Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I hired Amourgis and Associates 2-3 months ago to handle my bankruptcy case. I have spoken to my Attorney once and that was when they took my fee $1745.00. since then all documents have been submitted more than once. Multiple calls have bee made and appointments set up to have phone calls with my attorney or assistant all to be cancelled or they just never call. I have emailed multiple times I only just started getting a response. I was served garnishment papers that have to be filed immediately and ***** will return my call with a status of if my case has been filed or what I am to do with these paper I have received. I am told my attorney is too busy to call me, but yet I paid them and I am a client just as the other clients. I can not afford to have my wages garnished and this is absolutely ridiculous I am having this much trouble. My case should be closed or something, not me receiving garnishment papers

  

  Business response

  09/12/2023

  This matter has been resolved.  We reached out to the client by phone on 8/1, 8/2, 8/8, 8/10, and 8/24.  On 8/24 we received a call back from the client regarding a wage garnishment.  We called the client again on 8/28 and then on 8/29.  We received a call back from the client on 8/29.  On August 30th, we called the client at 8:41 a.m.,10:52 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 12:14 p.m. and then at 4:45 p.m. we were able to talk to the client and conduct her signing appointment so we could get her case filed and shut down any attempt to garnish her wages.  We filed her case on August 31st and Attorney ******************* emailed the manager at her employer on August 31st at 11:39 a.m. that the bankruptcy had been filed so that a wage garnishment would not proceed.  ***************************** confirmed that she received the email from **** on August 31st at 4:49 p.m. 
  
  Attorney ***************** contacted ***************************** on September 11th as there was a notice that was received from the BBB late in the evening on September 8th.  ******** advised that she did not file a BBB complaint on 9/8 but instead back on August 29th prior the bankruptcy being filed.  Everything has been resolved but she wanted another email sent to the manager of her employer to make sure the wage garnishment does not proceed.  No funds were taken from her paycheck to date since we notified her employer of the bankruptcy filing on August 31st. I emailed the manager at her employer again per her request to make sure the wage garnishment does not continue.  This matter has been resolved and the clients wages were never garnished.  

  Customer response

  09/14/2023

   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, except for early dates in August they never called they did not contact me until I started multiple times a day.

• Initial Complaint

  08/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I hired Amourgis Law Associates on 2/21/2023 to represent me in a Bankruptcy case. I have sent all documents as well as paid all fees needed to proceed in my filing. Since hiring Amourgis I have received two summons from Montgomery County Courts to respond to credit card debit. I have sent both Summons to Amourgis without any response. On August 1st my Savings/ Checking account were garnished leaving me $550 to live on. After receiving a letter stating they had garnished my accounts I reached out to Amourgis Law on August the 6th with an email and still have not gotten a response. I am over whelmed by the lack of response and the inability of this ********** not to have already closed my case. Please help me in getting a Lawyer from Amourgis to contact me ASAP. Sincerely *****************************.

  

  Business response

  08/21/2023

  We sincerely appreciate the BBB reaching out to us on this case.  Immediately upon receipt of the notification, we reached out to ***************** and we also simultaneously conducted an investigation in the matter.  We discovered that ****************** had not been receiving updates on his file as frequently as he should have been.  We had internally corrected the error that resulted in him not receiving updates in the two weeks or so prior to his request for assistance.   We also immediately scheduled and held an in-person meeting during which ****************** and his attorney arranged a final timeline for the filing of his case. 
  
  Finally, I have also provided my personal direct contact information to *******************  I do not expect he will experience any similar issues with our firm, but I wanted him to be able to reach me directly if he felt as though he was unable to communicate with us at any point in the future.
  
  ***********************************, Esq

  Customer response

  08/22/2023

   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.

• Initial Complaint

  06/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hired company to assist with setting up payment arrangements to creditor. And have been paying payments since July 2022 until my wages were garnished in May 2023. Attorney never worked on my case, and my wages have been garnished due to their negligence.

  

  Business response

  06/27/2023

  While we appreciate and understand Ms. ******' frustration with the process, participation and cooperation from our clients is necessary in order for us to properly and fully represent them, regardless of the case type. In Ms. ******' case, the initial delay in her case resolution is because she had not paid her retainer fees in full.   For clarification, her file was opened in July of 2022 and to date, we have received $500 of a $599 retainer fee and have over $2,400 in unrecoverable time spent on her behalf.  This did cause a delay because we do not typically work debt settlement cases until the client has paid the retainer fees in full. In this case, we did make an exception because as the case went on further due to the fact retainer fees had not been paid in full, as well as the fact that Ms. ******' terms and conditions of said debt settlement were challenging, her debt became garnished.  We continued to diligently negotiate with opposing counsel to obtain an agreement for a debt settlement that met Ms. ******' terms.   We have advised her repeatedly what her best course of action would be and what would best protect her interests; however, she continues to refuse our guidance, while refusing any and all reasonable attempts to settle her debt through settlement negotiations.  

  Again, we appreciate the frustration of the process; however, to imply that we took her money and did not do our job is - simply put - factually incorrect.  You will see by the attached email as recent as this morning from her attorney to Ms. ****** the summarization of the negotiations, as well as a summary of the history of this file.  Should you require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out; we are happy to accommodate.

  Many thanks.

  Amourgis & Associates

  Customer response

  07/03/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Out of negligence no action was taken and I hired y’all last July 2022 the record show no one worked on my case until the garnishment. Which is unacceptable when I was still paying. Even results aren’t guaranteed action should have taken for a better outcome. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The end of September 2022 I had a consultation in regard to a bankruptcy claim. I made payment arraignments towards the bankruptcy case to be filed. I was told nothing will be done until I complete payment of $1700 plus dollars which covered cost of attorney and filling fees with the court as well as the documentation to be completed. I made my first payment on 10-3-2022. I have never completed or submitted any documentation. I only made payments towards the total sum to insure I didn't accumulate billable hours.in case I wanted to cancel and get a full refund, 1-5-2023 I called to cancel and to inform them I wanted a full refund. After the unsuccessful attempt to get me not to cancel, I was told I would be sent an itemized bill for $330 plus dollars for services rendered. There wasn't any services rendered other than them charging my debit card for $75 dollars a week since 10-3-2022 which accumulates to $1050. My paperwork has not even been started.

  

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  We are in receipt of the BBB complaint filed by **************** and have fully reviewed it.  The end result is that we will agree to submit a full refund to the client in exchange for his agreement to not dispute the charges on his credit card after we have issued the refund.  This is simply to guard against later disputing through merchant services, and avoiding a double refund.

• Initial Complaint

  05/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired this company for a bankruptcy. We made our first payment on 11-15-21 and made payments through 2-16-22 totaling $1771. They initially had us fill out a bankruptcy packet and we sent all the documents to the e-mail they provided. They claimed there were documents that they either did not received or were illegible which we resent. They would make an appointment for a phone call and not return your call, then you would make another appointment and they would ask for more documents. In between times would be at least a week or more. Then when you had another appointment, they would say they needed updated documents. We would send the documents and wait another week or so and they would say they didn’t get them or something wasn’t correct, or they just would not call. We talked to an attorney once because after 6 months of dealing with a legal secretary we told them we wanted a refund and and would find someone else. They convinced us to continue and everything seemed to be back on track, then they kept stalling with wrong/out of date documents. They then gave us a different person and everything was moving along and we were supposed to file! They had set an appointment to have our final meeting and of course no one called at the appointed time. We were then informed that that person was taken off our case and we were back to the original secretary, who then said we would have to make another payment and said our documents were out of date, we updated the documents and were then told that we could not qualify for a bankruptcy, of course after we paid in full. I want a refund, I am tired of their run around, I have seen their abysmal response to their clients. How can a bankruptcy take almost a year? Unconscionable!

  

  Business response

  05/18/2022

  To file a case, there are two basic things we need to receive: our full retainer and the documents that we need to fully and accurately advice a client and file their case.  The clients are accurate in their claim that they paid the full retainer as of February 2022.  They are similarly accurate in their claim that their case is not yet filed and that we have requested additional necessary documents to file their case.
  
  We absolutely understand our clients’ frustration regarding the need to provide a lengthy list of documentation.  These documents are items that are needed to be turned over to the court upon filing as well as items needed to determine whether we have fully and accurately described a client’s income, expenses, assets, and debts on their petition and schedules.  The entire process typically takes us about a month to complete assuming that the clients are responsive and provide us the documents that we need.  It is extremely rare for us to be blamed for a client’s refusal to work with the several staff that we employ for the exclusive purpose of assisting them with this endeavor.  That said, we do understand that some clients can react emotionally to the requirements established by Title 11.   These particular individuals received a comprehensive, personalized list of the documents that we needed to file their case based on the information provided during their intake appointment.   We called them over 50 times in the year following, pleading with them to provide the documents that we would need to prepare and file their case.  It is true that throughout this entire year, we texted in advance of two scheduled appointments to reschedule them due to technological failures beyond our control, and we do average approximately one appointment per week to try to assist them with obtaining their documents.    
  
  With respect to qualification, Congress has determined that Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not an option for the wealthy.  When these clients first consulted with us in May of 2021, they indicated that their household income was $3,500 per month, or approximately $42,000, which would have been well below the approximately $70,000 threshold at which a two-person household is essentially guaranteed to qualify to file a Chapter 7.  Upon receipt of their paystubs in January 2022, we discovered that in the seven months since their consultation, our clients almost doubled their normal income with overtime, bonuses, holiday, and vacation pay.  They ended up grossing an average of $9,000 a month in the last half of 2021, for an annualized average income of approximately $110,000 a year.  However, because this dramatic increase in income only occurred after their initial consultation in May of 2021, the clients only earned $90,000 throughout 2021.  It is quite common for a client’s income to increase (or decrease) after a consultation.  It is extremely uncommon for clients to hide their good fortune, make assumptions about the legal impact it will have on their qualification to file, and then blame us for not telling them what they think we should have told them at their initial consultation.
  
  Truthfully, we do not know if these clients will qualify for a Chapter 7 or if they would be forced into filing a Chapter 13.  Given the extreme level of fluctuation throughout 2021, the Becker’s early 2022 income through the end of March became critically necessary to make this determination.  As a result, we called and asked for updated paystubs and bank statements and stated that we would be able to advise them as to what they qualify for after we received this critical information, and that we could not proceed with their case without receiving these updated documents.  The clients refused to provide the paystubs or bank statements and have asked for a refund instead.
  
  If the clients would like to get us their updated paystubs through the end of May by the end of the first week of June, we would be happy to schedule an appointment within a few days of receiving these final documents to advise them as to their options and hopefully file a case that suits their particular circumstances at that same time.       
  
  Please note in addition that we will need documents related to the clients’ life insurance policies prior to being able to file a case.  The clients denied having any life insurance policies at their intake, when asked by our staff, and when they completed their packet.  Their bank statements, however, reflect two regular monthly payments to Gerber Life; two regular monthly payments to United of Omaha; one regular monthly payment to Mutual of Omaha, one regular monthly payment to something that indicates that it is an Insurance payment and calls itself “Econ” and one regular monthly payment to American Amicable.  The majority of these companies are known to us to primarily provide life insurance policies.  If the insurance policies that the clients are paying for every month are not life insurance policies, a copy of the certificate identifying the type of insurance should be sufficient.  However, if these insurance products actually are life insurance policies, we will need documents from each issuing agency that reflect the policy number, owner, face amount, type of insurance, cash surrender value, and beneficiary.  Normally, when clients are confused about whether they own a life insurance policy, this information is discovered and documents are requested of the client directly by the signing attorney with an understanding that we cannot file a case without receiving the documents that the panel trustee will demand upon reviewing the clients’ petition and schedules.  This would delay a filing sometimes for weeks while the necessary documents are mailed to our clients from the insurance companies.  Fortunately for these clients, this information was discovered during our careful review and they will be able to obtain these documents and provide them along with their paystubs through the end of March prior to their appointment with their attorney.   
  
  Unfortunately, we are unable to offer a refund.  As an attorney’s office, the only thing we have to sell is our time.  We spent over 30 hours worth of time on the clients case attempting to gather the necessary documents, reviewing the documents that we did receive and preparing their petition and schedules as completely as possible.  In documentation, we have provided a ledger of our time spent as well as a copy of the signed fee agreement indicating that clients will be billed for time spent on their case prior to their filing.  As the returned signed fee agreement has some text missing from when the clients scanned it and sent it to us, I also attached the unsigned fee agreement that was sent to them for their review and signature.  We do sincerely hope that the clients will provide the final necessary documents so that we can get them the help that they genuinely need. 

*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. ↩