ComplaintsforAmerican-Truckers' Legal Association Inc

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Lost my job, got my license suspended. Can not provide for my family. I was never informed of who my Attorney was and where to contact him. I paid for a 8 month membership because the said that was mandatory, I paid for an attorney as all and no one showed up to court. I received a failure to appear and a suspension of my license as well as a huge fine. I was never informed of any of this until DMV, CHP, andSalome court contacted me. By then I had lost my job along with my driving privilege. I can no longer provide for my family. This is my trade . This is how I provide for my family. I want a refund and my credit fixed as well as my license reinstated and all points removed. My life has been affected tremdously due to this and not in a positive way.

  Business response

  10/11/2022

  
  
  
  
  Attn:  Case Manager
  
  Re:    Case No. 18053743
  
  
  Dear Case Manager:
  
  
  Per our investigation of the above complaint, we provide the following facts documented in our records:
  
  On May 12, 2022 ******************* received an unsafe lane change citation out of Salmone, **. On June 16, 2022 (36 days later) ******************** contacted our organization seeking legal help for representation. What he failed to inform us that on May 13, 2022; 1 day after he was cited, ******************** contacted the court and requested for a Hearing Date which was granted for June 16, 2022.
  
  FYI: Hearing date and Initial appearance are two different meanings. In this case, ******************** hearing date meant that the driver must show ** in court on June 16, 2022.
  
  The day of his hearing date June 16, 2022. ******************** contacted our office for the first time and paid a total of $600.00 to our office; breakdown follows:
  
  $399.50 ATLA 8-month membership
  $200.50 Flat discounted rate Attorney Fee
  
  ***Keep in mind, ******************* did not divulge the information of his court hearing he requested on his while joining the membership. This information would have been crucial for his case.
  
  Same day, ******* Attorney was notified and the ticket was submitted over to his office for acceptance. Next day June 17, 2022 ******* Attorney accepted ******************** case for a flat discounted rate of $350.00, a difference of $149.50 was owed from *********************Due to the nature and urgency of this matter, the Attorney- out of courtesy;filed his notice of appearance right way, without receiving payment.
  
  After multiple attempts to reach ********************, my staff finally got a hold of him on June 20, 2022 and informed him of the $350.00 Attorney fee. ******************** did not have the money to pay the difference, so as a one-time courtesy I allowed to use $149.50 of his membership dues payment and applied it to his Attorney fee. ******************** was informed that ATLA will then bill his account for the $149.50 that he will have to be paid back ASAP and he agreed. We still have yet to received that payment.
  
  **Note: *******************, now had two courtesies from both ATLA and the Attorney helping him. Again,no mention of the hearing date he set on the 16th.
  
  Unfortunately, on June 16th the court found ******************** guilty due to a no show. Per court documents and the ******* Attorney; because ******************** requested his court hearing on his own back in May, there was no Attorney on record and the court had no obligation to inform or send anything to the Attorney.
  
  Simply put: ******* Attorney was informed of all this new information AFTER he filed a notice with the court.
  
  On September 21, 2022 Attorney filed a motion to get the case back in court. He is still waiting for a new date. Per Attorney, the Judge retired and this court is closing in the next few months. However, he still pursuing the case.
  
  As to his claim of I was never informed of who my attorney was and no one has contacted me is untrue.We have procedures in place once a driver becomes a member, it is our obligation to send them - in writing a document with their Attorneys information. This was mailed to Mr. ********* *******, ** address that he provided to us upon joining. We have not received any of his mail returned informing us that it was a bad address. The Attorney has even claimed hes been speaking with his client to date with the pursuant of his case. Not to mention the conversation we had with him back on June 20th.
  
  
  Conclusion:
  ******************** was not forthcoming from the start. American Truckers has made every effort to help this driver. To include the Attorney that pursued his case right away without even getting paid.
  
  Is this not a business that does not care for their members and their livelihood? We acted accordingly and FAST.
  
  American Truckers nor the Attorney caused any harm to Mr. ********* case. Should he had informed us of the change in status with this ticket the day he joined, we would have handled it in a different manner and things wouldve been different for ********************. Due to the lack of communication on Mr. ********* part, he caused the *** and his license to be suspended. He probably would still be employed too.
  
  No refund will be issued to ******************** since we caused no harm. He still has a balance owed of $149.50 that will now be sent to our outside collections to pursue.
  
  
  Enclosed are excerpts from the membership agreement, email correspondence from the Attorney, Court minutes (timeline of case), letter to member dated it was mailed out and documents from attorney accepting his case.
  Thank you for your time.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  **********************************
  Director of Operations
  
  Enclosures
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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