Harry Gross: Attorney gave costly tax advice

DEAR HARRY: I recently retained an attorney to assist me in a tax and mortgage problem. I hired him in the hope of getting a loan modification and tax relief on a property I inherited. He recommended that I file for bankruptcy under Chapter 13. I agreed, and we did it. However, the bankruptcy did not solve the mortgage problem and only made my ability to pay the mortgage worse. I got a modification that increased my monthly payments. It also increased the amounts due on the old tax bill from $250 to $385. When I called the lawyer about this, his secretary said that they don't usually work on modification cases and if I could not afford the payments to just let the property go. So, after paying the lawyer $3,900, my payments are higher than before. He won't answer my calls, and his secretary gives me a brush-off when I call. Help!

WHAT HARRY SAYS: The single most frequent complaint against lawyers over the years has been their failure to return phone calls. In your case, the lawyer appears not to have done what you retained him to do. He should never have made a move that would cost you more money than you were paying. I doubt that you would be able to recover a significant amount of money by suing him. You could file a complaint with the Bar Association (215-6238-6300) and perhaps recover some of your fee. Sorry.