ComplaintsforBetterLegal

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company has been charging me since 2018 on my credit card every November for $180. They do two separate charges of $90 each within a few days of each other to my credit card and I dispute them every year. I used this company for one year then cancelled my contract. They continue to charge me and I have to dispute it year after year. They will not return phone calls and it goes to voicemail anytime I call. I have received a new credit card number and they are still charging me. It make no sense. This company is a fraud.

  Business response

  11/22/2023

  Very sorry that you had such a poor experience with us. I have refunded the most recent payment and canceled your subscriptions. I see that you paid for us to dissolve your LLC back in 2019, but ******* our previous Director of Operations neglected to take the extra step to cancel your subscriptions. ******* was let go from BetterLegal over a year ago for too many lapses such as this. I absolutely understand from your perspective that you contacted us to dissolve your LLC, so obviously you wouldn't need the subscriptions any longer.
  
  I don't understand the issues you've run into with attempting to call us and not being able to reach us or not having voicemails responded to. We are moving away from a legacy telephony system to something we've built in house that has much more granular tracking, so hopefully we will get better at handling voicemails.
  
  Again, sorry for the trouble. We take feedback like this seriously to figure out how we can do better moving forward.

  Customer response

  11/27/2023

  Complaint: 20900980
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  They refunded this year what about the charges that were still occuring after I cancelled in November of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Two charges of $90 twice a month every November of each of those years. 
  You not having a up to date phone system is not working out in favor of your clients. Its rings and rings then a robotic voicemail comes on, then no return calls are made. 
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  11/28/2023

  All of the disputes were won by you and lost by us, meaning that the money was removed from our account and returned back to you each year (see attached screenshot). I apologize that you had to go through this process as I get equally as frustrated when this happens to me, but there isn't any more that we can refund.
  
  We are transitioning telephony systems as I agree with you that the system we were using was lacking. It was designed for companies that have 24/7 phone support and we simply can't afford our team to work outside of normal business hours. I can't speak to why you didn't receive a call back, but our new system will track this for me to verify moving forward. I appreciate the feedback.
  
  *****************************
  Founder

• Initial Complaint

  10/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a package with Better Legal to establish an LLC, including selecting the option of having a registered agent in order to protect my real name and home address. I ******s my real name and on the first page of ****** there was a website that displayed my LLC information including my real name and home address. It was NOT clear on the Better Legal website that this could happen, since the purpose of the registered agent was to keep privacy for your personal information. As a person seeking to establish an LLC for the first time, they guided me through the process in a way that made it seem that my personal info would be protected. This was not the case!

  Business response

  10/31/2023

  Sorry to hear about your frustrations, but let me explain the situation as it is more complex than it seems at surface value. At the time of writing this Tuesday 1pm Oct 31st, we have attempted to call you 3 times and have left voicemails.
  
  You reached out to us over a week ago and had a discussion with our team, we unfortunately do not have any record in those conversations of you mentioning your need for complete privacy where our team would have referenced the **************** Address problem. Not every state publicly discloses the **************** Address so it isn't a priority for most.
  
  However, if we automatically default all of our customers to **************** Address to the Registered Agent Address, the new problem that arises is when our Registered Agent Partner changes addresses (which happens somewhat regularly). Every state has a mechanism for the Registered Agent to change all Registered Agent Addresses they serve, but there is no such thing for **************** Address. If we defaulted **************** to the Registered Agent Address, then when that change happens, we would be forced to make hundreds of filings on behalf of our customers that costs hundreds of dollars each and would be forced to pass that on to our customers. By defaulting, we're signing up our clients for several potential $100+ charges over the years or have them fall out of compliance. Most customers do not care about having the **************** Address public, so that default setting creates more harm to more people.
  
  However, we do understand that some customers such as yourself live in a state where the **************** Address is public and want full privacy. We are working on turning this complex problem into something simple and elegant, but simple and elegant takes more time that launching something confusing quickly.
  
  Because we fulfilled your order, we cannot offer you a refund, but we can help you privatize your address. As I stated earlier, my team has called you 3 times today without being able to reach you in order to handle this swiftly. Please allow us the ability to assist you get this set up the way you want.

  Customer response

  10/31/2023

  Complaint: 20792988
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Now you are attempting to discredit me by saying I reached out "over a week ago" and that you have tried to call me 3 times today and left voicemails without hearing back. I think you are confused with another customer complaint. This is the record of every point of communication, and I have supportive screen shots to prove it:

  1. I emailed your organization on Friday October 27th @ 11:59pmPT to make you aware that my personal home address and full name were on the first page of ****** when searching under my name. Note this was 4 days ago. 

  2. Your representative ***** called me on Friday October 27th at 1:31pmPT and I ANSWERED and told her I was in a work meeting and we would have to talk later. It is logged as a 1 minute call on my iphone. 

  3. ***** called me back on Friday, October 27th at 4:27pmPT and I ANSWERED and we SPOKE FOR 4 MINUTES about the matter, she said she will speak with management to get approval to re-submit the papers in a way that does not disclose my home address. This is logged as a 4 minute conversation in my iphone records. 

  4. Today, Tuesday Oct 31st at 9:49amPT I missed a call from ***** because I was in am important work meeting. She left a voicemail. This is the 1 and ONLY voicemail I have received from your organization. 

  5. Today, October 31st at 1:25pmPT ***** called back and I ANSWERED and we SPOKE. She confirmed that the papers would be resubmitted without any additional cost to me. This is logged as a 2 minute call in my iPhone. 

  This is satisfactory as a solution, without the need to try to discredit me by giving false data about our communication. 

  Please ensure you adjust your website for clarity on the registered agent option so that other first-time LLC creators are not under any false assurance regarding their personal information potentially being shared by third parties. 

  Regards,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I recently purchased this company's legal representation as my Registered Agent for my corporation in *******. I'm needing to speak with someone about some additional legal signatures needed for a new filing as my Registered Agent. This company is not responsive to multiple voice mail messages left and emails sent requesting contact with me. Their failure to respond is costing me significant delays and lost revenue.

  Customer response

  06/14/2023

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  05/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased the Registered ************* on Better Legal website April 30, 2023 for $90. I received a receipt via e-mail in my spam folder. Never received any official documentation from the company. When I went on their website to create an online account, I received a link to re-set my password; originally a password was never created. Contacted the company several times at both of the numbers provided on their website, and received the voicemail each time. I then submitted a Client Support form on their website, and still have not heard anything from the company.

  Business response

  05/22/2023

  Hi,
  
  You stated that you called twice, but did you happen to leave a voicemail? Unfortunately, this is a virtual phone system so we don't see missed calls like a cell phone so without a voicemail, we are unaware of your call. I'm sorry to hear that you had trouble with our contact form, but we also have chat available on the same page you would have filled out the form. Did you attempt to chat with ** by chance? We're available during normal business hours till 7pm central on weekdays.
  
  I will have someone contact you about your request.

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hello, I purchased services From BetterLegal LLC in the amount of ****** to file for starting my company, as well as ***** for Registered Agent and ***** for **************** services. This was paid on 10/01/22. BetterLegal LLC advertised "LLC Formation Turnaround in 2 business days". My business was filed with the incorrect name, making the *** created to be unusable and the other services purchased to be unusable, with no business to apply them to. Previously I was told by BetterLegal LLC "The turnaround for this is 3-4 weeks, we'll process the amendment and we'll shoulder the cost". I was later told " I may have missed the previous email before this. The state of NY is on a huge delay. Most of the documents we submitted take 2-3 months before it gets approved which is out of our control". I am currently being informed, "The state of NY only allows amendments of addresses and LLC names. We're still in the process of reaching out with the state on what options they have for us to make this amendment. Like what was mentioned in the above email, NY amendments are taking months to process". I have asked for a refund and they have stated that they are willing to provide a "partial refund". When I inquired what their process is in determining the amount to be refunded and what the amount actually would be on 02/18/23, they did not respond and I have seen no refund in my account. I have essentially paid them ****** for have poor communication on their behalf and absolutely no return on my payment for over 6 months. I am happy to forward you all email correspondence between myself and BetterLegal LLC if this would help in supporting me. I greatly appreciate your time in reviewing this. I am thankful for anything you can do in supporting me while attempting to disengage from services with BetterLegal LLC. I do not want walk away with their receiving my money for full services while I have received almost none. My Best,*********************

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been trying to get a response from BetterLegal for months. I still cannot access my company details to update payment for the registered agent. My most recent chat with a support agent I was told that there was a system change and that the dev team would get back to me via email. I have since lost my registered agent and compliance agent with NO WAY to update details. I am yet to receive an update from them. When I log in, the account just keeps buffering so I cannot make any edits or requests either. There is no company information that loads and after sending multiple screenshots of what I am seeing - it has still not been resolved.

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  My understanding is that our team has been in contact with you and resolved this issue. Regarding your dashboard access, that has been temporarily disabled while we migrate to a new software system that we've been building over the past year. We apologize for the inconvenience, but this investment will allow for a much better experience moving forward as well as other benefits. You can always reach out to our team to access your information or get another copy of any documents you need.

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I reached out to BetterLegal about 5 weeks ago to incorporate my business. I was told by a generic (I assume automatic response) that I would receive my documents in 1 business day. I thought that was pretty unlikely and crazy that they would even claim that, but I understood that was unlikely. I assumed given state delays and other factors it would probably take a week or two, which is fine. However, after I paid them for the incorporation and responded to an email about a wet signature I heard NOTHING else without begging, calling, emailing and still then I never received any real help only apologies and promises that they would check with the filing team and "would call me tomorrow", calls that never came. Eventually, only after threatening to report them as a scam, the head of customer service emailed me and said she would give me a partial refund if I stuck with them and that the filing team was expediting my case. I, regrettably, accepted her offer and now....3 weeks later, I am still without any documents and zero evidence that they have even submitted my case to the state. I again called them tonight and sat on hold for an hour while the customer service rep told me she couldn't find out any information about my case only that it was being "handled". She claimed that she sent a message to the filing team and they weren't responding. I asked her if they had even filed my case yet (since I know the filing can take a while once submitted) and she said that she wasn't seeing any information about that. So now, here I am, 5 weeks later waiting on a company that took my money and has done little to update me and has likely not even filed the paperwork. I read the other BBB complaints on here tonight (I wish I had done that before I chose this company) and their experiences are strikingly similar to mine which shows that this is pretty common with this company. DO NOT use them unless you want to waste your time and money.

  Business response

  12/06/2022

  Hey ****,
  
  We're very sorry that you had a bad experience with BetterLegal. Unfortunately, we are bound by the limitations of each state. ***** is unique in that it is the only state that requires a physically mailed filing with a wet signature which means a human must sign the document. ***** doesn't contain any ability to file by web or fax like other states, so this makes the process extra difficult.
  
  In addition, ******* current backlog is 20 to 25 business days. This is not a delay from **, this is a delay from the **************. When we file with them, we are still limited by their turnaround time which can change without notice. Our old system doesn't do a very good job of surfacing this information, but we are working on a new system that shows the customer the last 30 days average turnaround to keep everyone better informed prior and post purchase.
  
  My team has informed me that they have refunded you in full. I apologize about the experience you had, we will do our best to learn from this and do better in the future.
  
  
  *****************************
  Founder
  

  Customer response

  12/20/2022

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I paid BetterLegal a total of $100 for their business "Registered Agent" services. They claim to have filed the documents, but no filings are listed by the state. I've reached out to BetterLegal multiple times in the last several weeks, who have not replied. This is an active email chain to which they were responding a month ago so it's a valid contact, but have since ghosted on me.

  Business response

  12/13/2022

  **** is absolutely right, we neglected to make this filing for him. We have been transitioning our core systems for the better part of this year which has led to some less than optimal customer experiences for a greater number of people during 2022 and we apologize for that. I have refunded **** in full as requested.
  
  The benefit to this short term pain is that we are primed to be much more equipped to handle our larger customer base in 2023 and beyond.

  Customer response

  12/15/2022

  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.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  10/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered my LLC docs on October 10, 2022. BetterLegal notified me on the 11th that they filed my docs with the state. On October 12th, BetterLegal notified me via email that they emailed me the docs, but they did not email me any docs in that email. I have reached out everyday since (it is now October 17th), and have not heard a single word back from them. I specifically used BetterLegal because of their claim to get docs within two days. Their phone number is disconnected (starting to feel like a fraud/scam), and their online "contact us" form will not allow the submission to go through. Their chat constantly says agents are not available even when it is well within their self-proclaimed business hours. I need these LLC docs ASAP so that I can complete my property refinance, if interest rates rise before I get these docs, BetterLegal will have literally cost me thousands of dollars.

  Business response

  10/18/2022

  This has been resolved as shown by the email response from ***** attached.

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I submitted a service request on September 27, 2022 to file an S-corp. My card was charged and I received confirmation. All is great, right? Wrong. I received a confirmation that my business will be filed as an LLC instead of an S-corp. I called customer service, left several voicemails and never received a call back within the promised timeframe. I was finally able to chat with someone the next day out of luck and someone actually called me back to let me know that I can change the filing because they have not submitted it yet. Okay, cool. They are attempting to resolve the issue. At the time, BetterLegal advertised a 3 business day turnaround and my corporation will be complete! This is totally false advertising. It took 7 business days for my S-Corporation to be filed with the state and I have still yet to receive any information or documents regarding my business. I have called, left voicemails, used the chat feature, and sent emails all with no response from BetterLegal. Their customer service is absolutely horrible. I started my own business with hopes of having everything off the ground and running within 2 weeks. How can I do this when I have no documents for my business? I am unable to do anything because I'm at the mercy of BetterLegal. I used their service primarily for convenience and cost and also because they advertised a quick turnaround. My experience has been nothing short of a disaster. Next time, I'll use my CPA to do the filings for me.

  Business response

  10/18/2022

  Hi there, both an *** and Corporation can be S-Corps. That is a separate filing in which we include the documents to file with the **** The *** documents are filed with the state, then you tell the *** that you would like your *** to be taxed as an S-Corp.
  
  I do see however that you did not pay for an ***, but rather a Corporation, which has been filed with ********. I will have someone reach out to you by phone ASAP. I apologize for the issues, we've had some technical difficulties during a software migration. 

  Customer response

  10/19/2022

  Complaint: 18196735
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I was able to get in touch with someone shortly after submitting the complaint. This is not the answer or resolution I received. Instead, the customer service agent blamed the state of ******** and said they are experiencing delays in receiving corporation documents. I am requesting a full refund on the services received. It's currently been 3 weeks since I paid BetterLegal to perform a service that has yet to be delivered. I will never use your services again. 
  Regards,
  
  ***********************************

*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. ↩