Just today I was reporting about Enhanced Support Services (ESS) after they were hit with a $594,000 fine and refund in Colorado.
At one point Johnson Law Group in Orlando was the creation of Tom Roland of ESS and other companies. But apparently the love affair is over between the two groups.
An email sent to Johnson Law Group clients recently, after Clint Johnson had his law license suspended, warns clients to avoid the approach of ESS, the very same processing company Johnson Law Group paid to service the exact same clients.
Yea, this is going to be interesting to watch. What makes it even more interesting is that the Johnson Law Group Florida was formed from an alleged client theft from Johnson Law Group in Nevada.
The email sent out by Johnson Law Group Florida says:
Johnson Law Group Law License Suspended
To All Johnson Law Group Clients,
Effective August 1, 2011, Johnson Law Group, PLLC, at 250 North Orange Avenue, Suite 550, Orlando, Florida 32801 can no longer service its debt settlement clients. This law firm’s licence to practice law has been suspended until further notice by the Florida Bar Association. Johnson Law Group has appointed a law firm to facilitate the transfer of your debt settlement to a licensed attorney in your state.
Please understand your debt settlement program will continue without interruption under the same terms and conditions that you agreed to. The dates you have scheduled to make your payments and payment amounts will remain unchanged.
[Read that as, “We’ve transferred your account to someone you don’t know and hope they deliver the service you’ve paid for because we are outta here.”]
The Law Firm Administrative Offices have been set up with a call center to answer your questions and for your to forward any correspondence to. [So if that’s the call center, who is doing the actual work and has access to the confidential client information?]
The contact information is as follows:
Law Firm Administrative Offices [How much more anonymous can you get?]
Telephone: 904-367-5577
Fax: 904-367-5756
9838 Old Baymeadows Road #359
Jacksonville, Florida 32256
[I believe this address is a mail drop at a UPS Store. – Source]
The hours of operation for the Administrative Offices will be from 9am to 6pm Eastern Standard Time. [So what is the actual address of the company who is going to be handling the accounts and who is the company?]
Please note that you will be receiving a certified letter from Client L. Johnson, Esq. personally in the next few days. [Hugs and kisses to all.]
Should you have any questions about your program, please feel to contact us at numbers listed above and we will be happy to assist you.
Furthermore, it has been brought to our attention that ESS who has been the processing company has been soliciting the Johnson Law Group clients. PLEASE BE AWARE: ESS IS NOT A LAW FIRM AND CANNOT REPRESENT YOU! Such actions of them presenting themselves as such could be considered illegal. Please contact our office immediately!!!!!
Again, please understand there will be no changes to your program. [Well, besides the processing company that was helping you is now off limits and you should not talk to them, your attorney was suspended, your account has been moved to an anonymous entity, your client information is in the wind, and your mailing address is now a mail drop at a UPS store. But besides that, there are no changes.] There will be no extra added costs to your program for this transfer.
Please refer to the frequently asked questions below to assist in some questions you may have.
We look forward to helping you down the path of financial freedom.
Sincerely,
The Law Firm Administrative Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: “I have received solicitation from ESS, what do I do?”
A: We have been notified that ESS is soliciting law firm clients and cannot represent you where you live. Such actions could be considered illegal.
Q: “Will I need to start over on my debt settlements?”
A: No. The law firm will facilitate the servicing of your debt settlement where Johnson Law Group leaves off. Additionally, the client will not experience any added fees or costs for transferring.
Q: “Will I need to go through a new “transition period?”
A: No. All creditor information will be transferred by Johnons Law Group, and there will be no delay.
Q: “Will my automatic deduction or payment change?”
A: No. The amount and date of your payment will not change. Additionally, the maintenance fee will remain the same or possibly modified to comply with the laws of your state.
Q: “Is this transfer to the law firm automatic?”
A: Yes. This will help avoid any interruption and/or delays to your service and your debt settlement. – Source
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I received a letter from an attorney stating that they are refunding all our money back, I don’t remember what Attorney or company that was can anyone please tell me. it has been over a year ago already. any information would be helpful thank you for your time.
Had a contract with Johnson Law Group since Dec. 22, 2009. They did pay off some credit cards. (smaller ones) Unknown how much money remained in my account. Recieved a letter stating that Johnson’s license was suspended and that ESS would be approaching me and not to use them. Was supplied a number to contact ESS to tell them to stop debiting my account and to refund my money and then join Law Firm Administrative Offices. I contacted the phone number to ESS and faxed them a letter requesting they no longer debit my account and send me a refund. I then told Law Firm Administrative Offices I would not be joining them. No refund check has arrived.(it has been a month) No one answers the phone at ESS anymore or at the 1-800-901-5691 number of Johnson Law Group. Contacted Law Firm Administrative Offices and they state that since I am not signed up as their account they can’t help me.
Contact the Florida Bar and ask them for information on how to contact the receiver appointed in this case to get your escrowed funds back. You can reach the Florida Bar at 850-561-5600.
I wasn’t sure who the initial fee was paid to. So you think she should cancel ESS’s services and stick with Johnson Law Group? I get from your articles that they are not to be trusted. If they already got her money and she isn’t paying additional fees, nor would they take a percentage of the settlement, why do they care if she stays with them or not? I don’t understand their incentive for trying to get her to leave ESS and stay with them when they will not be making any more money off of her.
ESS has promised to send her the money that she currently has in escrow with them and continue to work with the last creditor that she has yet to settle with. (ESS has already settled several of her debts.)Â They said the will charge her a monthly fee for this service (as well as 5% of the final settlement)Â and she will be responsible for maintaining her own escrow. So she faxed them a form saying that she wanted them to continue handling her account and not pass her on to another firm. Then she gets a phone call and then an e-mail from Johnson Law Group saying that they have an injunction against ESS and they aren’t licensed to do these kind of transactions and that she needs to fax this OTHER form right away so she can stay with JLG. She really doesn’t know who to trust anymore.
Under the new laws, a debt settlement company can’t charge any fee in advance of settling the debt. If ESS is going to charge her a monthly fee that would appear to be in violation.
The money in the escrow account is hers anyway so they are not doing her any favors there. She can call up at any time and that money sent to her.
Everything else aside, it seems she already paid in advance for debt settlement services from Johnson law Group so why not just work with the entity they are going to send her to as long as no additional fee is charged?
Thank you so much for these articles! My mom is caught up in this mess and has no idea which way to turn. She’d decided to stay with ESS, then got this e-mail from Johnson Law Group which just confused her. Is there any way she can just get away from both companies altogether? The whole business is so shady.
What is her situation? Are both ESS and Johnson Law promising to credit her for money she has already paid for services?
How have these guys gotten away with this for so long? First ESS is in the middle of Hess Kennedy then this? I mean are they done? I used to work for them. Roland is a scammer, Johnson is a liar and a moron who does not even know what is going on. I feel sorry for all the customers.