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David Raymond Amos‏ @DavidRayAmos


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/simply-divorce-service-twila-emery-bourgeois-moncton-lawyer-1.4995743

Simply Divorce not so simple: People lose money on discount service

 
Shaun Smith
The information provided by PLEIS NB is very easy to follow, there is a checklist and tons of examples on how to fill in the forms (uncontested divorce). I worked on the papers with my common-law spouse. Total cost was about 150.00 and that includes the re-filing fee he paid because we missed one form...Not too bad for non-lawyers. As for serving, we did it by mail. in fact the checklist makes it very clear you cannot serve your spouse yourself. Get a service, or just send it registered mail and keep the receipt and fill in the affidavit that it was sent














 
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Brandon Smith
I know for a fact, because I have been told so, that there are numerous fake calls made to Tori. People pretending to be customers. I hope you have vetted each person. Chelsie and Tina are giving you misinformation. Take a look at the Facebook Site, you will see the involvement of Keith Smith. He is inciting violence against us, he is instigating. He has had people call CBC that are not customers. I am in the private group with some of them, they do not know it is me. You are running a story based on information that is being put together by Keith.













 
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Brandon Smith
2. Chelsie claims I did not send her divorce paperwork. I did. I sent proof to Tori, and she dismissed it after speaking with Chelsie. As I told you in an earlier email, I sent Chelsie a refund of $100, did her divorce papers and through in a free Will. We agreed that I would give her an additional $100 to make things right. The cost of that service is $175. She paid $100. She told Tori last night that I was suppose to register her divorce and service. We did not have that conversation and I did not agree to such a thing after all the threats by her and her family, death threats, why would I agree to such a thing. I just wanted to fulfill my obligation to her, as per her agreement with Emery, and have her out of our lives. I only asked her to take down the FB Simply Divorce Scam, she never had any intention to, which she never did. I asked her to sign a confidentiality agreement, she refused and demanded money from Emery or she was going to CBC and would get back as us. Emery asked her how to rectified the issue, she said “Money” a $100 each week until she is satisfied. (her daughter’s birthday was that week and she needed money” She is scamming Social Assistance, I have proof, her application. She is saying she is not.












 
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Stephen White

Simply Divorce not so simple: People lose money on discount service

'Again, it's me that lost in the end because I had to pay this $175 and I got nothing,' customer says

Chelsie Day said the paperwork she received from Simply Divorce was full of mistakes. Despite promises from the company, she has never received corrected documents, she says. (CBC)


Getting a divorce can be expensive, even when both sides agree the marriage is over. With the costs of a lawyer, an uncontested divorce can still run between several hundred dollars and $1,000.

The hefty price has led some people to forgo a lawyer and turn to a divorce service instead, but that proved to be a money-losing choice for some people using Simply Divorce, a company that operated in Moncton last year.

Simply Divorce was run by husband and wife team Emery and Twila Bourgeois and offered a low-cost alternative to preparing divorce papers, while making it clear no lawyers were on staff.

The company's discounted prices ranged from $175 to $300.

Simply Divorce was registered with, but not rated by, the Better Business Bureau in June 2018.

Simply Divorce asked clients to fill out a questionnaire. The information was used to fill out necessary paperwork, which would either be filed at a courthouse by the client or, with the premium package, filed by Simply Divorce.

Some clients say the more expensive package also included the cost of serving an estranged spouse divorce papers.

But Chelsie Day of St. Stephen said she paid $200 to Simply Divorce and wound up with more hassle than help. Day started looking at her options for obtaining a divorce in September.

"I tried lawyers, I've gotten  many different estimates, different prices, it's anywhere between $800 and $1,200 from what I found in the area."

Those fees were too steep for Day. She considered filing her own divorce papers but found the process confusing and didn't want to deliver the papers to her estranged husband herself.

She looked online and came across what seemed a cheaper and easier way to get her uncontested divorce.

"I found it on the Saint John Buy and Sell [Facebook group], an add for Simply Divorce Canada and they were claiming to give divorces for only $300."

The 23-year-old mother of two was initially leery of the posting but searched the company online and called the Moncton office. Day said she spoke with Twila Bourgeois by phone a number of times over a few weeks.

"They seemed legit, they had a real website, they had a real Google page with an address listed, with an office area they were listing."

Day wanted the $300 package and had only $200 in the bank, but she said Bourgeois told her to pay the remaining money later. Day sent her information to Bourgeois and two days later received her paperwork riddled with errors.

"The papers have 36 errors between misspelling of names wrong locations, wrong addresses, things like that, just totally incorrect information," Day said.

"I confronted them about this and they said, 'Well, don't worry about the other $100 you were going to send.'"

Day said Bourgeois also told her, 'You have a real keen eye for detail, you should start correcting paperwork for us."

Although she had no experience doing legal work or proofreading, Day agreed to work on a per-document basis. She said she worked a couple of hours for Simply Divorce making ads for social media sites and was never paid.

While this was going on, Day waited for her corrected paperwork to come in the mail.

"Then they disappeared completely. Their website disappeared, their Facebook disappeared, their phones got turned off. I couldn't reach anybody."

Day eventually received her papers, and Simply Divorce returned her $100. She said the papers still contained errors and the papers were never filed with the court or her partner.

Day said she went to the Codiac RCMP and took to Facebook, hoping to warn others.

'I just want my divorce'

Tina Robichaud of Cap-Pelé desperately wanted a divorce but knew she couldn't afford a lawyer. Instead, she called Simply Divorce after seeing an ad online.

"I ignored it for two months, and finally I went for it. Then everything went to pieces."

Robichaud went to meet Twila Bourgeois at the Simply Divorce office on Main Street on Oct. 24. She said she gave all the necessary information to Bourgeois and paid for the basic package.

But when Robichaud received a draft of her paperwork, she said, she found mistakes so she sent it back.

Two weeks later, Robichaud was still asking for a revised copy.

"I never got no reply."

Robichaud works two jobs and said losing that money was a blow. But worse than that, Robichaud was no closer to leaving her marriage.

"I kept on telling Twila that my main concern was I just want my divorce. I want to forget that memory, I just didn't want nothing else to do with anything except to just get my divorce."

Robichaud said she had a difficult marriage, and it was frustrating to take steps to make her situation better only to find herself back at the beginning of the divorce process.

"Because again, it's me that lost in the end because I had to pay this $175 and I got nothing," she said. "They basically need to be stopped."

Robichaud also reported Twila and Emery Bourgeois to the RCMP, but she doesn't know if anything is being done.

RCMP would not confirm to CBC News if they're investigating the complaints.

'I can understand why people are upset'

The CBC contacted the couple, but Twila Bourgeois was the only one who would speak on the phone.

She admitted she took money from customers and was unable to get them completed divorce papers in a timely manner.

Personal problems led her to close her business in November, she said.

"I can understand why people are upset."

Bourgeois denied that anyone asked for a refund. On Nov. 26, she said all her customers would receive their completed papers but two months later, she said, that has not happened yet.

Bourgeois said Chelsie Day got her money's worth.

Bourgeois said she is not a lawyer, and she was always up front with customers about this. She said she is trained as a paralegal and has studied psychology.

A new divorce service called Divorce 180 was listed online in December. Twila Bourgeois said she was behind the company but has since closed it down.

Neither Simply Divorce nor Divorce 180 were registered companies in New Brunswick.