Michael J. Wood

It is terrible when an attorney claims to help you but doesn't do his job. Michael Wood represented me in a settlement. Him and his company got 5100.00 for my 500.00 settlement. His company community lawyers group represents low income people against debt collectors. He filed suit on my beh...alf and we ended up settling for 500.00 To me this is a game they play making money off the poor people acting like they are helping us when in reality they are making big money off it. Well, a problem came up when two years later I find out that the IRS is being reported to wrongly the amount I got. I found out by Social Security that the company I settled with in 2015 is claiming I got 5600.00 when in reality Michael Wood got 5100.00 in lawyers fees and I only got 500.00 Instead of him making sure the IRS information gets corrected he simply thought he could make out an affidavit and that would be good enough for Social Security. He told me I wouldn't owe any money in taxes anyway on it. To me, it doesn't matter if I owe taxes on it I want it to show the correct amount because that is the right thing to do. It is very difficult getting a hold of him when there is a problem and than he tells you thing and changes them later so you don't know what to think. He is very experienced at protecting his own interests and making sure he gets paid but does not make sure you are protected with there is a mistake. First he told me he would get a letter from the company I settled with to show Social Security and than later changed it to he couldn't get it because they were the adverse side in the settlement. He also told me he would get a tax attorney for the IRS thing if need be but told me to wait for an adverse decision from Social Security first. I am not going to wait months and months when my SSI income is on the line. Social Security told me my SSI income could be affected. I am sick and tired of the excuses this man makes. I want this corrected with the IRS. He sure acted like he was there for me when he was getting paid. Than he acts like it's my problem with the IRS. And I am sick of this Lawyer not returning phone calls and not responding to emails when he told me in the past email was a better way for me to get a hold of him. I would warn anybody dealing with Michael J Wood and his company Community Lawyers Group that you let them know you wanted things correctly reported to the IRS before the settlement is made. It seems like once the settlement is made the lawyer and the company you settled with can make mistakes and there is no recourse. I should have known when I got the letter from Michael wood saying I could end up with alot less if I take it to trial. That is one of their tactics in getting you to settle. Now I see that you really have to be careful in who you can trust.