Consumer complaint received 2026-07-01 00:00:00
Product: Debt or credit management — Debt settlement
Issue: Charged upfront or unexpected fees — 
Company: Alperstein and Associates, LLC
State: IA

Complaint narrative:
Formal Consumer Fraud & Predatory Billing ComplaintXXXX XXXX : Alperstein & Associates , LLC XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXXDescription of Deceptive and Predatory Practices : I am filing an official consumer protection complaint against the listed entities for deceptive accounting traps, aggressive fee padding, and intentionally trying to extract thousands of dollars in unearned fees from my family while exploiting our financial hardship.Count XXXX : Fraudulent Account Manipulation & Bait-and-Switch ( My Account ) I enrolled in a XXXX program in XX/XX/XXXX. After a XXXX XXXX account was removed from my program metrics because the firm failed to protect me from an active lawsuit, the firm sent me an email demanding an unauthorized program extension of XXXX additional months at $ XXXX ( totaling {$13000.00} ) .When I formally disputed this predatory timeline, the firm attempted a high-pressure negotiation trick : they offered to cut only 8 months off their fraudulent demand, trying to force me into a XXXX payment plan ( {$10000.00} total payments ). Their breakdown for this XXXX offer deliberately hid a {$740.00} cash balance sitting in my live XXXX XXXX XXXX account ( Account ID : XXXX ) in an active attempt to overcharge me by $ XXXX after I completely rejected the XXXX offer, provided my own mathematical proof, and threatened a formal CFPB investigation did Account Representative XXXX XXXX send a written email apologizing for the " oversight. '' She finally adjusted my account to the legally correct 14 months ( {$6000.00} payoff ). This company repeatedly and intentionally tried to scam me out of thousands of dollars in unearned corporate fees for an account they did not settle, only backing down when caught red-handed.Count XXXX : Material Breach of Contract, Professional Neglect, and Asset Trapping ( Husband 's Account ) My husband was enrolled in a parallel program with Alperstein & Associates XXXX XXXX and Associate ( XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Account. Last year, his remaining creditor balance was approximately {$1700.00}. He was served with court papers by XXXX XXXX, which we forwarded to the firm multiple times for legal defense. The firm completely ignored the court summonses, resulting in an automatic default judgment and a catastrophic bank levy/garnishment that froze his checking account and stripped away his paycheck deposits.Despite completely failing to defend him or settle that debt, the firm continued to auto-draft {$220.00} monthly from his bank, pocketing {$220.00} as clear company profit while sending a mere {$5.00} " life support '' distribution to XXXX XXXX solely to stretch out his program.His escrow account currently holds {$2500.00} of his personal savings. The firm has explicitly scheduled a massive automated fee withdrawal of {$850.00} for XX/XX/XXXX, to drain his remaining savings. When we submitted a formal Section VII cancellation email to XXXX to terminate the program and claim his contractually protected refund check, frontline agents played stupid and refused to process the closure to trap his cash until the XXXX corporate fee clears.Requested Remedy : Immediate Regulatory Investigation into Alperstein & Associates ' predatory fee calculations, unearned billing on removed accounts, and failure to defend clients.An Enforced Order commanding XXXX XXXX XXXX to instantly terminate trust account and issue an expedited payout check of my husband XXXX {$2500.00} balance.An Official Warning or Fine levied against the firm for weaponizing past consumer stress to force signatures on predatory contract extensions.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation