USPTO reviews and complaints

I filed for trademark registration with the USPTO. I paid the 225.00 filing fee ( which as a low income individual, was a great financial sacrifice) and read through all the filing instructions thoroughly before hand. I filled out all the required electronic forms and began to wait to hear back.
5 months later I received an email from the USPTO's attorney, informing me I did not provide sufficient proof of my trademark in public use. But I certainly had! In the form of a web link to my online store which prominently displays the mark (which is the name of my cartoon character). In fact, there was nothing more or better which I could have submitted for proof!
So it turns out the USPTO's attorney informed me the final ruling was a rejection on my application!
This was totally unfair. I did not have and could not afford my own attorney to assist me in the application process. I did provide all I could provide all requested info and evidences in accordance with the USPTO's rules.
I was unfairly denied my trademark registration.

I had a negative experience applying for a Federal Trademark with the USPTO. I was refused my trademark by the USPTO's reviewing attorney. I applied on my own using TEAS Plus and I paid the $225.00 application fee. It was not made clear to me that there could be additional fees during the application review process. (Cannot find this on their website) Four months after submitting my application I was contacted by their (USPTO's) attorney requesting more documents along with assessing me an additional $125.00 fee. I responded back by submitting the additional requested documentation and I made mention that I was not made aware of the possibility of additional fees. My response from the reviewing attorney was a NOTICE OF REFUSAL (meaning the unsuccessful end to my application) and stated that the additional evidence (documentation) I submitted was not in the proper format so it did not satisfy the requirement and was not valid. It also read that being that he had to contact me to request additional information/documentation upgraded my application to a new status which required the additional $125.00 fee. So even though there were no conflicting marks, spent lots of time filing the application, paying the required fee and waiting four months, i still got refused due to a technicality which was nitpicking on behalf of the USPTO's reviewing attorney.
I think a change should be made to which how applications are filed. To be fair, It should be that individuals must use a trademark attorney when filing. The USPTO has their attorney working against you so to make things fair, the filer should have his/her own attorney in their corner of the ring!
Another negative experience I had was after filing my application - I didn't realize the USPTO would be making my email address and even my home address available to the public! I started getting solicitors emails (from law firms) and even got a fraudulent /scam letter mailed to my home which freaked me out. The scam letter had my trademark name, application number, etc. on it and asked for me to remit $1, 500.00. So I stood there staring at this letter basically in disbelief thinking it was from the USPTO until finally I figured out it had to be some kind of scam! I finally found (in super tiny print) on the letter it stated the $1, 500 fee was for inclusion of my trademark in some sort of directory/ database. So, in fairness, stuff like the applicant's email address and home address should be kept confidential!
In closing, It was a very disappointing experience I had in the trademark application process. I was wrong in assuming the reviewing attorney would be working with me when in reality he was working against me. It was a great sacrifice for me as a low income individual to come up with the $225.00 filing fee and I wasn't made aware on their website before filing that there could be additional fees during the review process. To be fair, that should be prominently posted on their website for all prospective filers to see and be aware of!
If you are reading this and considering applying for federal trademark registration, beware of the pitfalls I encountered and seriously consider the assistance of a trademark attorney which should actually be mandatory for all filers.