ComplaintsforThe Law Office of Thomas J. Maronick Jr., LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I contacted ******** Law for legal services on 6/9/24. After a 16 min phone conversation, I received an oral agreement from Nick ****** confirming the firm would take my case. Nick ****** indicated by phone a fee for consult was $2500, with $1000 deposit, which I paid by credit card on 6/9/24. I emailed sensitive documentation at that time, on 6/9/24. I was told by Nick ****** I could pay the balance, $1500, later, however, in good faith, I paid the $1500 within hours of the original $1000 on 6/9/24. I received auto confirmation of payment rcv'd. I did not receive confirmation of sensitive documents recv'd until I requested receipt at 4pm the next day, on 6/10/24. On 6/9/24, Nick ****** sent a firm-wide notice of my case details in a brief email to a GENERAL MAILBOX which felt like a violation of confidentiality. By 6/11/24, I had not yet been contacted by an attorney or had any recognition of case initiated. On 6/11/24 at approximately 3 pm, I received a contract with incorrect/incomplete information included in the investigation section. Incorrect info included; 1.) incorrect/incomplete information in INFORMATION REQUEST section, 2.) incorrect balance shown (no credit for second payment $1500 on 6/9/24). At this point I decided the law firm did not have my best interest in mind, I lost confidence in their ability to handle my case. I sent multiple emails on 6/14 requesting termination of services and refund. The firm did not return ANY communication. On 7/8/25, I resent the email requesting refund. On 7/8/24 I received an aggressive vm from Tom ******** indicating agreement of continuation of services, amended contract, no refund. On 7/9/24, I received email from COO, Scott ****, acknowledging incorrect contract, a corrected contract, no refund, and my name was spelled incorrectly. Attached is transcript of vm, all email communication, copy of partial contract showing errors. I would like a refund of $2500.00.

  Business response

  07/25/2024

  The terms of this agreement were a flat fee investigation retainer covering ALL matters up to any potential criminal charges. Ms. ******* was overwhelmingly aware of that, and that the firm took on the risk of performing many hours of work for the case before any charges were filed.  Her termination of services, for the reasons stated, were wildly unreasonable, as it appeared she was unhappy about some typographical changes requested in the retainer.  She also claimed we were sharing her "sensitive information" to the team, which we were not.  All information was kept in house and was protected by attorney client privilege.

  The request for a $2500 refund, for which we did work, for which we reviewed her documents, initiated the process and began work, was similarly totally unreasonable.  She was incredibly aware of the terms of the agreement in retaining us.  Perhaps that's why she filed a BBB complaint rather than take 10 minutes to address her concerns with Mr. ****** or another member of the team with a phone call.

  We believe we have no obligation for any refund given the specific terms of the retainer.  However, given that the termination occurred quickly, and for whatever reasons, we have refunded $1500 today on a courtesy basis given that she does not want our services moving forward..

  If she would like Mr. ****** to provide an invoice for the $1000 billed, he's happy to do that.  The $1000 also includes the costs we incur for just running a credit card.

  Customer response

  07/25/2024

  
  Complaint: 22041265
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. I do not agree with the business position that I should be charged $1000.00 to swipe a Visa card.  I will agree to a $250 "set up fee" for work done to produce the contract.  The 16 minute phone call was advertised a free 30 minute consultation.  I would like to be reimbursed the remainder $750. 

  2.  I disagree that I did not reach out to Nick ******.  I sent Mr. ****** a kind and respectful email explaining my reasons for wanting a refund.  I resent the email several times with no response.  When I sent the email on 7/8/24 to a general mailbox, I received an aggressive response from Mr. Maronick, which was intimidating and discouraged me from wanting to connect with the firm by phone.  I did not have confidence that I was going to have a mediated, unbiased conversation with any one person at the law firm.  

  3. I am disappointed and honestly surprised to hear that your firm considers the"typographical errors" insignificant.  I would think that attention to detail would be an essential part of your firm's work ethic. The errors immediately sent me a message that your firm was distracted and sloppy and that I could not trust you. I had a right to advocate for myself and my best interest. 

  4.  Thank you for the refunded $1500.00
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******

  Business response

  07/25/2024

  We will email an invoice.  We did more than simply a "set up" fee.  The characterization of the voicemail response message is unfair.  The customer demanded a full refund despite knowing that she agreed to a $2500 flat fee retainer.  The suggestion that somehow we aren't human and can't make typographical mistakes is unfair.

  Customer response

  07/25/2024

  I would like to change my last response from reject response to accept resolution last response to resolve the case. 
  

  Please advise on next steps.

  Thank you. 
  **** *******

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired this law firm on behalf of my husband on 11/4. We spoke with a lawyer who helped us and made us believe they would help us throughout every step of the process. She requested that a transcript of the court case be ordered to be submitted along with the motion we were trying to file. They then told us a lawyer was assigned to the case. This lawyer never reached out to us or worked on the case. I called to receive an update from him and he didn't even know my husband's name, charges, or anything! I called the firm to request a refund that same day but it was after hours. ****** ******** called me back within an hour to let me know the case was being assigned to another lawyer, Leonard, and we could set up time with him. Nandin, another lawyer, also called me to tell me that Anson, the first lawyer, was leaving the firm but he would be taking over the case to help us. Utter chaos. I trusted their word but of course, they continued to let my husbands file sit. They never reached out to the prison to set up a call with him. They finally submitted the request for the transcript Wednesday, 12/30, a while 4 weeks later. Furthermore, it was submitted incorrectly AND without payment. We paid them $2500 and they have completely dropped the ball. We trusted them and Mr ******** has done nothing to support us. He claimed work has been done on the case, these things take time and information has to be gathered, but none was. Where was it gathered from? And why did it take 4 weeks to complete a simple request. Well, I shouldn't state "complete" because it wasn't even completed. We've wasted a whole month of time by trusting them when my husband could have had a court date scheduled already! We are extremely disappointed and want our money back!

  Business response

  12/09/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/12/09) */ I was not in any way the attorney assigned to handle or responsible for handling this case. I am simply the one responding to this BBB matter. It's interesting. Ms. ****** called me on my personal cell out of nowhere on Monday 12/5/22 demanding that I (not even the assigned attorney) drop whatever I was doing to listen to her wanting to talk about a case. I advised I would be happy to calendar a call IF she could not resolve her concerns with the managing attorney of the law firm, Kirk Seaman when I wasn't driving in the middle of the court day. I specifically advised her that Mr. Seaman handles client matters such as these and would also be happy to calendar in a time to discuss. Rather than call my office, calendar in a call, she angrily called the office demanding a refund, despite our attempts to even be able to speak intelligently about her case. I then called her back once I had even a basic understanding which client this was in an attempt to be responsive. She stated that the attorney assigned the case was retired. Not close to correct. Apparently, she had called the office and asked for "Leon" who is retired, not *******, who is the assigned attorney. I apologized for any confusion caused by the name mix-up. She then proceeded to make demands and assertions without us having remotely the opportunity to review the case file and get back to her, which of course she was originally offered. I informed her that if she wanted to terminate our services, on behalf of the client, that was entirely her right. I advised that we would draw up an invoice again through KIRK SEAMAN whose information she was given once again, the managing attorney of the firm. I told her that generally that an invoice takes a week to process. She claimed she would look forward to what we invoiced and claimed we did "nothing" despite records indicating the opposite. I informed her that we would only bill for the time spent if we were indeed being terminated. She instead of apparently either bothering to call Kirk to discuss the matter, or give us reasonable time to draft the invoice, as we are required to do, decided to write a bad BBB review. While in this case there appears to have been an administrative hang-up in getting what we needed, this is something that happens sometimes and a delay of a couple more weeks that we would like is unfortunate, but certainly not unreasonable. We nevertheless strive to get the work done without administrative delays. We will certainly end our work as she clearly wants to go another direction, but angrily making claims and not giving us the time to process her invoice isn't the way to do it. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/12/13) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Mr. ******** wants to pick and choose when he handles matters, and when he does not. Again, we were handled by multiple lawyers at the firm. I'd spoken to him once and he was reassuring, but now all of a sudden he couldn't help because he wasn't the assigned lawyer. So what made you help before when you were driving and not assigned? Kirk Seaman has never responded to an email or a call of mine. I was told on Friday that he would get me an invoice and process a refund. It's Tuesday and still nothing! I've asked for a refund three times now and they've left me no choice but to leave bad reviews. $2500 is not chump change to my family. They took advantage of me and continue to ignore me. I want a full refund! Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/12/14) */ Mr. ****** was emailed again today to expedite the processing of the invoice. Again, Ms. ****** has been told that Mr. Seaman will be handling. Mr. Seaman, as per his duty to her, will finalize the invoice, determine what portion of the fee was earned, only invoice for that, and all unused retainer will be returned to her. These matters take time because a review of the file has to occur before the invoice can be finalized. Mr. Seaman is working on this and will be handling. Ms. ******'s strange contention that Mr. ******** who courteously took her call to try to assist with her questions is somehow "picking and choosing" when to handle a case simply doesn't concur with the facts. Mr. ******** was never involved in this matter except to attempt to provide an immediate response to Ms. ******. He was never at any point the attorney of record in this case. The refund is being worked on and as soon as the invoice is complete such will be provided by Mr. ****** to Ms. ****** including a refund for any unused retainer. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/12/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Please see attached where Mr. ********, himself, said an invoice would be produced within a week. It is now Thursday, four days past when they said an invoice would be produced and it still has NOT! Mr. ******** wants to paint me as the angry Black woman instead of taking accountability for his law firm. As long as we were playing their waiting game, it was fine. It's called ******** Law. Kirk Seaman, again, has never replied to a call or email of mine. This law firm is full of dishonest and incompetent people. I am extremely disappointed and have also filed a complaint with my bank. Business Response /* (1000, 21, 2022/12/23) */ We provided a partial refund. After review, we determined that a full refund was not warranted. We did however refund $2000 out of a $2500 retainer. We billed only for the work performed and costs, refunded all else. It is important to note that the information we have suggests Ms. McGill sought out friends of hers to write spammy, fake bad reviews on Google to discredit us, we assume in an attempt to get us to provide a great-than-warranted refund. I think in evaluating our response it is important to evaluate the actions of the person making the claim. We provided the refund despite the actions of Ms. McGill. Consumer Response /* (3000, 23, 2023/01/03) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I never requested any friends to leave poor reviews. Any reviews they've received are a result of their terrible ethic and dishonesty; but they do not take accountability for falling short. If you read their reviews you'll see that they are very combative and argumentative if you so happen to have a bad experience, which I'm sure you will. Again, I am working on getting the remainder of the $500 from my bank. This firm has lied repeatedly about the work that they did. FIVE WEEKS and they did not even contact their client, my husband. They charged me $500 for "creating a file." TOTAL SCAM. I would not recommend anyone use them, especially people of color. Business Response /* (4000, 25, 2023/01/06) */ Obviously there is nothing further to discuss with this payor of a client. Despite a long history of defending people of color, including a successful pro bono representation in a high profile Ocean City case, and a diverse staff including Latino, African-American, female, and South Asian team members this payor has chosen to make a fee dispute a race issue. We won't have further comment. If BBB chooses to lower our rank due to not wishing to further engage this client payor, that's on the BBB's discretion.

• Initial Complaint

  03/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  * July 3rd 2021--Agreed to flat fee for legal representation. * July 22nd -- I informed my attorney of my August 20th court date. * August 2nd -- I was informed by my attorney another attorney would be representing me. I could not get a response from my attorney after this date no matter how many times I texted, emailed or called. * August 16th - I asked again for the attorney's name who would be representing me. * August 18th -- Emailed my attorney and the main office. I was able to get a response from Tom at the main office. * Tom informed me he was not aware of my court date. My attorney had relayed no information to the main office, so even 48 hours prior to my court appearance the court had no idea I had representation and the attorneys office had no idea about my court date. * My original attorney informed me he could represent me and I would not have to drive back to Ocean City. Later he said my appearance could not be waived. When in court other attorneys were able to represent their clients without them being present. Did my attorney even ask the court - l I did just find out the main office knew nothing about my case and the court was unaware I had representation. Can they show me that document? * Tom was not sympathetic to the situation and was more worried about me paying my second half of the fee which I did. * After paying the second half of my fee, I was emailed papers to sign. Within two days of my court date they sent paperwork for me to sign that included additional fees to what I had verbally agreed to prior. These papers should have been provided prior to my first payment. * I had no opportunity to speak with my new attorney until I had less than 2 hours to be in court. * I asked if he looked at my document with the details of what took place, and he said no. He even showed up late to court. * Since he was late he told me to take the same deal that those who had no representation were getting. * See attached Document for details

  Business response

  03/24/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/16) */ First of all we are sorry to hear Mr. ******* report a less than excellent overall experience. We however stand by our work in the case, which will be discussed herein. In some but not all cases, appearances can be waived. In this case the attorney in question Asher W. reported not being able to get the appearance waived or not being able to clearly secure that it would be OK to waive an appearance, which could have been simply not obtaining that from the State. We make no representations as to what contact he may have o rmay not have had with the State as the case is nearly 7 months old and Mr. W. is no longer with the firm. Generally though if his lawyer could not secure that clearly, Mr. *******, as is the rule, would have to appear unless that was secured. In general, on any "must-appear" criminal matter, a defendant is required to appear unless the consent of the State is provided. In instances where any lawyer or law firm is conflicted in two different places, in some cases another lawyer who is part of the firm may be assigned the matter, as is clearly indicated in our retainer agreements. In this case, Mr. ******* did pay his fee in full but only 2 days before the court date so the suggestion that he was paying in full quickly is not correct. The attorney assigned, an experienced former prosecutor with years of experience as an of counsel with our firm, secured a fantastic disposition, in which the case was ultimately dismissed. As proof, there is nothing on Case Search indicating the case even exists under a search on the name of the defendant and also under the case number. Due to the work of our firm, the Defendant's case was dismissed and he got a fantastic result. While we are sorry if there was any confusion from any member of our staff, we stand by our results. He received competent assistances of two different firm attorneys with great experience. Their combined efforts resulted in the ultimate dismissal of his case. We however are happy to discuss this matter with Mr. ******* if he could call our office with any further questions. We always want our clients to have a great experience and always are looking for ways to improve.

*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. ↩