Yesterday I wrote about a consumer that contacted me and said Legal Helpers Debt Resolution contacted them after terminating all the LHDR affiliates and told her LHDR would be transiting their account to Consumer Affairs Law Center.
I asked the consumer to send me the form to look at and after reviewing it I’m entirely puzzled why since she is a Legal Helpers Debt Resolution client she would be claimed to cancel her services and transfer her account to another entity. It makes no sense.
The form states:
Consumer Statement Received
Consumer Affairs Processing Center (CAPC) has advised us that you would like to cancel from Legal Helpers Debt Resolution (LHDR) and transfer to Consumer Affairs Law Center (CALC).
CALC has worked with CAPC for some time and believes they provide the best services in the industry.
By signing below, you are agreeing to cancel your LHDR program and retain our law firm Consumer Affairs Law Center. The costs will remain the same and you will receive a credit for all fees you paid into the LHDR program. You also agree that we will use the same retainer agreement substituting the law firm CALC for LHDR. In summary, everything will remain the same. The transition will be seamless.
By signing below you are also directing the payment processor to stop drafting fees for LHDR and to draft them for CALC instead. Your payment amounts and dates will remain the same. Your bank statement will now say Consumer Affairs instead of Legal Helpers. The transition is effective as of the date you sign this form. – Source
What makes this form very, very strange is the fact the consumer was contacted directly by Legal Helpers Debt Resolution and told to sign this form which terminates the agreement with Legal helpers Debt Resolution. And then it instructs the unnamed payment processor to redirect funds to Consumer Affairs Law Center instead.
Who is Consumer Affairs Law Center?
Consumer Affairs Law Center, Inc.
410 Village Run E
Encinitas, CA 92024 – Source
888-438-8110
888-531-8022
info@calawcenters.com
Google maps reports that address is actually associated with this address of a 1,536 square foot home. – Source. The same address is associated with Home Sweet Home Professional Pet Staff. – Source
According to the State of California, Consumer Affairs Law Center, Inc. is located at 17461 Derian Ave., Suite 220, Irvine, CA 92614. Consumer Affairs Law Center, Inc. has no known officers. Consumer Affairs Law Center, Inc. filed as a Articles of Incorporation on Monday, January 24, 2011 in the state of California and is currently active. Thomas A Moore serves as the registered agent for this organization.
Consumer Affairs Law Center is not registered as a professional corporation.
Domain: calawcenters.com Registered February 10, 2011. Ownership is hidden. (Red Flag)
The site gives the name of only one attorney, Thomas A. Moore. It’s puzzling why Legal Helpers Debt Resolution would terminate a client account and send it to this lawyer that claims all sorts of expertise, except for extensive experience in debt resolution?
Tom has been practicing law for the past twenty years, specializing in complex litigation and business development. Tom attended Chaminade University of Honolulu, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Thereafter, he attended Hastings College of the Law, and immediately began practicing law in the San Francisco Bay Area. After three years of representing clients in high profile litigation in Northern California, Tom was recruited to work for one of the largest law firms in Southern California where he specialized in the representation of pharmaceutical companies and medical devices manufacturers. Tom was later recruited to run the Los Angeles office of a major medical malpractice defense firm, successfully representing hundreds of doctors in the defense of medical malpractice claims. Tom has continued to successfully represent large insurance companies in the negotiation and recovery of million dollar insurance claims, as well as representing large companies in the private sector in commercial/business litigation. Over the last several years Tom has recovered millions of dollars in subrogation on behalf of the Insurance Companies he represents. Presently, Tom is working with a network of attorneys who are helping consumers who need financial restructuring. Through many different types of legal programs available to consumers today, Tom felt like he could help many of those who need help in today’s economy. – Source
The sites doesn’t even really call their services debt settlement. They call it Forensic Mitigation.
“What sets Consumer Affairs Law Center apart from other forensic mitigation, negotiation, or settlement companies?”
Our results speak for themselves. – Source
You have to laugh at their transparency page. There’s nothing on it! – Source
According to the State Bar of California, Thomas A. Moore, is an active member but has his office address at a different location. They state his office is actually located at:
1901 E Alton Ave
Ste 240
Santa Ana, CA 92705 – Source
That’s interesting because it is also the same address as Freedom Financial Management, Freedom Fidelity Management, Global Solutions, Alliance8, and Allstate. – Source
Thomas A. Moore is associated with a number of law groups that are registered as professional corporations, unlike Consumer Affairs Law Center. Alliance Law Group, Blue Ridge Law Group, Brownstone Law Group, Noveck & Moore, Providence Law Group.
Of the law firms Moore is associated with, they appear to be debt relief companies.
Consumer Affairs Processing Center
The Consumer Affairs Law Center letter sent to the consumer to switch to Consumer Affairs Law Center from Legal Helpers Debt Resolution says, “CALC has worked with CAPC for some time and believes they provide the best services in the industry.”
It’s an interesting statement to make in light of the lawsuit filed against Consumer Affairs Processing Center which it states is also Consumer Affairs Legal Center, Inc. Notice the similarity of company names, Consumer Affairs Legal Center, Inc. – Consumer Affairs Law Center, Inc.
The complaint for labor allegations states The Defendants Consumer Affairs Legal Center, Inc. dba Consumer Affairs Processing Center also operated Financial Solutions Legal Center and Financial Solutions Consumer Center.
The class action lawsuit alleges that the Defendants employees people as debt analysts who were improperly compensated. – Source
Consumer Affairs Processing Center is not properly identified in the form sent to the consumer but I believe it may be the company that is incorporated in Wyoming and operating in California.
The Wyoming filings say they used to be Consumer Affairs Legal Center, Inc. but changed their name to Consumer Affairs Processing Center, Inc with its principal office located in California. The president of the company is listed as Dale Steven Weikel. – Source
Consumer Affairs Legal Center, Inc is listed as being located at the same address as Consumer Affairs Law Center, 17461 Derian Ave., Suite 220, Irvine, CA 92614. The active officers are Thomas Lynch, and Dale Weikel.
And it appears that Thomas Lynch had a previous relationship with Legal Helpers Debt Resolution. Lynch was associated with Lynch Financial Solutions that was a part owner of Legal Service Support Group, LLC, a Nevada corporation, with JEM Group, and Century Mitigations. – Source, Source
It appears that sometime between January 2011 and now the membership of LSSG was changed to Century Mitigations, Fast Track, Fusion Client Services, and JEM Group. – Source. Lucky for Lynch.
Lynch Financial Solutions is now under the control of Dale S. Weikel and says it was located at 17462 Derian Ave, Suite 200, Irvine, CA 92614. – Source
Legal Service Support Group (source) and JEM Group was terminated by Legal Helpers Debt Resolution. JEM Group is suing LHDR.
For Me, It Doesn’t Add Up
While there may be some plausible and reasonable innocent explanations I’m left with a number of concerns.
- If Thomas A. Moore, Esq. is such a hot shot in the debt settlement business then why is he associated with so many different companies?
- Why doesn’t Consumer Affairs Processing Center, the alleged “best services company in the industry,” even have a website that can be found?
- If there is any relationship between Consumer Affairs Legal Center and Consumer Affairs Law Center are they both related to Steven Weikel aka Dale Weikel?
- Steven Weikel is not an attorney registered in California and Consumer Law Center is not registered as a professional corporation so is it really a law firm as claimed?
- Why does Thomas A. Moore not list his address with the State Bar of California as the address of Consumer Affairs Law Center?
- Why is the address listed by Thomas A. Moore with the State Bar of California also associated with a number of defunct debt settlement companies?
- Why does Moore have all sorts of sites and all sorts of debt relief companies he is associated with, Including Sierra Pacific Law Group that specializes in foreclosure defense? – Source, Source
- Why does it appear Consumer Affairs Law Center operates out of a small residential house?
- Why would Legal Helpers Debt Resolution take this consumers account from one backend company and switch it to a claimed law firm that is apparently operating out of a small house?
My spider senses are up on this one. It just doesn’t feel right.
And if I was a backend company that had all of my Legal Helpers Debt Resolution clients terminated from me and given to this firm, frankly, I’d be really pissed off right now. How is this better for the consumer?
If anyone has any information about any of the players in this article, please post your comments below.
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Thomas A. Moore has changed his address on the California Bar Association website – It is now 2770 S Harbor Blvd Ste I Santa Ana, CA 92704 – This is the address for “Miracle Debt”
Oh, and it is no longer Moore & Noveck, it’s just Moore Legal Center. Per California Bar Association website, Daniel Noveck is undergoing disciplinary actions for “dishonesty”.
By the way, I have no idea what Dale Weikel is thinking, but he is not the owner of CALC. Thomas Lynch is always who we reported to. Dale Weikel worked in the accounting department.
Wow, this is scary. WE ALWAYS REPORTED TO THE OWNER THOMAS LYNCH, just like Anonymous on 6/05/2012 said. I was in one of the massive lay-off’s two months ago at their down-graded office in Costa Mesa. They had like 15 employees left ! Rumor is the office has dwindled down-to-nothing. Lynch defaulted on the Irvine lease on Derian Avenue and what is left of Consumer Affairs “Law” Center is where I was when laid off in Costa Mesa, camped out in some abandoned/transient type strip-mall offices, where the moldy linoleum flooring was peeling off the cement floors! All I know is that they were talking “company bankruptcy” when I left and not to count on any company unemployment benefits. Please tell that lady who wrote in to get other help or cancel with them before they eat her money.
Hello Steve, This is in reply to Dale S. Weikel’s response stating he is the current and sole owner of Consumer Affairs Processing Center, Inc (CAPC). I was briefly employed with their company a few years ago in a sales/consultant capacity. This ownership is news to me as when I worked there, Mr. Weikel was nothing more than an Accounting Clerk/Go-For Boy for the owner of the company, T. Lynch. Unless Mr. Weikel won the lottery and purchased the company, I am questioning this was just given to him. There may be some legal ramifications why T. Lynch is not truthfully listed as the owner and for whatever reasons they want to masquerade Mr. Weikel as the owner, we will not know. I can tell you I saw some questionable things during my brief employment and the numerous name changes of their company, along with the disasterous affiliation with Legal Helpers Debt Resolution. This affiliation alone with LHDR was edgy with CAPL/CAPC claiming they were a bonafide law firm that could represent clients in the event of creditors filing judgments. I would suggest you recommend to the original consumer (that contacted you about this edgy situation) that she consult with a bankruptcy attorney. A bankruptcy attorney can give her some sound advice to her options and may even be able to assist her in settling the debt.
Steve – I am a former debt analyst/debt consultant that worked for Thomas Lynch and all of his varied companies. The names changed all the time because of different laws that came into the picture. Dale Steven Weikel, I learned and was shocked to say the least, is an ex-felon. I suggest you check this out. Thomas Lynch became affiliated with Legal Helpers Debt Resolution. They have a sorted and nightmare background in Chicago. This was s very short affiliation and Thomas Lynch branced out on his own, creating different companies for different states. To sum it up, yes, it is very puzzling and confusing. Debt settlement companies are not allowed to collect fees up front unless they are a law firm and Lynch Financial Services and his entourage of employees have been attempting to work around this law, thus creating different names. I understand that previous debt consultants that worked for Lynch are trying to be compensated for unpaid wages. Good Luck on that. From what I have heard through the debt settlement industry grapevine, Lynch’s Orange County office is down to a skeleton crew and they are juggling the clients they enrolled previously. I will be following your column to see how this all works out. Why this company and Mr. Lynch have not been shut down by the Attorney General’s Office and the FTC is a mystery to me !!!!
I used the Federal Bureau of Prisons locater and could not locate a past inmate named Dale Weikel. Is your allegation he might have been in state prison?
I was told by more than one fellow employee that not only Mr. Weikel had a criminal background and had been in jail, but also other sorted co-workers of Mr. Lynch.
I emailed Dale and asked him to comment on the allegations of his incarceration. If it’s true and he denies it I’m sure someone else will come forward with more details. This site has the most resourceful readers. If it’s not true I wanted to give him a chance to respond. We will all await his comment then.
I do not believe the Federal Bureau of Prisons is accurate; this most likely was on a state level. Regardless, I saw many red flags during my short employment there and what concerned me the most was the constant changing of company names, the fraudulent and fictious Better Business Report, the changes in scripts we were to follow in sales, and downright disregard for the enrolled clients. The ratio of employees was a revolving-door with unethical/evil personnel supervision so hearing that they have disgruntled sales employees who claim not to have been paid does not surprise me. But then, why should they be different from any of the other hundreds of scam debt settlement companies out there? I was employed there a short time and managed to surprisingly do well, but the whole scenerio left a very bad feeling with me and I happily resigned when offered another position with a reputable organization.
It will be very interesting to see how Mr. Weikel responds to your inquiry regarding his incarceration background. If you do not receive a prompt reply, I would take this as another red flag since he was quick to respond to “Prophet’s” comments on 4/11/2012. I am assuming it would not be difficult to find this information out on a State level with your resources. I only know what I was told during my brief employment there as a sales rep and it appeared to be common knowledge.
Up till this point he has not commented or replied to my email to him. I’ll leave it to others to infer what the silence means.
Steve, This is what I basically expected from Mr. Weikel = no response on your inquiry regarding his criminal background. Yet, he vigoriously responded on 4/11/2012 with a very lengthly email about the allegations of the consumer who had originally contacted you. Please note the following that I have cut & paste from his reply:
Neither LHDR nor CAPC has a direct relationship with Consumer Affairs Law Center or Thomas Moore, Esq.
Important that you understand that CAPC stands for Consumer Affairs Processing Center, they are the administrative back-end for Consumer Affairs Law Center and all of the other numerous company names associated with this business in the last few years. So, YES, I would say there is a direct relationship with Consumer Affairs Law Center ?!!!!
The only thing I can advise is that you contact the original consumer who asked for your help and instruct them to either cancel the program or seek legal counsel before it is too late.
I think the lack of a response is telling indeed.
Hello Steve, this is
Dale S. Weikel responding to Kyle’s false statements on your website. Steve, the
reason I have not responded previously is because I never received an email from
you and I do not frequent your website for these very reasons. I only heard
“through the grapevine” that information about me and CAPC was being put on your
website. I have better things to do with my time, like making sure all CAPC’s
clients are being taken care of as originally promised by LHDR.
First of all, let’s
set the record straight, I have never been convicted, arrested or even charged with commiting a felony, or
a misdemeanor, in either Federal or State court. In addition, Consumer
Affairs Processing Center (CAPC) has never been the administrative back-end for
Consumer Affairs Law Center (CALC) or Thomas
Moore, Esq. CAPC provided the administrative back-end for LHDR.
Furthermore, I don’t know why Kyle is including Thomas Lynch in this thread.
Lynch has nothing to do with CAPC, as I am the sole owner of CAPC.
If Kyle has nothing
better to do and wants to trash Lynch he could do it on Lynch Financial Services
or an LHDR thread. Finally Kyle, if you work for such a reputable organization,
why don’t you tell us your real name, their name and how they operate?
Dale,
You might want to check your spam email. The email I sent to you on April 19, 2012 said:
Dale,
Please respond to the comment about you having a criminal record. You can see the comment and post your response here.
It’s something that should be cleared up if it is not true.
https://getoutofdebt.org//37230/
Steve
Steve,
I just wanted
to respond to the numerous accusations being thrown around your site and clarify
some errors. I am Dale S. Weikel , the current and sole owner of Consumer
Affairs Processing Center, Inc (CAPC). CAPC has been contractually obligated to
service several thousand LHDR clients ever since 2009. Neither LHDR nor CAPC has
a direct relationship with Consumer Affairs Law Center or Thomas Moore, Esq. I
am aware of Mr. Moore from previous dealings and perceive him to be a unique
individual, specifically an attorney with integrity who actually cares about the
client more than the fees being charged. CAPC has endeavored to service LHDR
clients to the best of its ability however, given the recent circumstances
surrounding the numerous law suits against LHDR, creditors are reluctant to
negotiate under the LHDR name , so I’m attempting to insure that as many clients
as possible are taken care of. To that end I have convinced Mr. Moore to be a
“life raft” for the LHDR clients.
Legal Helpers
Debt Resolution clients are getting nervous with all
these articles and uncertainty created by recent events chronicled on your
site. Just like your articles on “Debt Settlement Life Raft Companies”
https://getoutofdebt.org//26799/the-life-raft-plan-to-rescue-consumers-abandoned-by-a-closing-debt-settlement-company
and https://getoutofdebt.org//26800/if-your-debt-settlement-has-recently-failed-these-companies-are-offering-you-help-at-a-very-low-cost,
I’m sure that there are dozens of companies willing to step up for nervous and
scared clients who don’t want to stop mid-stream of their program, but also
don’t want to continue with LHDR. In the previous articles here, it looks like
all third party LHDR service providers were unceremoniously and unexpectedly
dumped, including all sales agents and front end companies. There are demands
to back-ends from LHDR to not contact the clients, but clients tend to be
persistent with wanting what they want no matter what someone says.
Relationships and trust bonds are built between a client and an employee over
the course of a 3 or 4 year program. Calls to the advisor and negotiator
they’ve had for years discussing how that relationship has been interfered with
are probably frustrating and heartbreaking for both parties.
If a client
wants to cancel LHDR altogether due to fear of what is happening, wouldn’t it
make sense to give them an alternative choice? Especially, the ‘Life Raft
Companies’ who will continue where they left off?
We’ll
probably be seeing a lot of reports of LHDR clients looking for alternative
companies to help them complete their programs.
When LHDR
first approached us they represented that they were compliant in all 50 states
and understood the debt resolution process. As demonstrated by the numerous
lawsuits against them including one in their home state of Illinois they
obviously misrepresented their capabilities. Furthermore their actions against
their numerous business partners indicate to me that they appear to lack the
integrity to honor contracts. I would not be able to sleep at night if I did not
attempt to provide a way for the clients to be given the services for which they
have paid. I might also mention that I will not be benefiting in anyway whether
the clients transfer or not. My efforts as always are based on what I feel is
best for the client.
As to the
Cease and Desist request made by Horwood Marcus & Berk, to Consumer Affairs
Law Center, Consumer Affairs Law Center has not poached any LHDR clients so the
request directed at them is meaningless. CAPC is giving LHDR clients an
option.
Dale Weikel
Hello, my name is Karen and I signed up with Consumer Affairs Legal Center back in 2010 and I am having nothing but trouble trying to contact their company regarding creditor problems. I have been following this column for a few months after one of my co-workers saw this column and knew that I had signed up with this program. I keep calling their number at 888-438-8110, which is the customer service number I was given and NO ONE is answering. Are their doors closed? I have tried numerous time to track down Mr. Weikel and the owner of the company, Thomas Lynch, and am reaching a dead end !! Also, the sales rep that signed me up for the program is no where to be found. I am putting a stop on the bank debits they are doing because I am currently in the process of settling the debts myself after my creditors threatened to sue me and garnish my paychecks. This has been a nightmare. I think Mr. Weikel and Mr. Lynch need to be accountable for their actions. Can you tell me if any progress has been made in tracking down these people? After reviewing Mr. Weikel’s response above about how reputable their company is, it was time for me to speak up and hopefully protect other innocent people who were taken by this company.
Hello Karen, or whatever your name really is. My name is
Dale Weikel and I am the sole owner and current President of Consumer Affairs
Processing Center whose name changed from Consumer Affairs “Legal” Center to
Consumer Affairs “Processing” Center back in July 2010 when they started
processing for Legal Helpers Debt Resolution (LHDR). Therefore, Consumer
Affairs “Legal” Center became Consumer Affairs “Processing” Center in July
2010. It appears you are confusing Consumer Affairs “Legal” Center/Consumer
Affairs “Processing” Center with attorney Tom Moore’s Consumer Affairs “Law”
Center.
As I mentioned in my previous post, neither LHDR, nor Consumer
Affairs “Legal” Center/Consumer Affairs “Processing” Center has a direct relationship with Consumer Affairs “Law”
Center or Thomas Moore, Esq. I knew
of Mr. Moore from previous dealings in the industry, but that is the only connection.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Consumer Affairs “Legal”
Center/Consumer Affairs “Processing” Center was one of the many subcontractors
responsible for servicing Legal Helpers Debt Resolution (LHDR) clients. When
LHDR took a dive, I cared about the clients enough to refer them to several
other law firms and other professional organizations as a “life raft” to
properly finish their program as originally promised by LHDR. One of those law
firms was Tom Moore’s Consumer Affairs Law Center.
No consumer
ever signed up directly with Consumer Affairs “Legal” Center/Consumer Affairs
“Processing” Center as all clients signed retainer agreements under the LHDR
name, so you could not have been a client. Since
you posted the phone number of Consumer Affairs “Law” Center, I looked on the Secretary
of State website and Consumer Affairs “Law” Center was incorporated in
1-24-2011, so you could not have signed up with them as a client in 2010. So,
who are you really? You’re probably a disgruntled employee from Consumer
Affairs Legal Center/Consumer Affairs Processing Center. If you are an actual
consumer with debt problems, best of luck settling your own debts when
creditors merely threaten to sue you or garnish your wages.
Check out the first comment under this old article about LHDR’s corruption:
https://getoutofdebt.org//28428/legal-helpers-debt-resolution-slapped-with-class-action-case-in-north-carolina-local-attorney-said-to-be-just-a-front
This was pretty amazing foresight and pretty much sums up in a nutshell what will happen.