Lemberg does not do debt consolidation. They deal in class actions, consumer law and the like - they are the ones combating the companies harassing you with unfair (and illegal) debt collection practices, like calling you repeatedly in the same day/week, after you've told them you can't pay it now, or threatening you in inappropriate ways.
I found this firm's number by accident, while I was researching phone numbers in my caller ID, for a cease and desist letter to a debt collector who was calling my phone 3-6 times a day for more than a week, after I told them I wasn't going to have the money in the foreseeable future. I've talked to a few people at their firm, including the managing partner, Mr. Lemberg himself. They never made me any promises they couldn't keep, they were respectful of my situation, and they actually got me a small settlement that I will now be using to pay off the bill in question - since unfortunately a couple of weeks after all this started, I found out my hours are being cut and my financial situation has actually gotten worse, since I originally told them I would be paying the bill in the spring.
I never wanted to get rich, suing the company. But their practices were both harassing and legally actionable. If more people brought them to task such for that behavior, and filed their own suits, perhaps these companies would start following the law and treating people's personal financial trials with a bit more respect. It's pathetic that the practices of some of these companies (not all, but too many) have gotten more predatory and harassing, as the economy has gotten worse, and even more people are unemployed or underemployed.
Some good tips I was told, that might help someone else:
1. Be clear that you don't expect to hear from them soon. Say something like, "I don't have the ability to pay it now. Please do NOT contact me for at least 30 days, because I have no reason to expect my situation to change before then."
2. Tell them where not to call. If they're calling you at work, you can tell them not to. If you don't want them calling your cell phone, tell them to only call your house line. You have a right to restrict the hours and circumstances they'll call, to limit the embarrassment and intrusion on your life.
3. If you really don't want them to call at all - or like me your cell or house phone is all you have (I work from home) - send a (certified) letter explaining that, and informing them that they should contact you by mail only.
4. STAND UP FOR YOURSELF! One of the debt collectors I talked to, started asking me about my ability to pay other bills, as demonstration (to him) that I could obviously afford to pay their bill. This REALLY upset me, because I've struggled to keep up with all of my bills for a few years now, since my last regular full time job was eliminated, and I don't appreciate having my bill-paying priorities questioned by a stranger who doesn't know squat about my family's situation. One of the associates at Lemberg told me, there is no reason I should have to put up with that, and I am perfectly within my rights to say, "I am not sharing information like that with you, because my personal financial situation is none of your business - let's stick to a conversation about the specific debt you're calling about."
And these two are personal, from my own research, not from the lawyers
5. Do NOT give any company your bank account information, without researching them first. The company I was dealing with, Bay Area Credit, has a long history of comments on sites like 800notes, where they took ACH payment information an misused it - i.e. they took out more money than they were approved to take, or they took it out at a different time-frame than they said they would, causing overdrafts in people's accounts.
6. If you're dealing with a harassing company, find out if you can avoid paying them at all, and pay the original creditor instead. No way am I giving a penny to the company who was treating me in such a disrespectful way, and who violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act. I'm paying the phone company I owed the money to in the first place.
Hope that helps someone, in a similarly frustrating situation.
I spoke with a gentleman from Lemberg today. He documented my complaint, told me what I needed to tell Sirius or any other company harassing me or making unsolicited calls to my number. He told me that if it continued after that to call them and they would help.
They did not ask for my personal information and there was no request for me to pay them in any way.
When I got off the phone I have more information that I had before I spoke to them, and I didn't have to pay them for any of that advice.
getting calls from theses people every week, when I answer they go fishing for information about myself, my social security number, dob. The first call came about 2 months ago, they said wrong # and rudely hung up. I have received that same call weekly, every time the person on the other end is pushier and ruder. Now it's gotten to the point they just hangup a lot of the time. This can not be a serious law firm. Probably some fake debt collector but they have 0 professionalism and if you push back they get NASTY and will curse at you. Complete Frauds. Spoke to guy that said he was Lemberg the owner and he was as bad as his staff, probably worse.