Consumer complaint received 2024-12-18 00:00:00
Product: Debt or credit management — Debt settlement
Issue: Charged upfront or unexpected fees — 
Company: ClearOne Advantage, LLC
State: MA

Complaint narrative:
I was in a debt management program called XXXX  XXXX XXXX  I paid into them {$6000.00} about I was with them since XXXX until early XXXX so about a year and a couple of months throughout this whole year and a couple of months, they only settled with one creditor and I approved the settlement, but I was never told how much I was getting settled for or how much I was gon na be paying for it. I just only approved it and then I was told that they only put {$15.00} down on this settlement so I was having a hard time and they werent helping me much because I was with them for a while and throughout the whole year they only settled with one creditor so I had to file XXXX XXXX and through my lawyer, my lawyer told me that I had to cancel with them and he was gon na just put everything into XXXX  XXXX so when I called them back, I asked for a refund and they told me that they were entitled to the fees of this one creditor that they paid or settled with should I say and that creditor was {$18000.00} so I have no idea what they settled for so I wanted the rest of my money back because I had put almost {$6000.00} into this, but they told me they were entitled to the money for fees for settling this account so when I went to XXXX  XXXX court, I spoke with the judge she asked me if I was in a management program to try to help me. I told her yes I told her the story and she told me to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I was dealing with the lady there for about a year on this to see if I could get a refund back, but they continued on telling her that they were entitled to the money but when I file XXXX  XXXX, this proposal settlement that they settled which was XXXX XXXX  in the beginning, still showed up as {$18000.00} on my credit report with my lawyer so doesnt seem like they settled it with them because it still showed up as XXXX XXXX  so I was dealing with the XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX and they just told her that they were to close the case because they were entitled to the money I had other accounts on this that were way smaller that couldve been paid off first, but they didnt do that and I was paying with them for at least over a year. I thought they would help me, but they didnt. They made it worse so that was the reason why I had to file XXXX because the creditors were still harassing me after an entire year and the stress and the depression of it all got to me so I had to go to a lawyer and the paperwork that Im about to send you that creditor was called lending club, which is not listed on the list of debts that I will send you the XXXX XXXX XXXX called they just kept on saying that they were entitled to the money for settling that debt and they only put {$15.00} to this debt so I just want to know what happened with the rest of the money and I wanted a refund and they refuse to give it to me for the judge to tell me to contact XXXX XXXX XXXX. I would think they wouldve helped to at least get me some of my money back, but I spoke to the lady yesterday that I was dealing with XXXX XXXX, and she told me there was nothing else she can do and for me to get in contact with you guys to see what you could do about it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation