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Hi all,
I enrolled with FDR about 2 years ago and my program is complete. I would not recommend anyone going with FDR or possibly any debt settlement company although I can only speak on my dealings with FDR. The primary concern that I have is that most disgruntled clients seem to be disgruntled about the same thing. I don't believe that is a coincidence. I actually enrolled ten accounts and subsequently removed 5 of them. The 5 I removed were removed because I believed I could settle those accounts better on my own and one creditor refused to work with FDR. Part of the problem for me is that I purchased my program from (I can only assume) a franchise. The franchise said one thing and then FDR (once I was in the program) said differently. I was always told that there was no guarantee that I would not be sued but the chances were very good that I would not be since FDR had a successful relationship with these creditors. Of the 10 accounts, I was sued by five. Of course interest had accrued and FDR put forth an agreement to me for 100% of an account in excess of $17.000 - no savings there. With the other accounts, I did experience some savings but nothing near the 20 - 40% they originally promised as a possibility. I guess the moral is anything is possible but what is likely. We're in trouble (through our own fault - perhaps with some assistance but ultimately, the fault lies with me) and we want to hear that there is a silver lining and frankly, there isn't. I was advised in error by FDR. They wouldn't call creditors back in each instance. They don't tell you that once an account goes legal, they will cease activity on every account because they have to save your funds "just in case." They were constantly asking for more money so they could settle faster. I removed the five accounts because as I stated, I was always in legal and my other accounts even with additional monies were not being worked. I have since settled and paid four of these accounts and I have a fifth one remaining. I still owe $361/month for the judgement FDR negotiated on my behalf. I have had some of my service fees refunded because of errors made by FDR. Because they neglected to take timely action, one creditor increased the settlement amount. Because they stopped payment on an account before they were supposed to, I had to come out of my pocket double one month. And although they refunded the fees to me, the problem is the error shouldn't have happened. And while I understand that mistakes are made, I paid for their mistakes. The fees they refunded to me would have been refunded to me at the end of the program anyway because they did not fulfill their guarantee of savings. However, those fees should have been mine to use as I saw fit. Instead, I had to use the fees to pay my creditors because of their broken promises. While I do not support FDR, this is still my fault that I found myself in this position. Do not use a debt settlement company. You'll do better on your own and even IF you can't get the same savings they promised you, you'll save on retainer and service fees.

Chase is considered to be an aggressive collector and they sometimes make statements that they do not work with settlement companies, however FDR does have experience working with Chase. Although their negotiations may work a bit differently than other negotiations FDR will still be able to assist our clients each step of the way. If you have received misinformation about your FDR account please do not hesitate to contact FDR Customer Service so that they may further assist you.

I work for FDR and the settlements you speak of are not typical. We are very fortunate that we are able to obtain great settlements for our clients as you can see on our website. There are exceptions sometimes and this may have been the case. FDR has served roughly 85,000 clients with an average settlement percentage of 40.5% in the 1st quarter of 2010. You are correct, there is a possibility that an unpaid account may go in to a “Legal” status although that possibility is roughly 2.4% of accounts. FDR is very committed to settling our client’s debts in a short period of time for as little money as possible. And at times FDR may reach out to a client to supplement additional funds to aid us in obtaining a settlement ahead of time. If you feel that you have not been serviced properly by FDR or you would like to discuss your account please contact FDR customer service.

I don't typically "reply" but I must. You state that only about 2.4% of your accounts go to legal. You also state that my results were not typical. Let me assure you, they were typical for me since most of my accounts ended up in legal. When I did reach out to talk to FDR, I spoke with a representative who informed me that while it is "unusual" it does happen and that he had a client that had five accounts with FDR and all five went Legal. My concern is that you go to the extreme saying how rare it is for an account to go Legal when that is obviously not the case in certain circumstances. I'm not sure if the salary of the debtor or potential assets has anything to do with the determination to go Legal but I believe that almost 70% of my accounts and 100% of another client's accounts going Legal bears closer scrutiny so that regardless of the characteristics of a client, the information you are giving is accurate. In my case it was decidely inaccurate. FDR asking for additional funds was not what my issue was. My issue was at no time during the "selling" of this program was I informed that you would possibly ask for additional funds. In short, there was not full disclosure on how the program would operate. In addition, you don't address my concerns and I didn't want you to nor did I expect you to. However, to tell me to talk to Customer Service about my account is rather insulting. I think by my initial writing, it is quite obvious that I have been speaking with Customer Service all along. I believe I should also add at this point that when one of my accounts went to Legal that I was advised my FDR to sign the Consent Judgement since FDR had come to terms with the creditor and those terms would be part of the Consent Judgement. I was concerned because a Judgement stays on your Credit Report fo 10 years. I was told by my FDR representative to sign since Consent Judgements are not placed on your record. And yes, I have the emails to validate the veracity of this statemen. You can understand my amazement when the Consent Judgement was placed on my Credit Report. Since one of the few things you said up front did say FDR had nothing to do with my Credit Report, I did not contact Customer Service. It was just another area where my account had been mishandled. Are you saying I should contact Customer Service on this? And if I do, what are the possible actions they could take on my behalf? I believe nothing. Should I do it to help you improve your service? No, because I don't think this service can be improved because the things you would need to do to improve it would possibly mean you would lose a portion of your customer base.

I signed up with FDR 3 years ago with six accounts. Even though it took about 8 months longer for me in the program, all my accounts have been settled. They tell you you in the beginning this will ruin your credit score, but if you dont pay the creditors your credit will be ruined. No more calls from debt collectors and a chance to rebuild my credit. FDR is a great company! By the way I had BOA and a Chase account all settled.

While each clients results can vary, FDR’s current statistics are based off of all client’s enrolled. FDR provides world class customer service to all clients during a time of extreme hardship. If you truly are a client of FDR please contact customer service so that we may review your specific situation.

I truly WAS a client of FDR and at your direction, I have contacted FDR. At this point, the only thing I would like is to have the Consent Judgement removed from my credit report. I informed you that I didn't contact you because I didn't think anything would be done. I was transferred to Advanced Collections and I left a message for T. Strickland. Once I hear back from the representative, I will post the results of our conversation here.

Wow. I was thisclose to signing with FDR when I decided to look up FDR reviews online. I'm so glad I found your blog - thank you so much for all this information. And to all of you who have posted your experiences here, please know that you have really helped someone avoid a move that might have cost her dearly. I've been doing debt stacking for awhile, and paid off 4 of my 8 cards so far, I think I'm just going to stick with that.
Thank you all so much!

I did call FDR as I stated I would and they did call me back to investigate the Consent Judgement on my record. While the FDR representative was very courteous and professional, I was told that the Consent Judgement would typically stay until the debt is paid. The representative did apologize for the apparent misinformation and/or misrepresentation of the previous FDR representation by seeminly skirting the questions posed. I am as content as I can and I will continue to pay my debt until it is paid off at which time I will attempt to have the Consent Judgement removed from my Credit Report.

FDR’s program is for people that can no longer afford minimum payments to their creditors. We have been in business since 2002, serving over 90,000 clients, saving $443+ Million in debt. Each client should carefully review their situation to see if FDR is the best choice for them. We wish you the best of luck on resolving your financial hardship.

I just got off the phone with FDR and they ask for your ss# to do an outline of what to expect. I didn't trust them at that point. Sorry to hear what happened to you...

i'm trying to decide if i should use them for my 20k in debt.help

The reason we ask for your social security number, as explained by our Account Executives is so we can complete a soft credit pull that allows us to see your unsecured debt to help you understand how our program can help your individual needs.

Thanks for the "almost done with FDR" post. I am considering what to do and appreciate the time you have taken to detail your mishaps

FDR has been a leader in the debt settlement industry for 8 years and is a member of The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC). Each client should carefully review their situation to see if FDR is the best choice for them. Should you like more information in regards to the FDR program you may call FDR for a free 10 minute consultation at PHONE NUMBER REMOVED anytime between 6:30AM and 7:30PM PST. FDR works with their clients to generate some of the best settlements, to date we have saved our clients over $443 million dollars.

I can tell you from experience that in your first year, most of your deposited money goes to pay their fees....they do not stop creditors from harrassing you by their Cease Communication letters! They say they send them but in reality, do they? No. You have to be the one to send letters and threaten the Attorney General. FDR does not support you legally; you are still subjected to legal action and they provide no support to help you; so you hire your own attorney when you can't afford to because all of your money is going to FDR. If you receive an offer from a creditor directly and ask FDR to escalate negotiations they ignore you and stay on "their schedule". If you are able to settle directly with a creditor, FDR does not allow a "break" from their program so you can use your money to pay the settlement yourself. No, this is a scam. You will lay awake at night from the calls and be scared of being served papers at work or home. Consult an attorney; it's too bad that creditors don't work with you when you really needed their help; when you missed your payment by a few days and your interest rate and min payment doubled. Consult with an attorney and save yourself worry and financial ruin. You will be in worse shape by participating in this program than you were to begin with. Believe me.