************, ************
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  09/03/2024

  ******************, 
  
  
  Thank you for providing the requested information.  We have been able to locate the account in question and, due to the sensitivity of the information, have scheduled to have an account manager reach out to you and ensure closure to the issue at hand.  Rest assured we are dedicated to ensuring a satisfactory resolution and will partner with you to achieve that.  
  
  
  Should you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  FLLG

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩