Did you get a mailer that pre-qualified you for a debt consolidation loan at an amazing rating?
Did you not end up qualifying, but did you qualify for a debt consolidation program (i.e. debt settlement) via Newport Legal Group?
You joined a debt consolidation program, and now you may have been sued for unpaid debt and your credit score may have plummeted. So, what are alternatives to debt consolidation?
We built a free debt consolidation alternatives calculator below that compares cost, duration, and pros and cons of key debt consolidation alternatives.
In my opinion, two of the most unbiased, holistic review sites are BBB reviews and complaints and Google reviews. It may tend to be a bit more negative, but it seems to be a source of information.
What I found surprising was that there was a current BBB alert for Newport Legal Group showing a pattern of complaint. It’s the first time I’ve seen this type of alert.
So, what are the BBB reviews?
On BBB, Newport Legal Group currently has a 1.28 rating based on 71 reviews, and a B- rating. There have been 91 complaints in the last 3 years and 45 complaints just in the last 12 months. When I see this, I wonder whether someone else is signing people up for Newport Legal Group, and that Newport Legal Group is not doing direct marketing.
Many of their reviews mention that giving them no stars/zero stars if they could. One review states that the individual paid the legal group $9000 over 14 months and only one bill of $1000 was paid off. When asked about it, the legal group said that the remainder was kept for fees. Another review says that the individual ended up being garnished after Newport Legal Group completely ignored one of the accounts that was in litigation. The individual then started getting emails reminding her of payments after she had already paid.
On Google, Newport Legal Group has a 3.4 rating based on 182 reviews.
Similar to the BBB reviews, some of the Google reviews mention their experience. One individual states that only an average of 10% of the payment goes towards the debt whereas the rest goes towards their fees. Another mentioned that over the course of a year, $8000 was paid the the legal group and only one account of a little over $1000 was paid off.
Newport Legal Group appears to be a law firm that is pitching debt settlement. I wouldn’t be surprised if Newport Legal Group was tied to a much bigger organization as it appears that there are more of these firms that have similarities.
When I look at these companies, I like to understand how old the website is and see any information I can about the company. What I found interesting is that Newport Legal Groups website has been around since at least December, 2020. So, it may be a relatively new website.
If you would like to stay with Newport Legal Group, you may want to read the Client Services Agreement in its entirety. If they are taking out fees before settlement, why are they doing that? What are they actually doing for you and what’s the percentage fee they charge?
If you’d like to cancel, you may be able to contact them directly, but you may also have to get assistance from your bank if they do not allow you to cancel the program easily.
