If I could give a negative rating on this agency, I would. Anyone considering them...RUN THE OTHER WAY.
I think the fact that the owner's wife takes time out of her "busy" day to determine who wrote the posting and write the above response should tell you where the agency's priorities lie. Not to mention that they admit to threatening to sue a client......that's interesting customer service. I don't think that is what any of us sign up for when we fork over the tens of thousands of dollars that they demand.
This organization claims to be Christian, any dealings I've had with the owner or his wife have been anything but - I don't think extortion is very Christian - call me crazy. But extort us is exactly what they did - threatening to find "new adoptive parents" for our birth mother if we did not over night the funds they requested....despite the fact that we didn't have a signed Match Agreement. Ed Webb, the owner, is ignorant and condescending and thinks that because he has your money and is an attorney, he's got you over a barrell and can take advantage of what you have invested emotionally and financially into the process.
This agency gives adoption a bad name and is why people are discouraged by domestic adoption.
I am a birth mother that place a baby with this agency in 2003. I have had no contact with the agency about the child because is how I had requested it. I have recently been wondering about the child so I treid to contact Donna Gail about this matter. She returned my call almost immediatly and was very helpfull in this matter. I am not sure about anything esle in this matter except that Donna Gail is in the adoption bussiness for all the right reasons. She has always done right by me from the start.
Please listen to shawnalansmummy "MOVE ON" or "look elsewhere". That is the best advice on her post.
We almost hired Adoption Advantage but something in our hearts told us their heart wasn't in the right place and we moved on. We are so thankful we did because we just adopted a beautiful child and we are so overjoyed.
There are so many lawyers and/or agencies out there that even though this is their Business, they make it their business to have satisfied customers above all else.
When a lawyer or agency ask for such a large amount of money up-front, that speaks volumes of where their loyalties lie.
The lawyer we used asked for very little up front and the full amount wasn't paid until the day of surrender. We retained him in August and got "the call" the next month. Exactly 28 days later. When we got ICPC we stopped by his office to thank him and say goodbye and there were two other couples waiting to meet their BM just as we had done 2 weeks prior.
The whole experience with him was phenomenal, from getting all our questions answered to getting the medical records before accepting that placement.
So, please don't feel you have to use Adoption Advantage, let shawnalansmummy use them and all the others who have posted such "wonderful" things about them.
Play it safe and take shawnalansmummy's advice and "MOVE ON". You'll be glad you did.
yup-AA collects the fees up front. if you don't like it, MOVE ON! your contract wasnt signed, then keep your money and go try to have a baby within 6 months somewhere else. they tell everyone, up front, over the first phone call, that they are a small agency who collects fees up front. among other reasons, it helps them keep lots of advertising out there where moms from all walks of life can see it. yes- we took a leap of faith and paid all the fees before signing any contract and 5 months before signing any match agreement. that is THEIR POLICY in the private sector. NOT illegal. why do people jump in and then try to strong-arm Ed into bending his rules?????
"i want the money kept in escrow until placement"
"i'll pay when i am matched up"
"i want to pay in monthly installments."(so does everyone else!)
NO. pay now or go find another agency.
ive heard it all on this whiney forum. especially from THE WEALTHY.
my nearest grocery store wants 4$ for a half gallon of orange juice. so now i drive farther because i like orange juice that costs $2.99. it tastes better.
at AA you can often adopt a newborn, healthy baby (of color) with fees of under 13/14k. where else can you do that in the USA????????
our baby was born 6 months after we paid the fee & signed . my friend is there right now adopting a baby that was born 6 months after paying the fees.
take a leap of faith! let GOD make ll the plans. hes pretty good at it, after all.
call it "false" and ludicrous all you want. i disagree. its called free CHOICE. you can do it their way, or look elsewhere. it may irritate most that adoption agencies are not usually a non profit organizations, but it is what i is. a BUSINESS. it may be a busines involving affairs of the heart, but it i still a BUSINESS.
as for GOD, leave him out all you want, but your bitterness shows through, maybe thats why youre here!
Actually, there are over 3000 non profit adoption agencies in the United States, and most are making "quite" a profit. Non profit doesn't mean that they're not making a lot of money.
You are right though, they ARE a business, they have money as a first priority, and obviously people are willing to spend that to call a child "their own."
I did want to clarify that though, agencies are most definitely Non Profits, and often.
Adoptees deserve full unconditional access to their unaltered birth certificates. Anything other than that is discrimination! We are NOT commodities. We are NOT something to make a business off of. We will expose those who have violated us.
is I am not bitter. What I do not find funny is your need to attack people. It's sad, really.
As for CHOICE...I agree. People can choose to use whichever agency they want. Unfortunately, there are some logistical reasons why people must choose a specific agency (e.g., proximity, laws). So, let's try to be tolerant of others. Last time I went to church (last week), it was the Godly thing to do.
I have a suggestion. Let us focus on posting adoption agency ratings. Isn't this the intention of the site.
My issue was not about "up front fees." so before you climb on your soap box, know what you are talking about. I paid the up front fees in good faith, as you state. That was not my issue.
Just because they are able to provide a baby within 6 months does not make their poor customer service, their poor book keeping practices or their overall questionable business ethics acceptable. I feel potential clients of theirs have a right to know that while some experiences have been good with the agency, there are also those that have been bad. They can now make an informed/educated decision on where they would like to place their trust.
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Reviews
adoption advantage
If I could give a negative rating on this agency, I would. Anyone considering them...RUN THE OTHER WAY.
I think the fact that the owner's wife takes time out of her "busy" day to determine who wrote the posting and write the above response should tell you where the agency's priorities lie. Not to mention that they admit to threatening to sue a client......that's interesting customer service. I don't think that is what any of us sign up for when we fork over the tens of thousands of dollars that they demand.
This organization claims to be Christian, any dealings I've had with the owner or his wife have been anything but - I don't think extortion is very Christian - call me crazy. But extort us is exactly what they did - threatening to find "new adoptive parents" for our birth mother if we did not over night the funds they requested....despite the fact that we didn't have a signed Match Agreement. Ed Webb, the owner, is ignorant and condescending and thinks that because he has your money and is an attorney, he's got you over a barrell and can take advantage of what you have invested emotionally and financially into the process.
This agency gives adoption a bad name and is why people are discouraged by domestic adoption.
I placed a baby
I am a birth mother that place a baby with this agency in 2003. I have had no contact with the agency about the child because is how I had requested it. I have recently been wondering about the child so I treid to contact Donna Gail about this matter. She returned my call almost immediatly and was very helpfull in this matter. I am not sure about anything esle in this matter except that Donna Gail is in the adoption bussiness for all the right reasons. She has always done right by me from the start.
adoption advantage
Marion
Please listen to shawnalansmummy "MOVE ON" or "look elsewhere". That is the best advice on her post.
We almost hired Adoption Advantage but something in our hearts told us their heart wasn't in the right place and we moved on. We are so thankful we did because we just adopted a beautiful child and we are so overjoyed.
There are so many lawyers and/or agencies out there that even though this is their Business, they make it their business to have satisfied customers above all else.
When a lawyer or agency ask for such a large amount of money up-front, that speaks volumes of where their loyalties lie.
The lawyer we used asked for very little up front and the full amount wasn't paid until the day of surrender. We retained him in August and got "the call" the next month. Exactly 28 days later. When we got ICPC we stopped by his office to thank him and say goodbye and there were two other couples waiting to meet their BM just as we had done 2 weeks prior.
The whole experience with him was phenomenal, from getting all our questions answered to getting the medical records before accepting that placement.
So, please don't feel you have to use Adoption Advantage, let shawnalansmummy use them and all the others who have posted such "wonderful" things about them.
Play it safe and take shawnalansmummy's advice and "MOVE ON". You'll be glad you did.
Many, many thumbs down for Adoption Advantage.
up front fees
yup-AA collects the fees up front. if you don't like it, MOVE ON! your contract wasnt signed, then keep your money and go try to have a baby within 6 months somewhere else. they tell everyone, up front, over the first phone call, that they are a small agency who collects fees up front. among other reasons, it helps them keep lots of advertising out there where moms from all walks of life can see it. yes- we took a leap of faith and paid all the fees before signing any contract and 5 months before signing any match agreement. that is THEIR POLICY in the private sector. NOT illegal. why do people jump in and then try to strong-arm Ed into bending his rules?????
"i want the money kept in escrow until placement"
"i'll pay when i am matched up"
"i want to pay in monthly installments."(so does everyone else!)
NO. pay now or go find another agency.
ive heard it all on this whiney forum. especially from THE WEALTHY.
my nearest grocery store wants 4$ for a half gallon of orange juice. so now i drive farther because i like orange juice that costs $2.99. it tastes better.
at AA you can often adopt a newborn, healthy baby (of color) with fees of under 13/14k. where else can you do that in the USA????????
our baby was born 6 months after we paid the fee & signed . my friend is there right now adopting a baby that was born 6 months after paying the fees.
take a leap of faith! let GOD make ll the plans. hes pretty good at it, after all.
I think your analogy is false.
To compare paying up-front fees for a "possible" match to purchasing orange juice for $2.99 at a grocery farther away is simply ludicrous.
As for God, let's leave him out of this.
califdads valued opinion
call it "false" and ludicrous all you want. i disagree. its called free CHOICE. you can do it their way, or look elsewhere. it may irritate most that adoption agencies are not usually a non profit organizations, but it is what i is. a BUSINESS. it may be a busines involving affairs of the heart, but it i still a BUSINESS.
as for GOD, leave him out all you want, but your bitterness shows through, maybe thats why youre here!
on non profits
Actually, there are over 3000 non profit adoption agencies in the United States, and most are making "quite" a profit. Non profit doesn't mean that they're not making a lot of money.
You are right though, they ARE a business, they have money as a first priority, and obviously people are willing to spend that to call a child "their own."
I did want to clarify that though, agencies are most definitely Non Profits, and often.
Adoptees deserve full unconditional access to their unaltered birth certificates. Anything other than that is discrimination! We are NOT commodities. We are NOT something to make a business off of. We will expose those who have violated us.
What IS funny...
is I am not bitter. What I do not find funny is your need to attack people. It's sad, really.
As for CHOICE...I agree. People can choose to use whichever agency they want. Unfortunately, there are some logistical reasons why people must choose a specific agency (e.g., proximity, laws). So, let's try to be tolerant of others. Last time I went to church (last week), it was the Godly thing to do.
I have a suggestion. Let us focus on posting adoption agency ratings. Isn't this the intention of the site.
up front fees
My issue was not about "up front fees." so before you climb on your soap box, know what you are talking about. I paid the up front fees in good faith, as you state. That was not my issue.
Just because they are able to provide a baby within 6 months does not make their poor customer service, their poor book keeping practices or their overall questionable business ethics acceptable. I feel potential clients of theirs have a right to know that while some experiences have been good with the agency, there are also those that have been bad. They can now make an informed/educated decision on where they would like to place their trust.