As an industry, companies continue to allow their niche to be destroyed by not speaking out about the bad actors. /Type /Page /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] MRM has received many consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Contents [218 0 R 219 0 R 220 0 R] Two hours later I was informed that I was denied due to my debt to income ratio. In fact, at least insofar as the practices at issue here are concerned, Monarch does not provide legal advice or representation. /Annots [] I had been paying all of my credit cards both person and business. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. Join the 46 people who've already contributed. /Type /Page Everyone has been extremely nice, helpful, explaining everything thank you. /Resources 221 0 R * ekVCwIqhpjZDhWI`kN9R=46lz+5, Briggs v. Strategic Financial Solutions, LLC et al. >> document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); My Guide to Getting Out of Debt With Proven Methods and Smart Ideas, Major Changes to All Your Federal Student Loans to Be Eliminated in Bankruptcy, Those That File Bankruptcy Do Better Than Those That Dont, Why Income-Based Student Loan Payments Can Be a Terrible Trap. In one example, a consumer owed $910 on a debt at the time the consumer signed a contract with Defendants. endobj WebThe average annual salary of Monarch Grand Vacations is estimated to be approximate $95,818 per year. /Rotate 0 << /CropBox [0 0 612 792] Defendants know that they charge these fees and that consumers cannot complete their program without paying them, and yet Defendants omit estimated fees when representing to consumers how much money they will save. The Citys investigation indicates that Defendants do not act in consumers best interest when creating a customized payment program. /Rotate 0 Do you agree with Monarchlegalgroup's TrustScore? endobj In which an option of consolidating all my unsecured debt into a single monthly payment was advertised. Monarch also requires that the clients account payments be current. As discussed in paragraph 36 above, customers pay a Retainer Fee (often around $1,000) and a monthly flat Legal Administration Fee (from $55 to $85). /Count 10 From 2013 to 2014 he pled guilty to state criminal charges and settled with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)s disciplinary body for creating ATM cards and withdrawing money from client accounts without authorization. All at ZERO COST to you. WebMonday-Friday, 9AM - 5:30PM ET. 36 0 obj >> >> >> >> endobj endobj 28 0 obj 2023, International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., separately incorporated Better Business Bureau organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, Inc. All rights reserved. Defendants also know that consumers debts will accrue interest because they instruct consumers to stop making payments on their debts. Attorneys using Defendants internal case management system copy and paste the same brief notes logging Attorney Reviews without mentioning any information specific to the client. /CropBox [0 0 612 792] >> Can I Send a Cease and Desist Letter to a Debt Collector? /Annots [] The Consumers have no recourse if the program is taking more time than promised or, after relying on Defendants misleading estimates, consumers find themselves unable to make their payments. << /Resources 273 0 R /Parent 4 0 R On information and belief, Defendants do not care about consumers successful completion of the plan because their up-front fee structure allows them to make most of their profit during the first year of the payment program. Defendants charge a slew of other fees, including a Retainer Fee and a monthly flat Legal Administration Fee. In the contracts viewed by the City, Defendants Retainer Fee was $995 and the monthly Legal Administration Fee ranged from $55 to $89. Thank you Sir. /Rotate 0 In practice, the refund policy serves only as an advertising tool used to induce consumers into trusting Monarch even though most consumers will not be eligible to get a refund. When, as is often the case, Defendants fail to refer the case to an outside lawyer, Defendants have refused to provide any representation. Webinfo@monarch-legal.co.uk; 17 Fitzroy Place, G3 7RW; DX 512208; 0141 366 0003; Dundee Office: info@monarch-legal.co.uk; 87 Commercial Street, DD1 2AB; DX DD152; 01382 472 391; Quick Links. /Parent 8 0 R Amount Settled: $0.00. WebYour experience matters. endobj The Citys investigation indicates that even when Defendants agents negotiate settlements with creditors on consumers behalf, they do not act in consumers best interest. Briggs v. Strategic Financial Solutions, LLC et al. << /Annots [] The text of the call script for Option 1 Legal and for Monarch are the same, except for the law firm name. /Contents [110 0 R 111 0 R 112 0 R] Legal services are only offered once a Monarch Legal Group attorney has had an opportunity to review the specific facts of a case and indicates a willingness to take on the representation. Defendants also repeatedly fail to provide litigation defense services to consumers when creditors sue them. 13 0 obj endobj >> /Parent 11 0 R Several days later, user r-fakhouri, likely Ricky Fakhouri, an outside attorney who has contracted with Monarch on a case-by-case basis, approved the plan. endobj << How BBB Processes Complaints and Reviews. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] Furthermore, consumers do not even know that they are talking to Strategic employees. Anyone Know for Sure About World Law and Global Client Solutions? /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] This website is an advertisement. Reg. c. Most significant to Defendants, complying with Illinois regulation would sharply curtail their abusive fee structure, discussed further in Section II below. Employee and customer online reviews suggest that Strategic works with as many as ten law firms:. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] The policy, as written, does not provide consumers with adequate relief. /Type /Page /Annots [] Lessons Learned. For good reason: a law degree is not needed to ask creditors to reduce someones debt. Sign up for free now, Sign up for free to participate on the website. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Resources 181 0 R Though the Defendants program makes many consumers worse off, the companies succeed by collecting substantial fees, refusing to provide contracted-for services, and continually attracting new program participants by deceptive marketing tactics like fake reviews. endobj Individual customers who submitted testimonials to a third-party site were not compensated for their submission. Date of experience: September 04, 2020 Each of the lawyers on this site are either Managers, Members, Partners, Limited Partners or staff attorneys. Im really happy with the service so far, I have just started this program, and to date I have found it to be extremely worthwhile, the pressure that this program has taken off me has been tenfold and I feel that I am finally headed in the right direction, I know the road ahead will be tough but well worth the effort, having a reliable team behind me makes all the difference. << /Annots [] /Rotate 0 >> >> /Resources 269 0 R /Resources << On all seven occasions concerning settlements for three separate consumers, Ricky Fakhouri approved a settlement and wrote the same vague phrase: Approved: Reviewed original amt, current amt, settlement amt. Defendants promise that through negotiating with creditors, consumers will be able to settle their debts for less than the amount owed. But the consumer informed Monarch of other expenses, including student loans. According to the script that outside paralegals or notaries read at these short meetings, a Monarch attorney reviews the consumers file after the meeting and calls the consumer within a few days of the meeting. In consultations and written retainer agreements, Defendants promise that consumers will save an unrealistic amount of money and will finish the program in an infeasible amount of time. Attorneys rote notes demonstrate that they did not meaningfully interact with clients. Read More Business Details and See Alerts, International Association of Better Business Bureaus. WebMonarch Recovery Management is a collection agency based in Pennsylvania. << The Rule applies to attorneys as well as non-lawyers, and prohibits businesses from knowingly providing substantial assistance to a company violating the Rule. endobj The Citys investigation indicates that Defendants do not employ defense attorneys and often tell consumers to defend themselves. Defendants intend for prospective consumers to rely on falsified positive reviews so that they decide to participate in Defendants program. Categories Blog For businesses. Typically, debt firms instruct consumers to stop paying unsecured creditors and begin saving money to settle those accounts. PAID ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT: Resolution Sought << b. /Type /Page endobj 41 0 obj How Do I Get Out of Debt Quickly? 17 0 obj /Contents [82 0 R 83 0 R 84 0 R] 16 0 obj 48 0 obj Copyright 2022 Monarch Legal Group Reviews. The presentation for prospective consumers is also substantially the same: On information and belief, Strategic has a similar agreement with and also operates through Option 1 Legal. /Contents [134 0 R 135 0 R 136 0 R] Meanwhile Defendants collect thousands of dollars, money that consumers could have used to pay down their debts but for Defendants unrealistic promises and reassurances. >> /Type /Page Consumers reported to the City that they were unable to receive answers from the attorney identified on Monarch paperwork and instead were forced to direct questions to non- lawyers who were not familiar with their situations. /Parent 12 0 R In a review on the professional website Glassdoor, one former employee explained that if you say the real company name [Strategic] most people are confused as to why your [sic] are calling them. Another former employee implored Strategic to [b]e honest about what you are doing. Can you help me please? The creditor filed a motion to reinstate and for default judgment for failure to pay the settlement payments, and the consumer was left vulnerable to wage garnishment and other negative consequences. WebMonarch Legal Group is a private law firm and is not affiliated with any governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency, or charitable organization. BBB encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to be certain any requirements are currently being met. /ProcSet [/PDF /Text /ImageB /ImageC /ImageI] Strategics partnership with Monarch is not unique. If you are in debt run far far away. As depicted in paragraph 91 above, one BBB reviewer expressed skepticism about Monarchs lone positive review. Monarch refers to itself as a debt relief agency and law firm on its website, www.monarchlegalgroup.com. A reasonable consumer likely would decline to contract with Monarch had she known that debt negotiation and customer service would be outsourced to another company in another state that is staffed by non-lawyers. WebContact Us Monarch Legal Group Contact Us Address 203 N. LaSalle, #2100, Chicago, IL 60601 Phone Phone: 877-450-8853 Fax: 877-300-6215 Email /S /D /Parent 12 0 R /CropBox [0 0 612 792] Overview Reviews About. Defendants charge a percentage of the consumers total debt as a Service Cost to the non-legal servicesrelated [to the] debt resolution plan. In examples the City has seen, that cost has been as high as 19%. The DSCPA excludes from regulation the services of an attorney engaged in the practice of law. 225 ILCS 429/10. 57 0 obj WebThe Cohn Law Firm in Baton Rouge has more than 50 years of combined legal experience in bankruptcy, business law and business formation. The same can happen to you! Defendants deceive vulnerable consumers in the process. /Resources 233 0 R 342 (b) (1) and 527 (a) (1) See BrokerCheck by FINRA, James M Katayanagi, available at https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/4890437; Complaint, Department of Enforcement v. James M. Katayanagi, (FINRA Office of Hearing Officers, Proceeding No. PRIVACY POLICYTERMS AND CONDITIONS. >> >> BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes. In fact, Defendants settled the debt for more than the consumer owed when the consumer contracted with them. We are seeing this action a lot more lately, Im surprised it was just the City of Chicago and not the CFPB or the FTC. 40 0 obj /Resources 185 0 R The testimonials selected may include testimonials made by individual customers on the third-party sites. /Type /Page /CropBox [0 0 612 792] - 1:22-cv-03705 The city`s investigation did not reveal any I was current with all my creditors and had a respectable credit score. << Monarch Group, Inc. is a successful information technology firm offering a full range of IT services from planning and design to systems integration, from software development to business enterprise plans, from network design to hardware and software support, and from product reseller to disaster recovery. /CropBox [0 0 612 792] /Parent 13 0 R WebFiling a Complaint Complaint Form Please enter the information requested below, and then click Submit. 23 0 obj Despite paying significant fees for legal services, consumers are faced with default judgments, wage garnishments, and other negative consequences. /Contents [266 0 R 267 0 R 268 0 R] /Annots [] /Parent 10 0 R If you are able to qualify which should not be too difficult I recommend their services most highly. endobj /Contents [106 0 R 107 0 R 108 0 R] /Resources 81 0 R /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] /Type /Page /CropBox [0 0 612 792] /Annots [] /Parent 9 0 R Over the course of 2 years, I sent Monarch almost $1200 per month and I stopped paying my cards as they instructed me to do. /Annots [] endobj /CropBox [0 0 612 792] Join the 47 people who've already contributed. 21 0 obj You can learn more about Steve. Monarch Law Group offers personal injury, commercial litigation, corporate law, matrimonial/family law and real estate legal services. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] 10 0 obj endobj The complaint filed by the City of Chicago contains the following statements. /PageLabels 3 0 R stream | Read 41-42 Reviews out of 42. /Type /Page More egregiously, Monarch mischaracterizes the refund policy and uses it to induce consumers into joining the debt resolution program when they otherwise would decline to do so. /Title (Briggs v. Strategic Financial Solutions, LLC et al. >> /Filter /FlateDecode On information and belief, Defendants intended that result when structuring Monarch as a purported law firm. Consumers who never receive representation cannot identify an attorney that has engaged in misconduct, but Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission receives and adjudicates complaints about individual attorneys, not law firms. /Parent 11 0 R Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948 at /Resources 197 0 R If consumers withdraw after one year, Defendants collect substantial sums without performing work. It is not a lawyer referral service or prepaid legal I didn't know how it works, so I was explained the details and the procedures of it. Dissatisfied consumers have further limited recourse because Defendants require consumers to sign arbitration agreements and class action waivers.

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