Refund Policy

Debt Doctors of Missouri, LLC provides legal services in the areas of bankruptcy law, debt relief, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment defense, and related financial legal matters. Legal services are professional services that require the application of specialized knowledge, training, and judgment. Unlike the purchase of a product, legal services are consumed as they are performed.

When you retain our Firm to represent you, our attorneys and legal staff immediately begin investing time and resources in your matter. This includes reviewing your financial documents, researching applicable law, communicating with creditors and courts, preparing legal filings, and providing legal advice. These activities represent real work performed on your behalf, and the fees associated with this work are earned as the work is performed.

Because legal services are performed over time and the value of those services is realized as they are delivered, our refund policy is necessarily different from the refund policies of businesses that sell tangible goods. We are committed to providing transparent, fair, and professional billing practices, and we encourage all clients to discuss fee arrangements and billing questions with their attorney at any time.

The specific terms of your fee arrangement will be set forth in your written retainer agreement, which you will receive and sign before we begin work on your matter. This Refund Policy is intended to supplement, not replace, the terms of your retainer agreement. In the event of any conflict between this policy and your retainer agreement, the terms of your retainer agreement shall control.

Debt Doctors of Missouri, LLC offers free initial consultations to prospective clients. During this consultation, one of our attorneys will review your situation, explain your legal options, and answer your questions. There is no charge for this initial consultation, and you are under no obligation to retain our Firm following the consultation.

In certain circumstances, we may charge a fee for extended or specialized consultations. If a consultation fee applies, you will be informed of the fee in advance and will have the opportunity to agree to the fee before the consultation takes place. Consultation fees, if charged, are generally non-refundable once the consultation has occurred, as the attorney's time and expertise have been provided.

If a consultation is scheduled and you fail to appear or cancel with less than 24 hours' notice, we reserve the right to charge a no-show or late cancellation fee. You will be informed of any such fee policy when scheduling your consultation.

If you decide to retain our Firm following a paid consultation, the consultation fee may be applied toward your retainer, at the discretion of the attorney and as specified in your retainer agreement.

Before we begin work on your legal matter, you will be asked to sign a written retainer agreement and to pay a retainer fee. The retainer agreement sets forth the scope of our representation, the fee arrangement, billing procedures, and other important terms of our engagement.

A retainer fee is an advance payment for legal services. Depending on the nature of your matter and the fee arrangement agreed upon, the retainer may be:

• A Flat Fee Retainer: A fixed amount that covers all legal services for a defined scope of work. Flat fee arrangements are common in bankruptcy cases, where the scope of work is relatively predictable. Under a flat fee arrangement, the fee is earned upon completion of the defined scope of work.
• An Hourly Rate Retainer: An advance deposit against which hourly fees are billed as work is performed. Under an hourly arrangement, you will receive regular billing statements showing the work performed and fees charged against your retainer.
• A Hybrid Arrangement: Some matters may involve a combination of flat fees for certain services and hourly billing for others. The specific terms will be set forth in your retainer agreement.

Retainer fees are deposited into our client trust account and are not considered earned until the corresponding legal services have been performed. As work is performed, fees are transferred from the trust account to our operating account.

Certain costs associated with legal representation are non-refundable under any circumstances because they represent payments made to third parties on your behalf. These costs include, but are not limited to:

• Court Filing Fees: Fees paid to the bankruptcy court or other courts to file your case or legal documents. These fees are set by the courts and are non-refundable once paid.
• Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Fees: Fees paid to approved credit counseling and debtor education agencies, which are required in bankruptcy cases.
• Credit Report Fees: Fees paid to obtain credit reports required for your legal matter.
• Process Server Fees: Fees paid to serve legal documents on parties to your case.
• Notary Fees: Fees paid for notarization of legal documents.
• Postage and Mailing Costs: Costs incurred to mail legal documents to courts, creditors, and other parties.
• Document Retrieval Fees: Fees paid to obtain documents from courts, government agencies, or other sources.

These costs are incurred on your behalf and cannot be recovered once paid. You will be informed of anticipated costs before they are incurred, and you will be responsible for reimbursing the Firm for any costs advanced on your behalf.

The United States Bankruptcy Court charges filing fees for bankruptcy petitions. As of the date of this policy, the filing fees are as follows (subject to change by the court):

• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: $338.00
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: $313.00

These fees are paid directly to the bankruptcy court and are non-refundable once your case has been filed. If your case is dismissed before filing, the filing fee will not have been paid and will not be charged.

In cases of financial hardship, the court may allow the filing fee to be paid in installments or, in Chapter 7 cases, may waive the filing fee entirely for debtors whose income is below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. We will advise you of your eligibility for fee installments or waivers during your consultation.

If your case is dismissed and you subsequently refile, additional filing fees will be required. We will advise you of the applicable fees before refiling.

In addition to filing fees, your legal matter may involve other court costs, including fees for motions, adversary proceedings, appeals, and other court filings. These costs are set by the courts and are non-refundable once paid.

We will advise you of anticipated court costs before they are incurred and will obtain your authorization before making any significant expenditure on your behalf. You will be responsible for all court costs incurred in connection with your legal matter, regardless of the outcome of the matter.

In some cases, court costs may be recoverable from opposing parties if you prevail in your legal matter. We will advise you of any such opportunities as they arise.

The distinction between earned and unearned fees is central to our refund policy. Understanding this distinction will help you understand when a refund may be available.

Earned Fees are fees that correspond to legal services that have already been performed. Once legal work has been performed on your behalf, the fees for that work are earned and are generally non-refundable. Examples of earned fees include:

• Time spent reviewing your financial documents and assessing your situation;
• Legal research performed in connection with your matter;
• Preparation of legal documents, including bankruptcy petitions and schedules;
• Communications with creditors, courts, and other parties on your behalf;
• Court appearances and hearings attended on your behalf;
• Advice and counsel provided during meetings and telephone calls.

Unearned Fees are fees that have been paid in advance but for which the corresponding legal services have not yet been performed. Unearned fees are held in our client trust account and are refundable if you terminate the representation before those services are performed, subject to the terms of your retainer agreement and applicable professional responsibility rules.

In flat fee arrangements, the determination of earned vs. unearned fees may be more complex, as the flat fee is intended to cover a defined scope of work. In such cases, we will calculate the earned portion of the flat fee based on the work performed relative to the total scope of the engagement.

You have the right to terminate your representation with our Firm at any time, for any reason. To cancel your representation, you must notify us in writing by email to info@debtdocllc.com or by certified mail to our office at 3337 E Ridgeview St, Springfield, MO 65804.

Upon receipt of your cancellation notice, we will:

• Cease work on your matter immediately, unless we are required by law or court order to continue;
• Prepare a final accounting of fees earned and costs incurred;
• Return any unearned fees held in trust, less any earned fees and costs;
• Provide you with a copy of your file and any documents in our possession that belong to you;
• Take any steps necessary to protect your interests during the transition, including notifying courts and other parties of our withdrawal.

Please be aware that canceling your representation may have significant consequences for your legal matter, particularly if your case is pending before a court. We strongly encourage you to discuss any concerns about your representation with your attorney before canceling, as many issues can be resolved through open communication.

If you cancel your representation after a bankruptcy case has been filed, you will need to either retain new counsel or proceed pro se (without an attorney). We will cooperate fully with any successor counsel you retain.

We are committed to transparent and accurate billing. If you have a question or concern about a bill or fee statement, we encourage you to contact us promptly to discuss the matter.

To dispute a bill or fee, please contact us in writing within thirty (30) days of receiving the bill or fee statement. Your written dispute should identify the specific charges you are disputing and explain the basis for your dispute. You can submit a billing dispute by email to info@debtdocllc.com or by mail to our office address.

Upon receiving your billing dispute, we will:

• Review the disputed charges and the work performed;
• Respond to your dispute in writing within fifteen (15) business days;
• If we determine that an error was made, issue a corrected bill and, if applicable, a refund of any overcharge;
• If we determine that the charges are correct, provide you with a detailed explanation of the work performed and the basis for the charges.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your billing dispute, you may have the right to seek fee arbitration through the Missouri Bar's fee dispute resolution program. We will provide you with information about this program upon request.

If you paid fees to our Firm by credit card or debit card and you initiate a chargeback with your card issuer, please be aware that we will contest the chargeback if we believe the charges were legitimate and properly earned.

Initiating a chargeback for legitimate legal fees may constitute a breach of your retainer agreement and may result in the termination of our representation. It may also result in collection action to recover the disputed fees.

We strongly encourage you to contact us directly to resolve any billing disputes before initiating a chargeback. In most cases, billing disputes can be resolved quickly and amicably through direct communication.

If you have a legitimate dispute about fees charged to your credit card, please follow the billing dispute process described in Section 9 of this policy. We are committed to resolving billing disputes fairly and promptly.

Refunds of legal fees may be available in the following circumstances:

• Unearned Fees: If you terminate your representation before all contracted legal services have been performed, you are entitled to a refund of any unearned fees held in our client trust account, less any earned fees and costs incurred.
• Billing Errors: If we determine that you were charged in error, we will issue a refund of the overcharge promptly.
• Firm-Initiated Termination: If we terminate our representation of you (other than for cause), we will refund any unearned fees held in trust.
• Failure to Perform: In the rare event that we fail to perform agreed-upon legal services through no fault of your own, we may issue a partial or full refund of fees paid for those services, at our discretion and in accordance with applicable professional responsibility rules.

Refunds are generally not available in the following circumstances:

• Dissatisfaction with the outcome of your legal matter, as legal outcomes cannot be guaranteed;
• Fees for legal services that have already been performed;
• Court filing fees and other costs paid to third parties on your behalf;
• Fees for services that were not performed due to your failure to cooperate, provide required information, or comply with court requirements;
• Fees for cases that were dismissed due to your failure to attend required hearings or meetings.

Debt Doctors of Missouri, LLC does not guarantee any particular outcome in any legal matter. The practice of law involves inherent uncertainty, and the outcome of any case depends on many factors beyond our control, including the specific facts of the case, the applicable law, the decisions of courts and judges, the actions of creditors and their counsel, and other circumstances that may arise during the course of representation.

Our fees are charged for the legal services we provide — the time, expertise, and effort we invest in your matter — not for the outcome of your case. We will work diligently and professionally on your behalf, but we cannot guarantee that your case will result in a discharge of debt, a successful reorganization plan, a prevention of foreclosure, or any other specific outcome.

Dissatisfaction with the outcome of your legal matter is not a basis for a refund of legal fees, provided that we performed the agreed-upon legal services competently and in accordance with our professional obligations. If you believe that we failed to meet our professional obligations, you may have the right to file a complaint with the Missouri Bar or to pursue a legal malpractice claim.

We encourage you to discuss your expectations and concerns with your attorney throughout the course of your representation. Open communication is the best way to ensure that you understand the status of your matter and the realistic prospects for your case.

We reserve the right to modify this Refund Policy at any time. Changes to this policy will be effective immediately upon posting to our Website. However, changes to this policy will not affect the terms of any retainer agreement that was signed before the effective date of the change.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about our refund practices. If you have questions about this policy or how it applies to your specific situation, please contact us before signing a retainer agreement.

The most current version of this Refund Policy will always be available on our Website. The effective date of the current version is indicated at the top of this page.

If you have questions about this Refund Policy, a billing dispute, or a refund request, please contact us using the following information:

We will respond to refund requests and billing inquiries within five (5) business days. For urgent matters, please call us directly at 417-315-1748.

If you are a current client and have questions about your specific fee arrangement, please contact your attorney directly or call our main office number. We are committed to resolving all billing questions and concerns promptly and professionally.