Local

Action 9: Woman upset by company that expects too much for fast divorce

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A local woman trusted a company that she thought could get her a divorce fast, but it turned out that it would cost her far more than she realized.

Lillie St. John and Luke Padgett are in love and want to get married this Christmas.

"We are going to make it work, and it is going to work just fine," said St. John.

But first, St. John needs a divorce.

She said she saw an ad in the Yellow Pages for quick divorce with what looked like a Charlotte number.

"I decided this quick divorce sounded good," said St. John.

She called and was told that they could finalize her divorce in 4-5 weeks; all she had to do was pay $719 and then sign the divorce papers.

"He said I didn't have to do anything, so that was great for me," said St. John.

After waiting three weeks, St. John was faxed 32 pages of divorce papers to fill out -- not what she had in mind.

When she asked to visit the office, a secretary said the company doesn't have one.

"She said, 'You have to take those to court and file them.' I said, 'No one told me that,'" said St. John.

Court filing would cost her another $250 -- something she said she wasn't told up front.

Action 9 found out that St. John was really dealing with Cheapandfastdivorce.com out of New York.

The company has a D-minus rating with the Better Business Bureau and 15 complaints.

Action 9 called the company, and a spokesman said it provides only procedural help.

He said the company does not mislead anyone, but he admitted that it does not tell customers up front that they have to do the work themselves.

He said that customers get confused if they are given too much information up front.

When Action 9 asked for St. John's money back, he said that it was not going to happen.

St. John's warning now is: Before doing business with any quick-divorce firm, do your homework.

"I let my guard down," said St. John.