I Paid National Debt Relief for a Referral to a Fraudulent Law Firm

Question:

Dear Steve,

I paid National Debt Relief $150 for a referral to a debt settlement company in 2018. They referred me to a fraudulent law firm that took my money and never paid my debts. This particular law firm did not have individual escrow accounts for their clients and will not give me back my money even though they never settled any debts for me.

National Debt Relief referred me a fraudulent debt settlement company which is a law firm. Since this company was fraudulent and I paid them to refer me do I have any recourse from National Debt Relief. I feel that if you pay for a referral, you should get directed to a reputable company.

Natalie

Answer:

Dear Natalie,

There are a couple of issues here.

I’m not aware of any program where a consumer has to pay National Debt Relief for a referral. If anyone has details on this, please send in your tips here.

I’m not sure who the law firm is that you are talking about. But you have several options to deal with that issue. You may want to read How to Get Your Money Back From a Debt Relief Company if You Feel Like You’ve Been Scammed and try to recover your money from the law firm.

In the debt relief space the term “law firm” has a braid range of meanings. many of these consumer relationships are actually not a relationship that results in an attorney-client relationship since the attorney may not be licensed in the state the consumer lives in.

Ultimately the best advice I can give, you have already learned. There is no substitution for a consumer being a smart shopper and checking out who they are working with.

I would recommend that anyone considering using such a company should read the following free guides.

1. The Ultimate Consumer Guide to Checking Out a Debt Relief Company Before You Sign On the Line
2. 10 Must Do Steps to Find the Best Credit Counseling or Debt Settlement Company for You
3. How to Check Out a Business or Company to Avoid Getting Scammed or Ripped Off

I’m sorry you have had to go through this but it’s not over yet. If you are willing to follow my guide on getting a refund, you will get closer to a satisfactory ending than just simply being upset you were taken advantage of.

And it clearly appears any issue you have is primarily with the law firm and not National Debt Relief.

Please keep me posted in the comments section below of your progress and updates.

Steve Rhode Debt Coach and Author

Steve Rhode is the Get Out of Debt Guy and has been helping good people with bad debt problems since 1994. You can learn more about Steve, here.

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