Whitestone Legal Group
reviews and complaints

Horrible scam. Women told me cancel anytime get a refund as they keep 4,300 out of 5,400. 9 months credit drop 813 to 540 and nothing solved. Saying I doesn't qualify for refund.

This company does not do what they say..you will be sued they will leave you behind they stole 3600 $ from me and im trying to get it back my finances are in ruin i could of done better on my own . Please dont be fooled

This company should be put out of business. They have taken around 23,000 dollars from me to settle my credit card accounts. They have front loaded admin charges and I still have two accounts that have not been in touch with. Stay AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. I have to figure out on how to get out.

Don't fall for this company! I came to them because they promised they could help get my finances back on track. But I'm worse off than I was before, not to mention the thousands of dollars I've paid to them with NO Results. I think this is a huge scam. I can't get a hold of anyone. It's a nightmare.

This company is for themselves. I have been in the program over a year and only 5% of debt resolved after paying the over XXXXX.00. They take their administration fees first then try to settle debts. My credit is worse now since being in this program. I am searching new avenues to settle my debt and get back on track.

This company was supposed to help me with my credit two years ago they have gotten a payment plan with three companies out of nine I have paid approximately $2000 to these three companies the remaining $15,000 has gone towards whitestone credit for legal services, office fees, RAM drafts, And other made up fees. I canceled yesterday as for the money I had in savings which was supposed to be accumulating was told it's $181. Shame on you, Ripping people off at their lowest!

I honestly think I am being scammed. I had good credit until now. All my accounts were paid on time until this company told me to stop making payments and stop all communication with the credit card companies. It' appears they have made no contact with the my creditors as they keep calling. Each time I call I'm told a different story. I'm kinda stuck now because my accounts are so far behind I could never pay the payment's needed to catch up. My credit score was in the the 700's and now is in 500's. To whomever reads DO NOT GO WITH THIS COMPANY. I gave a one star but they aren't even worth that.

To say that this company is horrible is an understatement. They should have ZERO stars as an option. When we started with them we were behind on NO payments, we were just trying to figure out what to do. A year later we are being sued by three creditors and our name is in the paper every few weeks for bad debts. They have $9000 of our money, nobody has been paid and they have invented $8000 in legal fees that they claim was available in the fine print under a link somewhere online, regardless of the wording in the contract. THEY ARE A BAD BAD COMPANY. THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY AND SCREW UP YOUR CREDIT...

Terrible. They are crooks who took over $10000 to settle debts that they never settled. Okay they settled 2 out of 10 over the course of 12 months. All of my money - all $787.00 that I gave them every month went to their fees. When I asked for a breakdown of how MY money was spent, they refused to produce any documentation and told me to read my contract. Most recently they contacted me stating they needed another $4500 up front and an additional $500 per month to settle one of my debts that was originally listed and agreed upon in the contract. Don't waste your time, energy or money, they are not an honest group to deal with. If I could give them negative stars I would do so.

Do not get involved with this company at all! It is misleading and the worst decision/mistake i have ever made. I received notice to get help from this company regarding debt management/resolution. I assumed it was more like a personal loan debt consolidation, which was my mistake. Still, they collected money each month and made no moves with it. They said they would get in touch with the creditors but did not. They said they would start litigation and work on settlement in 4-6 months but did not. Instead, they took 2000 dollars from me and I received 200 back in my account. They paid their lawyers fees but I saw no result. It is a terrible group to get involved with. They have ruined my credit and FICO score. I know they warn this going in but not to the extent where i ended up. It is awful and instead of helping me get out of financial debt they worsened it by losing money and my credit. I am disgusted! I could have paid off one of my bills. Please do not get involved in this group!

-Whitestone Legal Group is a scam. I canceled there program on 1/19. -I signed up for there services on 5/26 and agreed to pay the $710 a month for 3 years to help me get settlements on 2 large accounts with CITI and Commerce Bank. I was told in the 5 minute call to agree the the program with Hornet Partners on question 8 that I should see the accounts settle in 6 to 7 months, which was a lie. I made my monthly payment of $710 and kept asking them when I would get settlements on my accounts. They said it should come soon maybe in November or December , this was also a lie. I was told in January that I would not get any settlements until December after I had paid the $10K fees they were charging and had enough funds in my account to make an offer, this is their scam. -My FICO score dropped from around 780 excellent to 531poor because I stopped making payment on the accounts per instructions from Whitestone. It has severely damage my credit much more than they told me it would do. I tried to refinance my sons car from a lease to a purchase in the last few months and was turned down by everyone. -I paid them a total of $6,328.73 and when I cancelled they only returned to me $2,446.42. It cost me $3,882.31and they did nothing to earn this fee. I also checked on my 2 accounts with both creditors and they told me that Whitestone had not yet contacted them to settle the accounts. -I then called CITI and they were willing to settle my account from $24K to $12K with no monthly interest if I pay this balance in the next year. On my Commerce Bank account they offered me a settlement from $15K to $10K or I could bring the account update with payments of $310 month for 3 months and they dropped the interest rate to 6%. They will then also look a other settlement offer is the future. -I made a BIG mistake believing in Whitestone. If you have good credit stay away from this scam. Their program is front end loaded with all there fees. This would be a good program if you have a low FICO credit score and want to avoid bankruptcy. I found out they were not interested in getting my accounts settled but collecting the fees. -There is a lot of good programs out there that do not charge these high fees. You can just call the creditor and tell them your story and most of time they will work something out for for you. - I hope this will help you avoid the Whitestone Legal Group scam. -notes to my file

-Whitestone Legal Group is a scam. I canceled their program on 1/19. -I signed up for their services on 5/26 and agreed to pay the $710 a month for 3 years to help me get settlements on 2 large accounts with CITI and Commerce Bank. I was told in the 5-minute call to agree the program with Hornet Partners on question 8 that I should see the accounts settle in 6 to 7 months, which was a lie. I made my monthly payment of $710 and kept asking them when I would get settlements on my accounts. They said it should come soon maybe in November or December , this was also a lie. I was told in January that I would not get any settlements until December after I had paid the $10K fees they were charging and had enough funds in my account to make an offer, this is their scam. -My FICO score dropped from around 780 excellent to 531poor because I stopped making payment on the accounts per instructions from Whitestone. It has severely damaged my credit much more than they told me it would do. I tried to refinance my son's car from a lease to a purchase in the last few months and was turned down by everyone. -I paid them a total of $6,328.73 and when I cancelled their services, they only returned to me $2,446.42. It cost me $3,882.31and they did nothing to earn this fee. I also checked on my 2 accounts with both creditors and they told me that Whitestone had not yet contacted them to settle the accounts. -I then called CITI and they were willing to settle my account from $24K to $12K with no monthly interest if I pay this balance in the next year. On my Commerce Bank account, they offered me a settlement from $15K to $10K or I could bring the account update with payments of $310 month for 3 months and they dropped the interest rate to 6%. They will then also look a other settlement offer is the future. -I made a BIG mistake believing in Whitestone. If you have good credit stay away from this scam. Their program is front end loaded with all their fees. This would be a good program if you have a low FICO credit score and want to avoid bankruptcy. I found out they were not interested in getting my accounts settled but collecting the fees. -There is a lot of good programs out there that do not charge these high fees. You can just call the creditor and tell them your story and most of time they will work something out for you. - I hope this will help you avoid the Whitestone Legal Group scam. -notes to my file

Whitestone Legal Group has not negotiated with all my creditors as specified in our agreement to arrive at a reasonable settlement. I entered into agreement with Whitestone on 4/17. I have attached the agreement. I was told that they would negotiate with my 3 creditors who I'm in debt with due to hardship, to resolve the debt in a timely manner and at a fraction of the cost. See contract attached. My total debt was $36,995. Whitestone's estimated settlement amount was $15,537.90. My total estimated fees and settlements would be $28,349.95. To date, I have paid $23,625.60 in 1 year and 9 months through automatic deductions processed by Whitestone's financial partner, Reliant Account Management. This does not include the $995 retainer fee. See attached spreadsheet of all the expenses and totals. To date, one year and nine months later, they have only negotiated with one vendor and are paying tiny amounts against that debt. They have not reached out or negotiated with the other two vendors and with a phone call today (12/22), I was informed that they wouldn't negotiate until there was more money in my account and well over the amount I'm already paying twice a month. My creditor, Prosper, settled in October on $8,485 and currently that balance is $7835. So only $650 has been paid on that debt in 15 months. Further, my credit history has been greatly effected. I have been denied an auto loan, a college student loan for my child since Whitestone did not reach out to my debtors and instead, my debt is considered charged off as bad debt.

They lure you in with false pretenses and promises, to change it to their favor up on signing. You pay $500 fee a month. In November I contacted WLG to get help with two accounts that I needed help paying off. They gave me Account ID XXXXX Client ID P-XXXXXX and told me to pay in $574 every month (12-03)and they would pay my debt off and I would be debt free in 48 months. They even added two of my credit cards. I needed help with Best Egg $*** and Care Credit $***. They added Am Exp $950 and Chase $980. Total of $***. I had a credit score of 780. And then the phone calls started. Every creditor called daily I was so scared I was going to loose my home and everything was horrible. And they,WLG, only offered to give me a new phone number! I was paying to WLG, but nothing was happening. The creditors never got anything or heard anything. By the second month I lost one of the CC's , one lowered the credit as low as they could , credit score is now 545 lowest ever since I moved to USA. During the 5 months that I was enrolled I called 10 times to WLG and emailed at least the same amount of times. They NEVER return any emails! And only returned ONE phone call. During the 4 payment I ended up paying $ 2190, money I could have put straight to the two creditors instead money I now do not have any more. Money they call FEES. I have already paid off the credit cards and spoken to them and the other companies. I am looking out for me. Now I would like for this company to be stopped and not have the chance to do this to anyone else. They are not trustworthy or reliable.

Program leads you to believe that you will save 65% off credit owed, but took 80% of what I put into a "trust". Settled nothing. I joined the Whitestone program on 5/15. They drafted my checking 571.73 monthly. I entered 3 creditors, Disc filed suit in June. I had to file my own response because they didn't assign a lawyer to me. A year later BOA Visa contacted me that they would file suit. So I made payment arrangements and dropped them from the program. I reduced my payment to 505.40 on 5/15. On 1/15 *** filed judgement. I called Whitestone on 1/28 to exit the program. Hamza said I would be refunded $*** within 5-7 days. I would have to call back after that to request additional funds. I received that amount in my checking on 2/3. 2/4 I called, spoke with *** he said that he would speak with upper management to review additional refund, would call within 5-7 days. On 2/18, *** called me and said that upper mgmt is offering me an additional $***. Thereby keeping $4800 of the money that I put into my RAM trust account. Emailed a release for me to sign for that final amount. I won't sign that document. This company clearly did not settle anything with my creditors, how could they when they were siphoning their fees off the top from beginning to end. I have all supporting documents and yet they never sent me a copy of the signed agreement. They promised to save me 65%, but took 80% of the $11,409.36. I really need the $*** that they are holding of my money. I do not have access to a computer to send supporting documentation.

Already emailed them to cancel and get full refund of remaining *** dolllars owed to me contract breach. I want to cancel this Program and I have Made Payments totaling in *** and of that a total of *** have been settled only I was going to cancel 2 months ago since I seen no effort to settle and only you collecting about *** dollars in Fees which doesn't make any sense that is like asking me hey ill settle *** card for you just pay me *** dollars this is Theft when you look at it so I want a full refund of the Remaining amount I understand you must collect a reasonable and legal fee for the *** you settled but based of comission for example %20 you would take *** for settling *** so we can work that out and also since you weren't settling I just got served a law suit from Citi bank for *** so I expect a phone call and or reply email I want to cancel and refund the remaining amount this has to be 100% illegal Charging me *** for settling *** credit card. What I will be doing is calling back my creditors before I get sued.by all of them and settling with them and use the money I paid ion this program to pay them off beginning with the first lawsuit *** You collected fees even before settling anything and now im paying fees to the court because the lawyer on retainer has not responded to any of my calls and the responsible for first law suit had to be sent in 30 days after being served im now paying my own fees to file response and civil filing fees when your suppose to be the whole package i want a full refund. during this time i could have consolidated and already paid off almost half of the debt

I hired Whitestone to consolidate my debt. I was informed that I would pay them monthly and they would be working with my creditors to settle the debts. I was told that I would have to give permission for them to withdraw any money out of my account to pay the creditors. They informed me not to pay any more bills in February. Since February they have not payed any of my creditors, they have not even negotiated with them. My credit has dropped significantly since then. I started with almost *** I am now at *** because of all the missed payments. My payments have always been 100% on time my whole life. I am constantly being called by these creditors and most of my credit cards that I did not put in the consolidation have been closed. Without my permission they have taken over *** out of my account, which was supposed to go towards paying the creditors so I was told. I contacted them to ask what was going on when they couldn't answer any of my questions I decided to terminate them. I sent them a certified letter explaining that I no longer wanted their service since they weren't doing much anyways, and that I expected a full refund since they did not provide the service they told me they would. I called after I received the verification that the letter had been signed for, and the woman on the phone Renee told me that there was nothing I could do and they would not be refunding me anything. Also, that no one is at the office so my letter is probably just sitting there. Everything that was told to me before I hired them was all lies. I am living on a fixed income and they took advantage of my desperateness. I am too old to start over again, most of those cards were for emergencies that were closed. I will never be able to get my credit back to where it was. Product_Or_Service: Credit Consolodation

Whitestone Legal Group promised to assist with consolidating and resolving debt. They did not keep their promise and made my debt worse. In November , I signed up with a company called Whitestone Legal Group. They marketed and promised that they were a debt consolidation company. They said that they would work with my creditors to arrange for lower payments that would reduce my total the amount and allow me to pay the debts off more quickly. The agreement was that I would pay Whitestone a lump sum amount every month, and that they would in-turn pay the creditors that I listed with them. I was told that an initial account balance needed to build up with Whitestone, but that within the first couple of months they will be contacting all of my creditors to advise them that Whitestone was representing me, to make the arrangements, and keep me from defaulting. At the time that I made an agreement with Whitestone my accounts were still in good standing with all of the creditors. After paying $734 per month to Whitestone for three months I received calls from my creditors stating that my accounts have defaulted. I told him that I had representation from Whitestone. They said they have NOT received ANY written or verbal communication from Whitestone about my accounts. In February , I asked Whitestone to terminate my relationship. By now all of the creditors that I had submitted to them where in past due status, over the credit limits, with interest and late fees added. In March, Covid began and the part-time job that I was working for extra money was no longer a source of income. This put me in a detrimental situation financially. It became impossible for me to reconcile with the creditors Whitestone was supposed to be paying. I now have multiple accounts charged off and reporting derogatory on my credit report - solely as a result of working with a company that fraudulently promised to help consolidate my debt.

Whitestone Legal Group made false promises to settle accounts on my behave and didn't follow up with creditors on negotiating the debt. In March , A financial Analyst, *** (XXX-XXX-XXXX) called me about consolidating debt. I informed him that I have got rejected numerous times by banks to get debt consolidation. He suggested Whitestone to provide me assistance. He stated they would negotiate the debt and informed me to stop making payments to the creditors. I asked him after the settlement offered is agreed would they remove the fees and late reporting that occurred from when I stopped making payments. He said they would get those removed. It was lie and Whitestone stated they don't do that. I was assign a lawyer named *** (XXX-XXX-XXXX). It only communicated with me through text message which was strange and then later I wasn't assigned a lawyer for months. I was on the program for over a year making payments of $586 on 3 accounts. I received a 1099C on account that they didn't know about at all for 9 months. Once I reached a year, I haven't receive and settlement overs on my small account of *** that increased to *** with interest and fees. I got frustrated with the lack of service from the company. I called over 15 times to speak with the negioator but not even customer service could reach him and he never returned my call. I finally spoke with him after I wanted to close my account and end the program. He didn't even know one of the creditors sold the debt to Capital One. It wasn't do anything about the small balances. His name is *** (***@***). I finally got a settlement with Capital One which was the same balance. The account could have been settled months ago if they contacted them and no additional fees and interest would have increased the balance. I decided to close the program and negotiate my own settlement which is working out. I enjoy anyone to not participate in this program.

I consulted Whitestone Legal for debt settlement needs. They advertised that I could save myself from having to repay over *** in unsecured debt over the course of 40 years and consolidate seven credit card payments into one monthly payment over a 48 month term, saving myself from tens of thousands in interest. They required my bank routing info and instructed me to begin making these monthly payments before any settlement or negotiation is made with the creditors, and promised that after the 9th or 10th deposit, negotiations will begin. I was also told that payments to any creditors can stop, and was made aware that my credit score will drop during this period until the debts are settled. Upon doing some research, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a policy that prohibits debt settlement companies from collecting funds in advance of rendering any services. During the five months I've been enrolled in the program, I've received calls every day from creditors and found out that creditors are under no obligation to settle on credits and can garnish wages. It was time to decide to either start negotiations with these creditors on my own, or declare bankruptcy. I called Whitestone Legal's customer service and asked to cancel the program and also asked about a full refund in fees and deposits of ***. They agreed to refund *** of the total of *** saying that the difference has been applied to program fees and that I am only entitled to the $60 in the escrow account. My bank was unable to help because these deposits were made via ACH which cannot be disputed. Their business model is based on a scam that feeds false promises to people who are drowning in debt payments and falling credit scores and they are taking advantage of this situation. If you are burdened with debt that can't be paid, please consider other options. Paying a debt settlement company is a way to lose money with no benefit to yourself. Product_Or_Service: Debt Settlement

In April, I signed a three-year contract with Whitestone Legal Group, who contracted with me to pay off a huge debt that I was overwhelmed with. They were to contact my creditors, and told me I could not contact them, so I did not. I felt they would be doing exactly what they said they would do. However, just this past week, I received a Warrant in Debt from one of my creditors. That is when I became suspicious. I called to find out what I could as to how many of my creditors had been paid off since last April. NONE of them have been paid off. I have paid to Whitestone Legal Group, the amount of $727.18 per month for 14 months, totaling over ***. The creditor with the greatest total owed, was only being paid $100 per month, but did not commence until Nov/Dec 2019. For approximately 6 months, no money was sent to any of my creditors. We are over half-way now for completing my debt to Whitestone, according to my contract with them. I just recently checked my credit report. I have two of the debts in collections, and five of my debts lined up with "LATE" reports, ready to file MORE Warrants in Debt upon me. I was told by Whitestone's contact who signed me up, that after three months, I would see my credit rating start to rise again. Well, it is not, and I am registered as "POOR" in my rating with Experien. I am sick to my stomach. I am a 68-year-old woman who was looking to retire in the next year or so. Now, I have to find a way to pay off these creditors, and I cannot afford an attorney...that is why I chose Whitestone in the first place. I also just went to the ComplaintsBoard.com website to see what, if any, comments had been made about Whitestone. I just cried. There have been 22 over this past year with similar comments. I have paid more than most, however, and had the most to lose. I want to get as much of money back as possible, if I can, and I cannot afford an attorney. Please help me find a way, and put this organization that is breaking laws and promises to customers while taking their money, on report. Product_Or_Service: Debt Consolidation/Resolution

Whitestone Legal Group didn't provide legal services for court case-did not advise me they weren't attending,causing judgment to be entered against me After enrolling in this program in mid-January,I was served a Civil Summons from one of my creditors (1st Franklin Financial), with a court date of 2/20. and I uploaded this document to the Whitestone site on 2/4. I then had my first call with Whitestone on 2/11 to review how everything was going. I advised the rep of the info (Summons) I had uploaded 2/4, and she advised she would escalate this to make sure there were no issues, due to Whitestone had taken no action on my uploaded document. I then called Whitestone Legal group 2/20 (528pm CST), a call that lasted 51 minutes, and I was advised that Whitestone was not able to secure an attorney to attend my hearing (meaning I have had a judgement granted against me for this debt). After being placed on hold multiple times with my initial customer service rep, she then transferred me to a "Manager", who tried to turn all this around to be my fault, and accused me of lying when I enrolled in this program, saying there is no way I would have been served a summons unless I had not been paying this debt for over 6 months. I advised her that I had missed 3 payments, and again she tried to turn this around to be my fault that Whitestone was unable to secure an attorney to attend this court date.This supposed "Manager" also tried to blame me for this by saying I do not even have enough money in my RAM account for Whitestone to make any settlement requests, and that I need to deposit more money into this account if I want Whitestone to be able to handle these debts. This company has taken out 2 payments of $307.03 from my banking account, and has done nothing for me. I want their services cancelled, and all my monies refunded back to me, with no additional withdrawals coming out of my account. I have now met with local attorneys in Nashville, and will be using their services for my debt re-organization, and to review the judgement entered against me due to Whitestone Legal Group incompetence.

After 12 payments of *** has only settled with one of ten credit card company, and paid *** to them. they take 85% to 90% for fees I enrolled in a debt resolution program to resolve 10 credit cards after I lost my job in February . I was told that they would contact the credit card companies, and in most cases reach a settlement in the first 6 to 9 months. Instead after one year of payments of *** per month, they have only reached a settlement with one of the ten credit cards, and only paid them *** out of the *** that I have paid. Of the money that I have paid there is only *** in credit reserve to settle the remaining 9 credit cards, and when I ask the credit card companies if they have been contacted by ***, they tell me that they have never heard about them. I am being taken to *** (one of the cards that *** was supposed to negotiate with), and after weeks of telling me that their *** needed time to review the ***, I was told that the won't help me with my court case or provide any representation or even help me with legal questions. My wife told me to look at the reviews for *** online, and on the *** website, and I read many different complaints that detailed the same dissatisfaction that I was experiencing in many different categories of service, as well as the huge fees that leave no money to work with. *** makes false and misleading promises to get you to enroll in their services, and then does little or nothing, as your credit cards charge off. They leave people like me vulnerable to be taken to court for full Judgements against us, and rake in their huge fees while providing no representation that was promised in their sales pitch. I have emailed both ***, and their money collecting agency ***, that I am terminating my enrollment agreement with both of the and I am seeking a refund due to failure to represent me and totally neglecting their duty to negotiate with the remaining nine credit card companies.

This company does not provide the services as promised and agreed upon. They are scammers who prey on already struggling individuals. In the last year I have paid *** into my debt relief program with *** Legal Group. In that time, they only negotiated 1 settlement with a creditor. From what I can guess, they may have only paid that creditor *** if that. I don't know what was paid, because they haven't provided anything showing that amount. They were supposed to represent me in legal proceedings, but it appears they did not. Up until almost a yr, creditors were still contacting me and stating they hadn't heard from Whitestone. I cancelled my program, was told I would receive my refund in 2-5 days. On 12/28, I received *** On that day I called to complain, asked several times to speak to a supervisor, and was denied. I was offered *** and declined and asked them to escalate it. I was contacted on 12/29 and offered *** if I signed release forms. I signed and sent them back immediately, because I desperately needed the funds, even though I don't agree with the amount. Since they did arrange one settlement, I believe that a fee of *** is appropriate. They didn't do any other work on my behalf other than standard computer generated letters. I believe they should refund me *** However, I sent back the release forms for the other amount. On 12/30, I received an email stating that I hadn't attached the forms to the email, which was false, and when I called the CSR was able to find the attachments. But, of course, my refund was delayed. Again I asked numerous times to speak to a supervisor, as these funds rightfully should've been in my account on 12/28, and I wanted them deposited immediately. Again, I was not permitted to speak to a supervisor. Today, 12/31, I had to refuse to get off of the phone before I was allowed to speak to a supervisor, if it really was a supervisor, and of course they are refusing to send my funds until the 4th.They misrepresented how they would pay my creditors, they lie and say they've tried to call you when they haven't made a single attempt, and they just keep taking "fees" for themselves without even contacting your creditors.

Whitestone did not keep up their end of the bargain, they misrepresented the program and did nothing for my debts that I could not have done myself. I entered into an agreement with Whitestone legal group as a debt consolidation/settlement program in April. The consolidation agreement indicated there would be a minimal fee and the creditors would stop calling shortly. I naively assumed I was "hiring" a Michigan attorney to work on my behalf, instead of a California company taking advantage of my situation. The program did not achieve communication with any of my creditors until December where they achieved a debtor agreement with one debtor, for a settlement amount of $***. No further movement was made for an entire year after this beyond drafting my account for $293.75 bi-weekly, taking all but $79.81 in fees. On March 23 I sent a threatening letter from another one of my creditors and received no reply. On March 26, I sent another notice, again no response. Whitestone and a partner "***" reached out to me shortly after to discuss a loan to make settlements easier. I provided their partner with everything and never heard back. I reached out to Whitestone again about the American Express letter and they advised that it is a loan service that is offered but you need to contact them and ignored the request about American Express. Dead end. On July 28 I reached out again asking about a call from American Express and if the $189 service fee on my bi-weekly payment of $273 ever stops. They responded that the creditors can still legally contact me, which was not my understanding at the beginning as I was "hiring" a legal group to represent me in the settlement program. Again, my question about the absurd fees was ignored. I received a separate email detailing the fees as $159.69+44.50 semi monthly +10.75 monthly until the 44th payment! After that, the $44.50 and $10.75 would continue in perpetuity. In short, I have paid $*** for them to ignore me and collect their money. On July 31 I contacted Whitestone again that American Express had contacted me at work and said they would not work with debt settlement company, what should I do; no response. On October 17 I contacted them again with a letter from an attorney threatening legal action, asking for a response and received nothing. On October 25 I requested again that I had unanswered messages requesting status updates and had received nothing, to which I received an email titled Review Denied and I would need to speak to someone on the phone. I replied indicating that I have $*** in my settlement account and would like to achieve a full settlement with *** and close my account with Whitestone. Instead of calling me, they requested I call them. I called them on November 3, indicated I wanted a settlement in full amount and for the draft of my account on November 5 to be stopped. The gentleman I spoke to indicated that the draft could not be stopped without two business days notice, I was on the second day. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told they would call me back when they had time. I still have not received a call back. They did "allow" me to remove two out of the three accounts that they were supposed to settle for me as I had already done so on my own and wanted to settle the final account today and was told that "that's not how the program works" and even if I wanted to talk to someone else I would be given the same answer. Whitestone removed the two programs that I myself had settled, and sent me a settlement offer that was HIGHER than what was originally agreed on due to additional fees due to them. I followed that up with a call to my final remaining debt and was able to secure a settlement for much less than what Whitestone had allegedly entered into a settlement agreement for.

Whitestone legal group committed breach of contract and been lied too on several occasions. Under the Client's Authorization for Settlement Agreement, Whitestone failed to make any contact with the client before proceeding with a settlement offer for Chase Card ending in ***. In an email on 26 August @ 6:35pm EST from Whitestone representative stating that "Your Chase(***) account settlement was accepted on you behalf without notifying you, as it was 50% settlement." Per the Client's Authorization for Settlement Agreement Whitestone shall make all reasonable efforts to obtain client's approval and only after making reasonable efforts shall Whitestone be authorized to proceed with any settlement resulting in a savings of 50% or more. This is a breach of contract. Client's Authorization for Settlement Agreement Whitestone shall make all reasonable effortsto obtain Client's approval for any settlement offer obtained on Client's behalf. In the event Whitestone, cannot contact Client after making reasonable efforts, Client authorizes Whitestone to proceed with any settlement resulting in a savings of 50% or more of the Client's debt at the time of settlement. Furthermore, I/we direct Reliant Account Management to release the funds from my/our Special Purpose Savings Account to the creditor, per the terms of a settlement agreement negotiated in accordance with the terms of this authorization. This form may be revoked..,,.". by Client at any time upon written notice to Whitestone. *Reasonable efforts can include phone call(s), email(s), fax(es), and standard mail. Client can revoke such authorization at any time before any settlement payments are processed. I have been misled and lied to on several occasions since a negotiator contacted me on Wednesday August 19th about another settlement offer. I inquired who authorized the first settlement offer and he clearly stated that I, the client, approved. I asked on what date supposedly I approved the offer and he said on August 4th. I told him that I did not approve that offer, but he said I, the client, did and he would have the transcript and voicemail sent to me on the next day Thursday (August 20th). I then declined the next settlement until I was proved that I approved the first offer, which I did not. After waiting on the information I was supposed to receive on Thursday August 20th, I called Whitestone legal group that following Tuesday August 25th. Representative Eder could not assist me and asked to speak to his supervisor. I was transferred to Megan and the settlement I did not approve was discussed. She stated in the contract, if over 50% Whitestone can act on my behalf without notifying me. This was another case of being misled as I asked for the contract, the transcript and voice recording from the August 4th approval, and an email stating she was the highest person a client can talk to as I was still dissatisfied with the results. She also stated that if I have any more questions I can call back and ask for her. I called back at 7:12pm to discuss breach of contract, but she was unable to take my call and the representative stated and noted that Megan would call me back within two business days. As of close of business on Thursday 27 August 202 Megan did not return my call which was another lie. August 26th, I called WhiteStone and talked to Kyle about history showing where WhiteStone tried to contact me about settlement offer on Chase card ending in ***. He stated there was no history and since over 50% WhiteStone automatically settled without notifying me. I asked for what he stated be sent to me for my records and he said he could not do that. I asked to be transferred to someone who could and he said no one else would be able to as well. Few hours had past and I called Whitestone again and this time talked with ***, according to them as I started writing down names of who I talked to. I stated the same thing

I paid Whitestone $779.87 a month since 5/8 and they didn't do anything. They didn't contact me regularly or my creditors. I cancelled on 1/14. I joined the program the end of April and the first payment of $779.87 was supposed to be withdrawn on May 1st. I called them because it was never taken out of my account and set up a new withdrawal date on May 8th.The customer service representatve that I spoke with said it was a technical failure and someone would call me in which they did not. The following month I called them again because the payment was not withdrawn and they said the problem was still an issue and the technician would contact me within 48 hours and they did not. I still had them take the $779.87 out of my account on 6/21/10. I called them on 9/10 because I hadn't received any monthly check-in calls or my strategy call at the 3 month period and they said they were behind on the calls but I should receive my strategy call shortly for my lowest creditor. I called on 10/31 and asked about my monthly check-in calls, my strategy call, settlements, them contacting my creditors and also the letter I received from an attorney to collect a debt. I was told the power of attorney was out and they were in the process of negotiating but she did not confirm they contacted my creditors. She also said the negotiator will call me back in 48 hours in which they didn't. I called on 11/6 and asked the same questions again with no answers. I also sent the attorney letter again (9/10, 10/24, 11/6, 11/13, 11/14, and 11/18 in which they said send it to *** just to placate me). I called 11/20 and spoke with *** who verified they received the letter. I was supposed to get the ease of having legal representation when collectors and lawyers started threatening me. I was in the program for 9 months and they never followed the program steps in which they were supposed to do monthly check-in calls, a strategy call during the 3rd month, contact my creditors and at least the first settlement between 6-9 months. I called constantly and was told various times that I was right on track with building the funds necessary for negotiating and settling my debts. When they couldn't answer particular questions, I was told I'd get a phone call back and never received one (and this happened all the time)! I was placated numerous times about notices that I continued to forward to them without response or notification of them receiving them. At my ninth month I had paid $*** in the program in which I only had accumulated $*** to go towards settlement. The final straw was when a negotiator *** contacted me on 1/02 to give me the same speech as all of their other representatives had given me every time I called and when I asked about the attorney letter there was nothing there. I sent her a copy and received notification that it was being sent to the attorney assigned to my file and I should be contacted within 5 days in which they did not! Then I was unable to contact the negotiator again because that number was no longer in service! On 1/14, I called the third party (RAM) account which my funds were being deposited to and informed them I was trying to get my money back and they could only close that account and forward the remaining amount 5 days later minus charges (cancellation/closing fees) from Whitestone. I called and cancelled with Whitestone and was told I could only get the amount in the RAM because the other monies was paid out in fees. I followed all procedures and Whitestone were the ones who breached the contract by not complying? After the 5 days had passed, I received $*** from the RAM account and I also put a stop payment on the last deposit which gave me a total of $*** but I still lost $*** in which I could have paid to the creditors myself. I am now in the process of negotiating my own settlements with the creditors which is considerably less than what I originally paid them and also was paying Whitestone. I would like the rest of my money because I didn't get any of the services promised.

I have requested multiple times for a refund of all money given to this organization as they have voided the contract and illegally collected fees. I ran into some debt issues and was contacted by Whitestone Legal Group in an effort to leverage a debt management program. At first communication with Whitestone Legal Group was responsive. I spoke with a representative at length who walked me through a relatively easy sign up process. My program started in October and currently have a total of 7 accounts with a monthly payment of $798.33. At the start of my program, I was advised to stop all payments to the creditors (even though I was not behind on payments when I enrolled) and only pay Whitestone. They assured me that this was standard practice and that the money I was paying the lawfirm would go toward negotiations. Though I knew there would be fees associated with this program, I was not advised as to how the fees were structured. Since the start of the program, communication has become increasingly more difficult with vague, or minimal answers. I have had to continuously call in an effort to be updated. Even though I provided the necessary information to this company to update my user portal to reflect the proper account details regarding my debt accounts, my record was not updated. I was told that it would take 6-9 months to reach a settlement and began to inquire about the status of my account as to who has been negotiated with. I have found out that not one of my creditors has been contacted. Additionally, one of my accounts is in litigation due to non-payment. When I brought this to Whitestone I was connected with a lawyer, but have not spoken with this attorney yet. I called Whitestone earlier this week to find out how much money was in my negotiations account and was informed by Whitestone that of the $*** I have paid toward my debt through Whitestone, $600 was what has been set aside to pay toward my debt. This means that $*** has been directed to cover fees. Furious, I completed some research on for-profit debt settlement companies and learned that in 2010, the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule added an amendment making it illegal for for-profit debt-settlement firms to charge upfront fees. Firms are not allowed to collect any fees from a customer before they have settled or otherwise resolved her debts. Consumers may begin making payments as soon as they enroll in a debt-settlement program, but these are payments for the escrow account, which is usually held by a third-party firm. If they settle a customer's debts one by one, firms can collect a fee for each debt they've negotiated, but they can't front-load payments. When I called to cancel my program on Tuesday, the rep I spoke with told me the account changes I was seeing in my portal (that were applied without authorization) were nothing more than a clerical error that has yet to be fixed. I requested to cancel and was told the call was going to be recorded to authorize my cancelation. The rep became very upset when I would not agree to the terms he was laying out for cancelation as they conflicted with my issue I was raising. He was trying to get me to accept that I would not receive a refund and claim full liability for this financial mess. When I asked to be transferred to his supervisor as he was not answering questions and ignoring my concern, he flat out refused and said he'd set a task for a supervisor to call me in 2-5 days to address my concerns. He told me that there was no one I could email as it would not go anywhere productive. Given I have received no help in settling my accounts as promised, my credit score has tanked, I have been summoned to court with little support from Whitestone and no debt has been settled, I am seeking to cancel my contract with Whitestone Legal group and demand to receive a refund of all of the fees and return of the money in my negotiations saving fund. This is now the third time this week I am seeking to cancel and to speak to someone who can help me make this possible with little success and poor communication. Please help.