ComplaintsforGuardian Litigation Group

• Initial Complaint

  11/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In the second week of October I hire guardian litigation group to help me with my debts. On October 25 th I tried to quit the program. They have told me I must pay them money to quit the program. I do not wish to continue. I was told I was 4 hours late and couldnt leave the program. I need help.

  

  Business response

  11/19/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  Within one month of being engaged, our firm settled Ms. ******** largest debt with her express written authorization.  She has made one successful program deposit, which was utilized to pay her creditor the first settlement payment.  She has not paid our firm anything and she asked that we provide the amount needed to pay off the negotiated settlement early.  The figure she requested will be relayed to her today.  ****************** have any questions please ask her to contact us. 
  
  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I regret signing up for this from the start. I signed up for this company to help me with my credit. I started with paying 310 in fees to help settle my debt. I began this process in February 2021 or 2022 I cant remember at this point. I have three accounts to settle, two of which have been dealt with or so I thought. Then I get a call one day letting me know that I needed to pay more money ******************************** cool. Then another time I needed to raise the amount to ***************************************************** so I increase it. Months go by and Im consistently paying on time, no issue, they call me and say we need to increase it again to to settle the account they originally told me they would settle Oh we didnt submit the paper work so its still not settled Increase again to ****** I was told by representative that after a certain amount the last remaining account will be settled using the money in my escrow account. Today I get a call asking me to increase AGAIN to settle the same account that was allegedly settled when I increased it to ****** ************ is a scam, dont do it. I will be filing a lawsuit as each time I get a different story, different outcome, different person. I have been paying hundreds of dollars for years to settle these accounts and every single account should have been dealt with except for the one I know is going to take awhile to pay down. DO NOT sign up for this company, run. They lie and string you along. Just a few months ago I was told after 3-4 months of paying the last bit that all my accounts will be dealt with and finally settled and two of three will be paid off, and now they want more money?? NO.

  

  Business response

  11/12/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms. ************ She retained our firm to negotiate and settle her debts.  We informed her, verbally and in writing, that our services do not include credit repair.  Ms. ***** did not pay our firm $310 per month in fees.  She has been setting aside funds in a savings account to be used towards settlement of her debts for less than the balance owed.
  
  We have negotiated and settled 95.3% of her enrolled debts for approximately 10% less than what we estimated they would be settled for.  Her results have been stellar, and she is on track to get out of debt sooner than we anticipated.  Unfortunately, during the engagement, one or more of Ms. ****** deposits did not clear.  This caused a shortage of funds which requires correction to keep her settlements intact. 
  
  Ms. ***** has been asked to make up her missed deposit or increase her deposits monthly to make up the amount of the missed deposit.  To date, nearly all her monthly deposits have been applied to creditor payments, and nearly 70% of Guardians earned performance fees have been deferred.  We recommend that Ms. ***** remain in contact with us so that we can finalize the task of getting her out of debt.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have sent Emails to Guardian Litigation Group repeatedly requesting written details of my account. I have sent four requests since 10/16/24, but receive no reply.I don't communicate by phone because I always speak with a different person, and get different information.I have had nearly $800 deducted from my account monthly, starting on Nov. 1, 2023, and need to see in writing how this money has been used.

  

  Business response

  11/05/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  We have already replied to Ms. ****** emails.  Our previous messages to her may have been blocked by her spam filter because they included downloadable links for documents.  We are sending her another email now and will include an attachment that should not be blocked by a spam filter, however, there are some documents that we cannot send via email.  Ms. ***** can also access her account online using the Forth portal to view all account activity.  If she needs assistance accessing the portal online, we would be happy to walk her through it over the phone.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

• Initial Complaint

  10/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Guardian Litigation has deceived me in numerous instances. Im trying to lay them the balance of my account since last Tuesday and they will not give me the amount owed.

  

  Business response

  10/29/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  Were committed to clear communication with all our clients. We are pleased to report that we have already spoken to Mr. **** and provided the information he requested. Should he have any other questions, we look forward to assisting him.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

• Initial Complaint

  10/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I entered into a debt resolution program in January 2023. They settled 12836$ of debt for a drsp fee of 3400$ plus 365$ in other fees. My credit has been destroyed, there are still 13103$ in debt left. Two of the creditors have offered to settle with me for free. I could have chapter 7 or 11 for the amount they have charged and been debt free. Filed a complaint with the attorney general of Illinois office as well. My debt has become a nightmare. Should've seen a local attorney for the problem

  

  Business response

  10/28/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Mr. ******* complaint.  We would like to clarify that he has paid our firm significantly less than $3400 in earned performance fees.  When our firm was engaged by Mr. ******* he confirmed that he was in hardship and unable to pay his creditors. He also acknowledged understanding of the negative impact on credit.  Our firm has settled nearly half of his debts at a lesser rate than what we initially estimated, and he is on track to get out of debt sooner than we anticipated.  We welcome the opportunity to speak with Mr. ****** to address his concerns and will be having a supervisor reach out to him.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

  Customer response

  10/28/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Guardian litigation group was to help me consolidate my credit card bills took my money and my cards are now in collection sadly

  

  Business response

  10/28/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********* complaint.  Nearly a year ago, our firm was engaged to negotiate and settle her debts for less than the balance owed.  During our quality control process and execution of her agreement, Ms. ******* expressed understanding that she was retaining our firm to settle her debts.  Debt consolidation is not a service that we offer, and this was relayed to her verbally and in writing. 
  
  During our engagement, our firm settled more than half of Ms. ********* debts.  Sadly, she stopped making deposits to her set aside savings account over 2 months ago.  Without consistent and timely deposits, we cannot settle her debts.  The overwhelming majority of the deposits that Ms. ******* did make were paid towards settlements with her creditors. We would be happy to provide her with a statement from her set aside savings account administrator detailing those creditor payments.  Should she have any other questions, we would be happy to assist her.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

  Customer response

  10/28/2024

  your company is a scam most of the credit cards submitted went to collections I have them on my credit report you took my money and never paid the settlement amounts to the cards stop cheating people for money that is considered stealing its terrible I had to involve my bank and the BBB also your company is nothing but scammers misleading innocent people like myself for a whole year or more you've taken my money Liars Liars!!! Pay me back everything taken from my account asap !!

  

  Business response

  10/29/2024

  Were sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate the chance to clarify. Our company operates with integrity and transparency, and we take claims like this seriously. As weve communicated previously, all deposits you made were applied as agreed.  Nearly half of your total enrolled debt was settled according to the terms outlined at the start of our service. You were also aware that accounts would go to collections. Since you failed to deposit funds to your savings account for over two months, we disengaged from representation in line with our policy.
  
  Your Forth Pay account statement and online access details the fact that most of your monthly deposits was applied towards settlement payments.  If you require assistance or have further questions, please feel free to reach out to us.  You may also contact Forth Pay directly for additional confirmation at ************, should you require it. 

  Thank you,
  Guardian Litigation Group

  Customer response

  10/29/2024

  sscammers my accounts went to collections so therefore you took money and didn't pay my credit cards ??? Scammers !!!

• Initial Complaint

  10/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  They are the reigning legal group for Forth Debt Consolidation. Forth and Guardian Litigation (GL) have been the biggest mistakes in my life besides wracking up the debt in the first place. I got sued for a credit card that Forth was not working on. At that time they directed me to GL. ** informed me to send the summons over immediately and basically harassed the importance of sending any and every document over. I sent it that night on reported March 1, 2024. They contacted me a few days later to sign retainer paperwork. Then I did not hear from them again until approximately May. The person I got through to (I had to call Forth to transfer me to them) was snippy that that had tried to call. I have my voicemail set up that I obsessively check. I also had no emails. Come to find out they were calling the wrong number AND had the wrong email. I continue speaking and find out theres a settlement. ** will take the account to end the lawsuit and I will get on a payment plan with them. Great. I get an email yesterday that apparently they never did that. And because I had to close my Forth account in June (to start paying GL) theyre stating they can no longer represent me. This is a crock company with lawyers and paralegals who deserve to be reported to someone. So here I am.

  

  Business response

  10/24/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to respond and clarify; it appears from his complaint that Mr. ****** has concerns that his debt settlement provided may be able to address.  He retained our firm to defend him in the event of a creditor lawsuit.  We did not have a debt resolution agreement with him.  In this case, we represented Mr. ****** in court while settlement negotiations took place with one of his creditors.  A negotiated resolution of the lawsuit was relayed to Mr. ****** by his debt settlement provider and Guardians case manager.  Mr. ****** then chose to end his relationship with his debt settlement provider and our firm.  Despite that, we provided him with the creditors documents to allow him to enter a repayment agreement which would stop the litigation process.  Our firm provided all services to Mr. ****** in accordance with our agreement with him and we wish him the best in all future endeavors.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

  Customer response

  10/24/2024

  A. Im a female. If they ever spoke to me they would have known that. 
  

  B. I accepted that offer. Then I asked if I could end my debt consolidation because I couldnt afford the $700 a month for both payments. They said this was fine. You could pull that phone call, where you would hear I am a female. 

  I still have not received a response back from your company after reaching out to request your name be taken off my Discover account so I can handle it myself. After calling numerous times. During those times I got put through to someone eating and would not respond to me, and then I finally spoke to a sweet girl who had no idea what to do. This was understandable. You can pull my phone call with her (where you would hear Im a female also.) She then was told to transfer me to Forth (or Alleviate or **********; whatever theyre going by these days). This was unhelpful.

  Im not looking for Guardian take my account. This is not my intention, if that is what is assumed. I feel like that would be worse than just dealing with it myself. I just wanted BBB to be aware of the practices and now Im even more angry that someone pulled notes and couldnt even realize that I am a woman. 

  

  Business response

  10/29/2024

  Dear BBB,
  
  Our firm has already initiated the court filing process to withdraw from the matter.  We sincerely apologize for misconstruing Ms. ****** gender and wish that we had been advised of her updated contact information.  *********** showed that our introductory email to her was read, and we did not receive her new contact information until much later.  Ms. ***** should still be able to obtain the negotiated arrangement that was sent to her.  We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group  

  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 would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On September 3, 2024, I called Guardian Litigation to end our (spouse ***** ****) with Guardian Litigation. They had done a decent job contacting and settling four accounts while we were with them. On the last account, it took an unusually long for them to settle, and when they did, Guardian was going to charge us 115 more a month than what the debtor settled for. Additionally, we had ****** in a "savings" account with their partner, Forth Pay. I was told on 3 occasions that the refund will be sent soon, and each day passes. I have since been charged a $9.95 monthly account maintenance fee. This even though I cancelled before any account maintenance should've taken place. I am requesting the money left in the Forth account be returned to *******. The current balance is $529.59. Thank you!

  

  Business response

  09/30/2024

  Dear *** *******:
  
  We were pleased to see that our firm successfully settled your debts with the results we had originally anticipated and that you are now free of those obligations.  For clarification, you notified us of your intent to close your account on 9/9/24.  Once we confirmed all final creditor payments were made, we processed your program completion.  Regarding the refund of your set aside savings account, Forth Pay has already processed a withdrawal check for the balance of your savings and it has been sent to your address on file.  We do see that our staff called you confirming this information on 9/23, 9/26, and 9/27.  Should you have any questions about Forths monthly charges, please contact them.  If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

• Initial Complaint

  09/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I entered into an agreement to have them represent me. After working with them for 2 years I was no longer able to keep up the payments. I need for Attorney ***************************** to release me from this representation agreement so I can settle with Discover directly. After 4 days of trying every phone number and email address as well as their chat window on their main web page I have been unable to get a response from anyone at this Law firm. This is holding up my life and because I couldn't get a response I now have a judgement against me.

  

  Business response

  09/09/2024

  Hello *******, we were pleased to see that our firm appeared in court on your behalf and was able to successfully settle two legal matters.  As part of the Discover settlement, you signed an agreed judgment which will be satisfied once the settlement amount has been paid.  We can confirm that opposing counsel was already notified that you are no longer represented by our firm.  We will follow up by sending them an additional notification.  Should you require anything further, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

  Thank you,
  
  Guardian Litigation Group

• Initial Complaint

  08/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had received an offer for a loan for debt relief when I called they told me that they couldn't approve the loan that they offered me instead they offered a debt relief program. They told me that after I made 6 payments to my account that they will re evaluate the claim for a loan then again a got denied meanwhile I had stop making payments to my accounts because they had told me to stop they needed the accounts to go delinquent so that they can start the process after 7 months paying $845.72 I had a balance of $5,920.03 that went to nothing because according to them they had settled and account and they charged me almost 4k for them just moving paperwork when I called them to get my money back they totally refused I called the office and talked to a manager with guardian litigation group he told me they wasn't going to refund my money I called ***** Fargo and I told them that all those payments where made based on a scam of a debt relief program that they called me offering me a loan and then they changed to a debt relief program that I WAS TOLD THAT AFTER 6 PAYMENTS MADE ON TIME I WOULD QUALIFY FOR THE LOAN NEVER NEVER HAPPENED JUST TOOK ALL MY MONEY AND WALKED AWAY LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED. Because I was advised to stop making payments I went so far behind on payments thanks to them that I didn't had no option but to go in bankruptcy thanks to guardian litigation group.. it's been a year and a half and every lawyer I contacted they don't want to deal with the case because of the bankruptcy I have been told that this was a case of bait switch that they offer something to get you to enroll ni programs but that they are really about something else. Neither ***** Fargo nor guardian litigation group want to take responsibility and refund my money and on top I was a ***** Fargo customer for over 12 years but they didn't even cared about it.. that's why they are under federal investigation for fraudulent transactions.

  

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  Dear BBB:
  
  ************** engaged our firm in mid-2022 to assist with negotiating and settling certain unsecured debts. He chose to disengage from our services towards the end of 2022. We want to clarify that ************** received a full refund of the remaining balance in his set-aside savings account, which was a substantial amount not mentioned in his complaint.
  
  Before retaining our services, we thoroughly explained to ************** that our firm is not a lender and does not provide loans. He acknowledged this and understood that he would have the opportunity to apply for a debt settlement acceleration loan through a lending partner after successfully making deposits into the set-aside savings account as part of his debt settlement program. Unfortunately, he was not approved for this loan.
  
  The nature and requirements or participating in debt settlement were fully explained to ************** during our recorded calls before engagement, and these terms were also clearly outlined in our agreement. Within just five months of being retained, our firm successfully negotiated a settlement on nearly one-third of the total debt we were engaged to settle, with Mr. ****** explicit authorization. We firmly believe that had ************** continued with our services, we would have successfully settled all his debts in accordance with our agreement. Thank you for your attention.

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