Quick Answer: World Law victims are unlikely to recover their money, as the company was shut down and funds were already distributed to victims in 2018. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau allocated $98.3 million to 22,282 victims, but collected funds were insufficient for full compensation.
Question:
Dear Steve,
I paid World Law around $15,000.00 and didn’t get any of my debt settled don’t know where my money is.
Every weekday I read the enforcement actions, filings and fine print the outlets skip, and turn them into the one or two moves that actually improve your position — a rate worth moving for, a fee you can refuse, a deadline to beat before it costs you.
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I want to know how I can get my money back.
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Judy
Answer:
Dear Judy,
Wow, World Law, there is a company I have not heard about in a few years.
Honestly, you will need to check this off as a loss and a costly lesson learned from a deceptive company.
The Receiver’s updates on this situation can be found here.
But probably the most telling statement you will find is this one.
“Plaintiff, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“Bureau”) provides this status report as per the Court’s February 23, 2018 Order (Docket No. 195) to outline to the Court the actions taken to distribute monies to the consumer victims in this case. As reported to the Court at the February 9, 2018 status conference, the monies collected by the Bureau and the Courtappointed Receiver (“Receiver”) from the Defendants in this case, totaling $8,170,633, were insufficient to fully compensate the consumer victims. As a result, the Bureau allocated funds to compensate these victims from the Civil Penalty Fund1 in accordance with the Bureau’s Civil Penalty Fund rule, 12 C.F.R. pt. 1075.
On or about February 22, 2018, the Bureau mailed a total of $98,383,236 in checks to 22,282 consumer victims in this case. Of those checks, 1,797 of them, totaling $8,170,633.24, were derived from the monies collected by the Bureau and the Receiver from the Defendants in this case, and 20,485 checks, totaling $90,212,602.46, came from the Civil Penalty Fund. To date, approximately 87 percent of those checks have been cashed.” – Source
The Court Appointed Receiver is done with this situation. If you received a partial refund check, it was not cashed.
At this point, you are on your own to find if anyone is still around to go after. However, recovering your money will probably cost you more in legal fees. You might want to chase any remaining parties for emotional reasons, but mathematically, it looks like a losing proposition.
Even the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is done with this matter.
Please let me know if you pursue this further. I’m sorry you were cheated out of a lot of money. Hopefully, you wound up dealing with your debt in some other way.
Before You Sign Anything: Run any debt relief contract through the free Contract Decoder to spot hidden fees and unfair terms. Check the company’s complaint history with the Scam-O-Meter.
Compare Your Real Options: Most debt relief companies won’t tell you about all your options — especially the ones they can’t profit from. Credit counseling has a 21-27% completion rate. Settlement resolves about 1% of enrolled debts fully. Bankruptcy has a 95% discharge rate — and protects your retirement. Take the Find Your Path quiz for a recommendation based on your actual numbers.
They’re almost certainly judgment-proof at this point, and a private suit may be time-barred. Right to sue for unauthorized practice of law in Kansas is under the consumer protection statute, three years to file. Fraud is two years.
How do I get my money back from World Law.
I just answered your question.