ComplaintsforLifeLong Adoptions

• Initial Complaint

  08/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Lifelong Adoptions scammed my wife and I out of more than $17,000 + fees and interest.They assured us that they were a reputable adoption agency; however they did nothing for us as soon as the contract was signed, disappearing from the face of the earth. They eventually set us up with a coordinator, who selected several birth moms who either were clearly not interested or had already previous went with someone else.

  

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  Hi ******. The team at LifeLong Adoptions has helped thousands of families on their adoption journey. We document every interaction with each of our adoptive parents and our records show that you were chosen by five prospective birthmothers and had more than 72 contacts with our staff. To be clear, we do not "select birthmoms." Prospective birthmothers choose the families they are interested in. They make the selections, not us. Your family had extremely narrow adoption preferences, only being open to one specific racial combination for almost the entire duration of your contract. Even so, you were still chosen five different times, which is a true testament to the success of our marketing. One of those prospective birthmothers chose your profile from our website, but you were not open to the type of post-placement communication she wanted, another area you were very limited on, but the other four times you were chosen, you got to know some amazing women considering adoption as an option. From the beginning, we are very transparent about what our services do and do not entail. Our services include nationwide adoption marketing and advertising and a 24-hour birthmother response team. This is also clear in our contract, which you voluntarily signed and initialed in order to engage our services. Those services are what you paid for. We don't know what you're referring to by "with interest;" you never paid us any interest and we never charged you any. We're sorry you did not accept our offer to extend your contract time, but we wish you all the best as you move forward. 
  

  Customer response

  09/04/2023

   
  "Your family had extremely narrow adoption preferences, only being open to one specific racial combination for almost the entire duration of your contract."
  

  This is a 100% blatant, bold face lie.  We had initially selected a preference for a bi-racial child (which was strongly recommended by your agent early on btw), but then immediately switched to open to any ethnicity within 3 month to 6 months.

   

  "One of those prospective birthmothers chose your profile from our website, but you were not open to the type of post-placement communication she wanted, another area you were very limited on,..."

  I don't remember the specifics, but if I remember correctly she wanted us to spend about $2,000 a year on travel arrangements in order to be able to see the child twice a year, among other things.  But nice way of phrasing it:  "...but you were not open to the type of post-placement communication she wanted..."

   

  "From the beginning, we are very transparent about what our services do and do not entail."

  Another lie.  Your adoptive coordinator at the very beginning was has multiple times mentioned that you guys are a full service adoption agency with a 99%+ success rate.  Off course, conveniently for you, the entire conversation was verbal via zoom while you buried the fine details in fine print.

   

  "This is also clear in our contract, which you voluntarily signed and initialed in order to engage our services. Those services are what you paid for."

  Oh spare me the legalese.  You had verbally told us a bunch of lies regarding what your services are over Zoom; but might have snuck in a bunch of legalese which contradicted what you told us to your behinds.   If you have the 99% success rate that you claim that you have, then you should be able to afford the full refund to the supposed few people who the adoptions did not go through. 

  

  Business response

  09/08/2023

  ******, when you started with us in June of 2020, you were open to only one specific racial combination and you were open to only one of three types of post-placement communication. Though we never want families to open up to something they are not comfortable with, your initial preferences were so exceptionally narrow and drastically limiting your exposure as a result. We are very transparent about how a family's choices affect their exposure and adoption timeline, and your coordinator suggested multiple times to consider opening up your preferences to some degree. According to our documentation, your coordinator discussed this with you multiple times: on July 14, 2020; on July 1, 2021; and again on Feb 7, 2022. On Feb 8, 2022, almost two years into your contract, you chose to open up your racial preferences. A month later, on March 10, 2022, you chose to open up your post-placement preferences as well. Up until that point, your family had been chosen by two different expectant mothers; however, after opening up your preferences, your family was chosen by three different expectant mothers in just four months.
  
  The reason you don't remember specifics about the particular expectant mother we mentioned is because we did not give you any details about her. That talking opportunity was not set up because your preferences were so limited at the time and you were not open to the type of post-placement communication she was looking for in her adoption plan. The details you mentioned are not those of her situation, nor any other situation you were presented with.
  
  As we said, our services are explained in detail many times before and after a family signs on with us: in our meeting overview, during our informational meeting, in multiple places throughout our contract, during the onboarding process, and during regular education calls. Our contract does not contain any fine print and is very clear about what our services include: national marketing and advertising, adoption coordination, and a 24-hour birthmother response team.
  
  Again, we're sorry this journey did not end the way we had all hoped it would, but we continue to wish you and your family the best.

  Customer response

  09/18/2023

   

   Quit making excuses and quit gaslighting me.  Quit twisting my words and quit twisting facts.

  (1)  Yes, I initially marked a preference for a bi-racial child, but then almost immediately changed it to open.  For the vast majority of our journey (maybe close to 21 out of 24 months) our selected preference was indifferent.  Quite frankly, the fact that you would twist the facts and take those initial 3 months and try to make it look like it was our preference is a joke, and shows just how despicable you people are.

  (2)  I don't even know what you mean by "placement settings".  Sounds like you intentionally snuck in a poison pill option in there, just so that you have a fall back excuse why we weren't getting matches.

  (3)  Again, your people have on multiple occasions made promises that you have a 90 to 99% success rate; although you will likely deny that you have made those promises.  Did you or did you not make that claim?

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife and I would like to lodge a formal complaint against Lifelong Adoptions. This is a small self-descriptive excerpt from their website: As a gay and l****** adoption friendly agency, LifeLong Adoptions believes in LGBT adoption, and specializes in assisting LGBT couples and individuals. Our philosophy is based on one-on-one guidance, providing adoptive parents with an adoption specialist to guide you through the process. At times it seems that they present themselves as an adoption agency, and at others as a marketing agency.We paid ****** to Lifelong Adoptions on August 14th, 2020. This is when we entered a 2 year contract with the agency for representation. Based on our backgrounds, what we were looking for, and the profile we set up, we were told that they would be surprised if it took longer than 5 months to have a successful adoption. We were told, at worst, it would take a year with us. After 3 years of being told we have amazing website metrics, we have had nothing but financial and emotional strife.According to their website, they are the nation's leader in LGBTQ+ adoptions. They believe that every birth mother deserves to be treated with respect and dignity and that each adoptive parent should receive the highest quality of service.We do not feel that we have been treated with respect and dignity in our experience with the agency. They have presented us to various birthmothers and we have been connected 4 times. In those 4 connections, we have had varied experiences with the birth mother, but consistently bad experiences with Lifelong.The first mother ceased communication with all parties and Lifelong didn't reach out to us, we reached out to them. In the second adoption, a birthmother wanted to place a 3 year old. Lifelong adoptions gave us the information they had available to them which was incomplete. We were told that happens at times especially when the mother is pregnant and things are unknown, which was not applicable to this case. Lifelong also told us that the birth mother was nervous because a family had previously walked away from the adoption. This should have been seen as a red flag to investigate, but Lifelong took the information received at face value. The birth mother did not have custody of any children. We found this out after hiring a lawyer and social worker referred to us by Lifelong. They determined this information shortly after reaching out to the birth mother. I understand that proof of pregnancy may be difficult to get, but proof of a 3 year old child should be within reason for Lifelong to obtain information about. Lifelong did not reach out to support us, we again had to reach out to them.In the 3rd case, we connected with another birth mother. Things seemed to be progressing well in this case too, but she was never able to connect with our attorney. Communication from her ceased after a month. Again, we reached out to Lifelong and asked that they reach out to us when adoptions fall through. The last connection was the hardest. Things happened so quickly that it felt like it was actually going to happen. It started off with a birth mother due a month from when we were talking to her. Then she went into labor shortly after being connected with us. She also surprised us with the prospect of another child who was 1 years old. As usual we did everything in our power to make things work. We retained the people recommended by Lifelong, we kept in contact, and stood by despite many challenges that arose. The entire process was out of the ordinary once the process started; Police and CPS were involved in this particular case. We were strung along and it resulted in another failed adoption. We still did not get an experience where a specialist guided us through the process. We understand that Lifelong is not in control of birthmother situations, but all we asked for was a bit of support through a difficult process. Mostly throughout this process we have felt deceived by them and their practices. On May 17th, we received a call from our case carrier who informed us of a new birth mother that we would be able to connect with. We had been told on May 11th that our contract would be expiring and would need to give notice by May 18th in order to renew our contract. In the phone call on the 17th, our case carrier told us that she could give us a complimentary 3 month contract extension. We were told that the paperwork would be processed and we should receive a notification. We thanked her and found out two days later that the mother had chosen to go with another family. On June 9th, 2023, we received a letter indicating the end of our contract with Lifelong Adoptions. Before this instance, we had been renewed a few times. Sometimes we were told that the renewal had to go before a board and that we had to submit a plea as to why we should get a complimentary extension. We did so, and it was approved. Another time we were asked if we wanted to renew and our carrier at the time said that they could approve it right then and there. We inconsistently received updates or renewal letters after these instances.We had some issues with an agency being backed ** in DC and not being able to process our home study in a timely manner. We were told by Lifelong that we could pause our contract and resume it when our home study went through. We thanked them and said that we would like to do so. It never took effect, and we just had several months where our profile remained inactive.I am writing this today to ensure that other couples are not subjected to this process. Lifelong presented itself as an adoption agency that wanted to provide marketing, guidance, and support to an inclusive population. In actuality, we dealt with a marketing agency with inconsistent contract renewal/extension practices, limited transparency, and inconsistent follow through of actions told on the phone. When examining the services we received: a digital profile on their website, a pamphlet, names of lawyers in different states they recommend, intermittent phone calls, and occasional updates of website metrics, it does not seem to be worth the $******.

  

  Business response

  06/20/2023

  Hi **** & ******. We are deeply sorry that none of the eight expectant mothers you worked with ended up choosing you to ultimately place their child with. Having been chosen so many times, your profile was obviously very attractive. You were a wonderful family to work with you were open-minded, acted with *******, and were always willing to take a chance on whatever opportunity that came your way. We couldn't ask for more in a family for our prospective birthmothers! We really wish we could guarantee a successful placement for you and all the other wonderful and deserving families that we work with, but, due to the unpredictable nature of adoption, we simply cannot. 

  Customer response

  06/21/2023

   
  Complaint: 20200161
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This issues I highlighted were not addressed.

  1.Communication was intermittent and lacking between Lifelong and us throughout, especially when we had extreme cases. We did not feel like we had a specialist that was there to "provide guidance through the process."
  

  2. There seemed to be many inconsistencies in rules and practices when it came to contract renewals. In mid August of 2022, we were coming up on our contract expiration. We were in contact with *** because there was a birth mother we had connected with. Many issues arose involving CPS, elopement from the hospital, and police. Needless to say, the adoption fell through and while talking with *** on the phone, she mentioned our contract expiration. She told us that she could extend the contract at that moment. She was vague about the details of length, but the following day, we received a 3 month extension from ******.

  In October of 2022, between the 19th and 21st, 3 emails were exchanged between myself and Lifelong in regards to contract renewal. We were told that we could apply for an extension that would be granted by a board. There did not seem to be an explanation as to why it was automatic the first time and that an application had to occur the 2nd time. We received an extension letter again from ****** for 3 months.

  At the end of 2022/beginning of 2023 we were given a new adoptive parent coordinator. Whereas we had been working with *****, now we were working with *****. There were a lot of miscommunications and her missing our appointments from the beginning. We spoke on the phone in January and discussed with her the February expiration of the contract. This is when we were told that we could pause our contract while we waited for our home study documents to come back to us as well as get an extension. We received no documentation about either item, however, our contract expiration came 3 months after our February expiration.There was no application to fill out or anything, just a person being able to approve or not approve extension.

  My wife and I experienced a major lack of transparency and a process that was confusing and inconsistent. We were told different things a different times throughout the process and what was said had inconsistent follow through.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  

  Business response

  07/11/2023

  We're sorry you remain unsatisfied with your experience. As we said, you were a pleasure to work with and we're truly sorry your journey didn't end the way we all hoped it would. Regarding the specifics you outlined above, you are welcome to give us a call and we'd be happy to discuss them further with you.

  Customer response

  07/13/2023

   
  Complaint: 20200161
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Unfortunately direct contact with Lifelong has been ineffective and is how this issue arose. According to the last conversation in May that I had with the case **************************, we were given a 3 month extension and days later our contract was terminated without cause. I decided to bring this to the attention of the Better Business Bureau, because as a company you have been deceptive in your practices.

  Now, instead of admitting fault, after almost 3 weeks, I have received an unsatisfactory response that adds nothing to the dialogue. There is a pattern emerging in this dialogue where I state the issues, Lifelong does not address the issue, no progress is made, and I am given 7 days to decide if their response is satisfactory. 

  Your response is unsatisfactory. I will continue to choose this Better Business Bureau medium in lieu of "giving you a call" since it has given the opportunity for a third party to be present while a full record of communication is preserved. Frankly speaking, I do not trust what Lifelong may say in a private conversation given the history.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  

  Business response

  07/13/2023

  Hello, 
  
  I'm writing on behalf of my client, LifeLong Adoptions in regard to the open complaint from ******************* (Complaint ID: *********. The company submitted its second response to that complaint today.
  
  **************' desired settlement is a "billing adjustment," but LifeLong's contract is "not refundable in whole or in part," so we ask that the complaint be closed. I have attached a screenshot from the LifeLong Adoptions contract that ******************* and his wife signed when they started working with the company. The screenshot is the cost section that specifies the contract is not refundable, and also shows where they both initialed that section. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any more information.
  
  Thank you,
  
  -- 
  *********************** | electriceasel

  Customer response

  07/24/2023

  Complaint: 20200161
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  Hello,

  I am sorry for the delay.

  My wife and I were traveling and I did not have a moment to sit down and write my response.

  I hope this message is going to the right place as there didn't seem to be a button for me to directly reply in the complaint thread.

  I understand what the representative from lifelong shared. I see the section from the contract that has been shared that states that refunds are not given in part or whole.

  If that is the case and there are no extenuating circumstances, then I would like them to honor the contract in full and give me the time (5 months) I was promised.

  I would like the two months that our profile was supposed to be paused and the 3 months that I was told I would be given.

  
  

  Thank you for your time,

  *******************;

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

• Initial Complaint

  06/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We contracted with Lifelong Adoptions to pursue our dream of expanding our family in good faith. Lifelong did not operate in good faith and provided no support or material product for us. Before signing the contract we were met with very high pressure by a salesman named ****. Lifelong suggests it limits its number of prospective parents which appears to be a marketing tactic; their website boasts "one seat left" and utilizes a high-pressure sales methodology to pressure prospective parents, preying on their emotional state, to coerce signing a contract and ultimately paying $18,200. After signing, communications reduced greatly. Updates were general statements suggesting our profile was "floated" to expecting mothers regularly, though Lifelong has not been able to provide specifics as to when/where it was provided. Our coordinator changed. The new coordinator did not know our profile and made references to it in error. Not once did we receive an apology throughout. We understand SEO/SMO metrics and can see clearly that this company uses marketing dollars to source prospective parents - not expecting mothers. It is understood now they expect prospective parents to source their own babies. The company also prominently featured a thrupple (three-person-relationship) on the first page as a prospective family. We felt that the value of our marriage/relationship/family was discounted and this feature may have caused expecting mothers to discount Lifelong's credibility. This company and its sister company, **************, co-operate as "independent contractor of" *********************** Services of ********, and share poor reviews and complaints by BBB, which have been removed.We are seeking total refund of $18,000 in consideration for our disappointing experience and lack of performance under our agreement. We have noted on this site that others have received this same refund as recently as this year and expect nothing less.

  

  Business response

  06/19/2023

  Hi *******. We do not pressure anyone we work with neither prospective adoptive parents nor prospective birthmothers to make any decision they are not comfortable with. We are very open about the fact that we cannot control the decisions of those we work with during their adoption journey, nor would we want to; rather we respect whatever decisions they do make. Also, we do not prey on anyone. In fact, everyone that seeks information about our services contacts us, not the other way around. Our expert-level adoption marketing and advertising provide our waiting families with unparalleled exposure to increase their chances of being chosen by a potential birthmother. Our strategies are proven effective and our methods of providing a no-pressure environment for expectant mothers to explore adoption is the ethical approach we will always take. We clearly explain our services to potential adoptive families, multiple times, at the onset of the relationship to allow them to make the best choice for them based on their unique situation. Regarding the three-person family you mentioned: LifeLong does not discriminate in any way against families who wish to adopt with us, including those with unconventional familial arrangements, and we absolutely do not support your blatant discrimination against those same families. While you may feel like that particular family discredited our company, we feel the exact opposite and are proud of our inclusive policies. Finally, we view every placed child as a miraculous and selfless gift from an expectant mother, not "material product" for you to receive. LifeLong has provided the contracted-for services, so a refund is not an option. We're sorry our services turned out to not be the right fit for you and your family, but we still wish you the best.

  Customer response

  06/19/2023

   
  Complaint: 20176244
  
  I am rejecting this response because Lifelong Adoptions still cannot provide any evidence of when and at what frequency our profile was provided to prospective birth mothers (Section 2 of the agreement states that "LifeLong develops extensive strategies ot optimize internet marketing search and print advertising media; create a personal adoptive parent profile; present Client's profile to prospective birthmothers; coordinate birthmother communications through phone calls and emails 24 hours a day; provide adoption referrals; provide Quad A referrals; and provide home study services referrals, networking, and adoption resources.") - it appears the only material work completed by Lifelong is the production of the online profile.

  In 2 years, we did not receive a single call, inquiry or other correspondence from an expecting mother. Our first complaint to Lifelong was met with suggestions to update our profile, which we did. Months later, when we complained of a continued lack of engagement, our new coordinator suggested we upload a video (which we had already done - she clearly did not know our profile). Coincidentally, the following weekend (appearing to cover her mistake), she let us know an anonymous person had viewed our page and left an internal message exclaiming how wonderful our profile was. The timing must be more than coincidental as we didn't receive a single piece of feedback or any requests or other information in 2 years. 

  We operated with good faith under the agreement and feel that Lifelong did not. Lifelong still boasts "one seat left" every month (see attached photos from May and June 2023), suggesting there is some upper limit to the number of families they will represent which appears to be misleading. Every time we would complain of our experience we would be told to be patient and that our experience is typical. Since the termination of our contract and multiple complaints, we were offered a one-time short term extension to our contract which we have declined. We request a refund in full - $18,200 - to cover the 2+ years' loss in our journey to become parents.

  Until this refund is received we will continue with investigations by both Attorneys General from ******** and ****** (where Lifelong is not registered with the Secretary of State as of this posting for either state), and will follow up on our complaints with ******** ***** of ***** & ****** Services and Lutheran ***** & ****** Services. We have no other option but to file a complaint with the ********** of ******** Protection to prevent other families from experiencing unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by Lifelong Adoptions. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ************************* & *****************************

  

  Business response

  06/21/2023

  Our contract does not guarantee that you will be chosen by a prospective birthmother. What our contract does guarantee is strategic marketing and advertising services in order to provide you with exposure to prospective birthmothers. You claim we did not provide any "evidence" of our services; however, during the time your profile was active, we sent you five separate reports detailing the results of our marketing efforts on your behalf: the first report was sent on 10/5/2021, the second was sent on 1/5/2022, the third was sent on 4/5/2022, the fourth was sent on 7/5/2022, and the fifth was sent on 10/5/2022.
  
  While we provide exposure for our waiting families, this process does require a level of effort on the family's part as well. It took you five months to complete your adoptive family profile and ten months to submit your preferences both of those delays affected our ability to market you effectively. In the six months following your orientation call with your coordinator, she reached out to you seven times with no response. Shortly after, you complained about "virtually no communication" from us; however, you also admitted to having ignored those messages from your coordinator. Our profile department also reached out to you four times to initiate a profile update and never received a response. Furthermore, our business attorney has reached out to you multiple times over the past month in an attempt to resolve this complaint amicably, but again, you have not responded to them. 
  
  LifeLong has provided the contracted-for services, and our contract is non-refundable. We understand you are upset and frustrated at having not been chosen, and we are truly sorry that is how your journey ended; however, we have no control over which families are chosen by expectant mothers. We wish we could guarantee every one of our loving and deserving adoptive families an opportunity, but we simply cannot. 

  Customer response

  06/29/2023

  
  Complaint: 20176244
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  During the high-touch, high-pressure sales process, **** assured us there is a "99% guarantee for placement." What is evidenced by the number of unhappy folks who were scammed out of $18k with no placement, there is more than 1% of prospective families who fail to receive placement. 

  After joining we stopped receiving updates. ***** suggested she didn't have my email address to provide updates from June 2020 to January 2021 (although it was provided on the contract, in discussions with ****, in correspondence with ****, AND in previous calendar invitations sent by *****).  

  The agency cannot provide specific information on specific dates our profile was delivered. It has generic numbers that are not quantified; were they the number of total visitors to Lifelong's website? How many times was our paper profile served at hospitals? Which hospitals?

  The agency cannot provide any details on SEO/SMO spend for how to source birth mothers. Our research indicates they spend marketing dollars on the contrary, sourcing and preying on more revenue from prospective adoptive parents. We have requested this information and the agency declines to respond to the request. 

  Our process was delayed (and contract timing on hold) following 3 consecutive deaths in our immediate family. Subsequently in 2022, we understood a grace ****** for yet another death of one of our parents. These were all documented with our coordinator, so we reject wholly any claims against any suggestion of a delay in response from us. We have operated in good faith since the inception and received no measurable benefit. 

  Lifelong and it's sister company, Angel *********************** are not registered to do business in the state of ****** despite marketing to families here. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer response

  08/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  Good afternoon, We would like to formally resolve the complaint (#********), though it appears there is no way to complete this online via the complaint management portal. I will follow up with a phone call to this same request but appreciate direction on how to close and resolve this as soon as possible. Thank you, ************************* ************ ************ ****************************

  Sent from ************************* (***********************************)

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩