I originally used Legal Zoom to start my LLC. It went pretty smooth, I was impressed with the speed and ease of the process. There were no errors in my paperwork.
About 5 months later I noticed a $29.99 charge on my credit card from them. I looked on my prior statements and noticed that this charge had been going on for the last 5 months. I called them to see what this charge was for and they said I didn't opt out of the Business Advantage Pro. Basically I get access to their legal documents. They told me that it is free for the first 30 days then they automatically charge my credit card for it.
First of all, I'm pretty good with paperwork. I jumped through the regulatory hoops of registering my firm as an Investment Advising firm here in the state of Texas. I'm pretty surprised that I didn't see this. It definitely wasn't obvious, so there is no doubt in my mind they are just hoping people don't realize they signed up for it so they can rake in a few extra hundred dollars per client.
I sent an customer request via there website to be contacted to discuss the issue. I got an auto response saying the would contact me within 1 business day. Never heard from them. A week later I called and spoke to one of their service reps who was probably being paid minimum wage. He obviously had no authority to do anything. I asked him if there was any way they could work with me on this issue. He said no. I then asked him if he could tell if I ever used this service. He said there was no activity on the account, so he verified I hadn't used this service. I then told him my wife was in process of using them to start her non-profit organization (which costs around $700), I also told him I refer clients over for wills and trusts (which add up to thousands in business for them). I basically said if you can't work with me on this then I'm going to have to take this business elsewhere. He still said he would not work with me. I then asked to speak with a manager, in my firm if I was risking losing business I definitely would want the employee to hand them over to me. But the employee refused to transfer me.
I was happy with their product, but shocked at how poor their customer service is after the point of sale. Any company that is willing to throw away thousands of dollars in business for such a minor issue won't remain a viable company long in my opinion. Stay way from them, saving $500 to create a LLC is not worth the poor customer service and the sly way they try to take advantage of you with these recurring charges.
I don't like to post bad reviews on companies, I wouldn't want anyone to do it to me. But I gave them many chances to contact me. I feel like it was my duty to make this known to the general public.
0 comments