Robert Stanley Gitmeid

I thought doing a debt relief program would be the way to go instead of filing Chapter 13 - I should have filed Chapter 13. I made the call to National Debt Relief initially and ended up with Robert Gitmeid, I'm guessing NDR just passes people to other firms. In the beginning, I thought it was great.... Several accounts were settling fairly quick. However, I have had 4 lawsuits, which has been disappointing and stressful. Those accounts were eventually settled, but it was the point that they were filed in the first place. The money you "think" you are going to save...you really are not. Between their fees and the 1099C you receive at the end of the year from each creditor, you are STILL paying just as much if not more. YOU ARE BETTER OFF FILING CHAPTER 13 than going through this nightmare. IT IS NOT WORTH IT! I keep being contacted to send them a notarized POA for one of my creditors that I have ALREADY completed twice before. Gitmeid keeps coming back to me saying I didn't put something on it, when I wrote everything on that piece of paper that I was told. Here it is, the end of October and they are STILL putting me through this crap. They also give you the option after you have been in the program for awhile to be "qualified for a loan" for the remainder of your accounts. If you choose to do this, yes, all of the creditors will be paid off HOWEVER, it is now a "loan" and you will pay 24% interest for another 4 or 5 years. So however long you have been in the debt relief program will feel like you are starting all over again. NEGOITATE WITH YOUR CREDITORS YOURSELF OR FILE CHPATER 13...this was a HUGE mistake that I cannot undo now.

I hired them after my divorce to help me out of marital debt I was buried in totaling about 25xxx. I was able to reduce my payments over the holidays without problem, and just made an extra deposit and was told they are in negotiation with one of my 2 creditors. Something I couldn't have resolved on ...my own. They are always friendly and helpful when I call, as well. Will give them 5 stars when all gets resolved. Was told I am on a 15 mo program, back in Aug 2019. Hoping to shorten that time and get this off my credit and move ON with my life, a little faster thanks to them.

Positives: It’s not a scam. It took a while and I got sued in the process but they eventually settled. In the space of 2 years, I would have cleared 35k in credit debt. Another plus is that after I signed up with Gitmeid, the collection calls surprisingly stopped, and I also did not have to appear i...n court after I got served. They took care of all legal matters as they said they would. Negatives: They are not very transparent about “how” they do things. They rarely have updates and they give you little information about the process. I called them several times asking for updates and got nothing even after I got served by the creditor. Another negative is that after the settlement was agreed, first thing they did is pull their whole fee amount (over 7K) from the escrow account. That money could have gone a long way I’m sure to negotiate a lower settlement. In the end, a large amount of the money I had saved for a year went to Gitmeid first instead of the creditor? Not cool… And my biggest complaint is that the settlement amount was so high (80%) that once I add their fees, I will end up paying a lot more than what I owed the creditor in the first place. They did not even flinch when they told me over the phone. The conversation was very impersonal. My monthly payment tripled to maintain the payoff schedule to the creditor. Luckily, I got a new better job or else I am not sure how things would have turned out. My Advice Gitmeid will do for you what they say. But don’t think it’s necessarily going to be easier and cheaper. No one can defend your interests better than yourself. In retrospect, I could have faced my creditor and worked something out directly with them.

I called Gitman Law when I was totally desperate for help in July, 2017- I’m so glad I did. My total debt was $25,685.00 and I just couldn’t keep with with payments, was late on some and the high interest was keeping me from paying anything off. In September 2020 I will have all of this debt settle...d and completely paid. When I add the settlement amount and fees I found I saved $8,665.00, keep in mind the orginal debt was what I used as how much I saved- There is no interest/late fees included in this calculation so it would have been much-much more if I looked at what the “true” balance was at the settlement date. Gitman did tell me credit score would fall- and it did to the low 500’s and has slowly increased to 619 which is what my score was prior to working with Gitman. My credit score is my fault for getting myself into this situation. There were times where I missed a payment, I would then double the next payment to keep myself on track. The staff was always pleasant to speak with and informative. Personnally, my financial situation and stress changed because one payment every pay rather than figuring who I was paying and how much was no longer a thought- I actually had more money to spend for life itself. The weight lifted off my shoulders was tremendous. I did worry for the first 6 months as I didn’t see any settlement offers even though I was depositing twice a month, my balance was increasing- then after 6 months I began to receive settlement options, whew what a relief. My monthly payment was only raised one time by $40.00 for the next 18 months, I am completely ok with this as everything is settled and will be paid at the end of the 18 months. Would I ever do this again? No, I will always keep myself in check related to debt. Every time a debt was settled, then paid I feel for once in many years relief from all the stress and feeling accomplished as each debt is going away. I would recommend Gitman’s for debt relief, yes you pay fees- but you’re not paying the late charges and interest that has accumulated- someone is handling stressful calls and negotiations for you. For me it was totally worth it and I did save money- I’m rebuilding my credit and most of all the staff never once made me feel uncomfortable for putting myself in this financial situation.

18 months later and they’ve helped me clean up almost $30K worth, plus the creditors don’t call/harass me anymore. I’ve been served to appear in court with some creditors. As soon as this happens, I let the Gitmeid team know and they take it from there. I haven’t had to go to court yet, thankfulll...y. The key is to make the scheduled payments every month, and to notify them immediately of any court notices so they can handle them for you. One month at a time. Slow and steady, and I’ll be out of this soon. Yes there are fees, but with the settlements they arrange, I’m still not paying back all that I’m in debt for, even with their fees. Work hard, make the deposits. Gitmeid will get you out of debt. I’ll give them 5 stars when I’m debt free.