Consumer complaint received 2024-01-13
Product: Debt or credit management — Student loan debt relief
Issue: Didn't provide services promised — 
Company: ZWICKER & ASSOCIATES (NC)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a formal complaint with the CFPB regarding XXXX XXXX XXXX 's failure to update the credit bureaus on our account 's payment status post-settlement agreements. Unfortunately, I must now submit a second complaint related to Zwicker 's ( acting on behalf of XXXX ) loss of notarized legal settlement documents. This situation could potentially be a security breach and has caused delays in submitting settlement agreement documents to the XXXX XXXX XXXX to close four civil lawsuits. A settlement agreement was successfully reached, and notarized documents were duly submitted by the end of XX/XX/XXXX. However, as of XX/XX/XXXX, we were notified by the XXXX XXXX Courthouse that they had not yet received the executed documents from Zwicker. Consequently, we provided them with copies of the notarized documents we had originally sent to Zwicker, accompanied by the Certified Mail receipts from the US Postal Service. The courthouse accepted these copies and added them to their records. ( Attached file : XXXX. Notarized and Mailed Settlement Agreements ; XXXX Notarized and Mailed Settlement Agreements ) In XX/XX/XXXX, we engaged with Zwicker & Associates, P.C., representing XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, to settle four civil lawsuits involving two student borrowers and two cosigners. We reached an agreement via email and promptly made the required XXXX payment through a bank wire transfer to XXXX XXXX. The physical settlement documents, received by mail, were signed, notarized, and returned to Zwicker within the same month. ( Attached files : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) However, complications arose in XXXX when we inquired about the closure of the civil lawsuit cases. Our attorney informed us that Zwicker ( representing XXXX XXXX XXXX ) was unable to proceed with closing the case with the XXXX XXXX XXXX, claiming we had submitted incorrect documents. Specifically, they insisted on cosigner signatures being notarized, despite the fact that we had duly signed and notarized the documents as initially provided by XXXX/Zwicker. We informed Zwicker that we couldn't notarize the cosigners ' signatures because the form did not allow for it. We requested corrected documents from them. In XXXX, they sent us a second set of documents, which were found to have missing account numbers and misaligned borrower and cosigner details. These issues were promptly communicated to our attorney, who conveyed them to Zwicker. ( Attached File : XXXX. Second Set of Settlement Files Sent by Zwicker ) Attached is an email chain from XX/XX/XXXX, involving myself, our attorney, and Zwicker 's attorney. The correspondence clarifies the misunderstanding about the XXXX documents and Zwicker 's decision to accept the originally executed documents for submission to the court, with no further action required on our part. This email serves as verification of Zwicker 's receipt of the first set of notarized documents since it was pointed out that the cosigner 's notarizations were missing. ( Attached File : XXXX. Zwicker Accepts Originally Executed Settlement ) We followed up with our attorney on XX/XX/XXXX, to check if the XXXX XXXX XXXX had received the notarized documents. Our attorney informed us that Zwicker claimed not to have received our documents and wanted us to resend them. This was concerning for several reasons. Firstly, Zwicker had misplaced documents containing financial and private information for four individuals, potentially compromising security. Secondly, XXXX/Zwicker could negatively impact our credit and reputation through civil suits. However, the inefficiency and disregard displayed in this process were deeply concerning. Lastly, resending personal and private information to a firm that had lost it once raised security concerns. ( Attached File : XXXX. Zwicker Lost Financial Documents Email ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX " Consumer Advocate '' from the Executive Office of Customer Advocacy, who responded to our previous complaint regarding inaccurate information to the credit bureaus that was submitted to the CFPB on XX/XX/XXXX. We sought her assistance in expediting the resolution of delivering our settlement documents to the County Courthouse to avoid further complications with Zwicker. As of this complaint 's submission, I have not received a response to my email. ( Attached File : XXXX. Email to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX ) Additionally, I want to highlight a previous issue raised in the XX/XX/XXXXXXXX  CFPB submission concerning NC arbitration. The arbitration for the civil lawsuit, XXXX XXXX XXXX, was allowed to proceed despite having an agreed-upon settlement already in place. I attached the email correspondence dated XX/XX/XXXX, with the NC Arbitrations Office, where I explained that arbitration was unnecessary given our ongoing settlement discussions. The NC Arbitration representative stated that she would need a letter from XXXX attorney stating this fact. Despite ample time, Zwicker failed to submit the required letter to the NC Arbitration representative. A settlement was agreed upon on XX/XX/XXXX ( see attached files XXXX XXXX ), but the NC Arbitrations Office never received this letter since we received another letter from that office stating that the arbitration had taken place on XX/XX/XXXX, more than one month later. This arbitration process proved to be a misuse of the court 's resources and likely resulted in unnecessary payments to the individuals involved. I am highlighting this issue once again because it may lend some reason to the delay in delivering the required settlement documents to the NC Courts. ( Attached Files : XXXX. Email - XXXX XXXX - XXXX XXXX XXXX ; XXXX. NC Arbitration Assessment on XXXX ) Thank you for your attention to these matters.