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I would call 866-833-6398 they don't charge any upfront fees and you only pay them when you settle with your creditors.

Here's an honest review/opinion when it comes to debt settlement. You wont find anything more honest than this. For starters, I am not an upset customer with a negative experience and I am not an owner/investor/manager of a debt settlement company. I'm an average joe who spent two years working in the debt settlement industry and know first hand the ins and outs of the industry.

For those looking for a non-biased opinion, here it is.

Debt settlement is an alternative to bankruptcy. People who enter this program did so because there was no way they were able to continue making payments to their creditors. In a perfect world, this would be the case. But keep in mind, how do people end up signing up for a debt settlement program. They call a number they may have seen or heard or may have filled out some online inquiry saying they could get a free consultation from a "certified debt consultant". Certified? GET REAL, your talking to an individual whose career is in sales. Your talking to a salesman. There job is to sign you up. They're convincing, they say all the right words, and somehow without awareness your being given paperwork to sign. YOU GOT CLOSED! And the answer is yes, some people in sales do bend the truth in order to get you to sign. They don't see you as Robert or Jan, they see you as a debt amount with commission written all over it. Yes they will sign up people who arent necessarily the right candidate for debt settlment and yes those people will be the first to complain about it. But you can't blame the company, blame does go to the person that signs. Everything wrong that can happen is written clearly in black and white. It should not be a surprise. And yes it is unfortunate that people have been screwed by a debt settlement program, but much much more have been helped. I guess its human nature but we don't blog as much about our great experiences paying a debt as we would if we got burnt. For those that play holdem, here's the simplest analogy. We always remember the bad beats more than the wins and you have a better chance hitting a 2 outer on the river than you do getting sued while in a settlement program. Don't complain about messed up credit if you did settlement, its like complaining to mcdonalds for making you fat.

New topic.

There are a lot of bad apples in the debt settlement industry. They are typically small shops with no more than 30 workers and act as enrollment agencies for real debt settlment companies that actually settle the debt. To be more clear, its usually the companies that are hired by debt settlement companies to find and enroll clients for them that usually misrepresent and over exaggerate the product. They have limited liability and their in it for the short run. They dont care what happens after the client signs. Stay away from these companies as your best bet is to join a company that does the "front end" --enrolling-- as well as the "back end"--settling-- because they typically are the companies that care about doing their job correctly. FTC recently made changes to wipe out these bad apples by essentially making it so that debt settlement companies can no longer charge up front fees until the debt is settled. Think about it, you want to start a debt settlement company, hmmm...so how much money will you need to invest with if you cant collect any fees until a debt is settled, 6-9 months down the road..understand?

If you cant afford your payments theres nothing wrong with entering a settlement program. Just make sure that when you contact them, that your speaking to the company and not some enrollment agency and make sure they've been around for more than 5 years. Stay away from attorney based settlement companies because they typically charge the most when it comes to fees. Think about it, hiring an attorney just sounds expensive...it is! Plus, think about these attorneys. Do you really think your getting the attorney that graduated the top of their class or the bottom dwellers who got a law degree to essentially do a service that the average confident informed person can do on their own. Law degree to settle debts? think about it.

As for the BBB

This is a real annoying one. Folks, heres the truth. The bbb is a private entity that charges you to be a member. the bbb doesn't recognize debt settlement as an industry and for that reason ALL debt settlement companies have an F ranking. The bbb is not some type of government consumer protection agency. It was opened by a guy making a business. Truth is, your grade with the bbb can be raised depending on the membership package you choose. I SWEAR TO GOD, you can pay the bbb for a better grade. Do the research yourself. BTW, the guy who owns the bbb is a major investor for a consumer credit counseling company.---> a competitor to debt settlement. Sounds all shady right? It is. Think about it, how can a company with over 10,000 complaints still receive an A+ rating (its a well known bank). When choosing a company, just make sure their TASC certified. It essentially means the company abides the rules of FULL DISCLOSURE.

As for consumer credit counseling. I couldnt help but laugh at the post about ccc. non-profit??? YEA RIGHT!!! Consumer credit counseling companies are sponsored by guess who....THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES!!! They're paid to get you to pay back the debt to the credit card companies. Does it affect your credit??? Maybe not the score, since you are making your payments and thats what they'll tell you too. They however forget to mention that your credit report will show that you were helped by a credit counselor. Got a 720 score, perfect! Have ccc show up on your credit report, kiss that score good bye, its now counterfeit, worth NOTHING! The way it holds you back from financing anything is equivalent to filing bankruptcy, I SHIT YOU NOT, research it yourself.

Listen, theres nothing wrong with debt settlement companies, as long as its been in business for more than 5 years and they dont hire outside agencies to find its clients. I SWEAR I DO NOT WORK FOR FDR, but if you work in the debt settlment industry, you heard of them and they are the cream of the crop. I just had to mention that because of all the negativity I've read on it in this blog. I HONESTLY told my aunt to sign with them instead of the company I worked for at the time because I honestly didnt trust my company. I told her to settle because she couldnt make her payments. I wouldnt have recommended it if the only reason was because she was frustrated in how long it was taking to pay it off.

I'm going on and on and on and its getting late. Ill check on this blog again, if anyone wants more info on a particular topic in debt settlement, just leave a reply. Ill give you the honest truth.

Here's an honest review/opinion when it comes to debt settlement. You wont find anything more honest than this. For starters, I am not an upset customer with a negative experience and I am not an owner/investor/manager of a debt settlement company. I'm an average joe who spent two years working in the debt settlement industry and know first hand the ins and outs of the industry.

For those looking for a non-biased opinion, here it is.

Debt settlement is an alternative to bankruptcy. People who enter this program did so because there was no way they were able to continue making payments to their creditors. In a perfect world, this would be the case. But keep in mind, how do people end up signing up for a debt settlement program. They call a number they may have seen or heard or may have filled out some online inquiry saying they could get a free consultation from a "certified debt consultant". Certified? GET REAL, your talking to an individual whose career is in sales. Your talking to a salesman. There job is to sign you up. They're convincing, they say all the right words, and somehow without awareness your being given paperwork to sign. YOU GOT CLOSED! And the answer is yes, some people in sales do bend the truth in order to get you to sign. They don't see you as Robert or Jan, they see you as a debt amount with commission written all over it. Yes they will sign up people who arent necessarily the right candidate for debt settlment and yes those people will be the first to complain about it. But you can't blame the company, blame does go to the person that signs. Everything wrong that can happen is written clearly in black and white. It should not be a surprise. And yes it is unfortunate that people have been screwed by a debt settlement program, but much much more have been helped. I guess its human nature but we don't blog as much about our great experiences paying a debt as we would if we got burnt. For those that play holdem, here's the simplest analogy. We always remember the bad beats more than the wins and you have a better chance hitting a 2 outer on the river than you do getting sued while in a settlement program. Don't complain about messed up credit if you did settlement, its like complaining to mcdonalds for making you fat.

New topic.

There are a lot of bad apples in the debt settlement industry. They are typically small shops with no more than 30 workers and act as enrollment agencies for real debt settlment companies that actually settle the debt. To be more clear, its usually the companies that are hired by debt settlement companies to find and enroll clients for them that usually misrepresent and over exaggerate the product. They have limited liability and their in it for the short run. They dont care what happens after the client signs. Stay away from these companies as your best bet is to join a company that does the "front end" --enrolling-- as well as the "back end"--settling-- because they typically are the companies that care about doing their job correctly. FTC recently made changes to wipe out these bad apples by essentially making it so that debt settlement companies can no longer charge up front fees until the debt is settled. Think about it, you want to start a debt settlement company, hmmm...so how much money will you need to invest with if you cant collect any fees until a debt is settled, 6-9 months down the road..understand?

If you cant afford your payments theres nothing wrong with entering a settlement program. Just make sure that when you contact them, that your speaking to the company and not some enrollment agency and make sure they've been around for more than 5 years. Stay away from attorney based settlement companies because they typically charge the most when it comes to fees. Think about it, hiring an attorney just sounds expensive...it is! Plus, think about these attorneys. Do you really think your getting the attorney that graduated the top of their class or the bottom dwellers who got a law degree to essentially do a service that the average confident informed person can do on their own. Law degree to settle debts? think about it.

As for the BBB

This is a real annoying one. Folks, heres the truth. The bbb is a private entity that charges you to be a member. the bbb doesn't recognize debt settlement as an industry and for that reason ALL debt settlement companies have an F ranking. The bbb is not some type of government consumer protection agency. It was opened by a guy making a business. Truth is, your grade with the bbb can be raised depending on the membership package you choose. I SWEAR TO GOD, you can pay the bbb for a better grade. Do the research yourself. BTW, the guy who owns the bbb is a major investor for a consumer credit counseling company.---> a competitor to debt settlement. Sounds all shady right? It is. Think about it, how can a company with over 10,000 complaints still receive an A+ rating (its a well known bank). When choosing a company, just make sure their TASC certified. It essentially means the company abides the rules of FULL DISCLOSURE.

As for consumer credit counseling. I couldnt help but laugh at the post about ccc. non-profit??? YEA RIGHT!!! Consumer credit counseling companies are sponsored by guess who....THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES!!! They're paid to get you to pay back the debt to the credit card companies. Does it affect your credit??? Maybe not the score, since you are making your payments and thats what they'll tell you too. They however forget to mention that your credit report will show that you were helped by a credit counselor. Got a 720 score, perfect! Have ccc show up on your credit report, kiss that score good bye, its now counterfeit, worth NOTHING! The way it holds you back from financing anything is equivalent to filing bankruptcy, I SHIT YOU NOT, research it yourself.

Listen, theres nothing wrong with debt settlement companies, as long as its been in business for more than 5 years and they dont hire outside agencies to find its clients. I SWEAR I DO NOT WORK FOR FDR, but if you work in the debt settlment industry, you heard of them and they are the cream of the crop. I just had to mention that because of all the negativity I've read on it in this blog. I HONESTLY told my aunt to sign with them instead of the company I worked for at the time because I honestly didnt trust my company. I told her to settle because she couldnt make her payments. I wouldnt have recommended it if the only reason was because she was frustrated in how long it was taking to pay it off.

I'm going on and on and on and its getting late. Ill check on this blog again, if anyone wants more info on a particular topic in debt settlement, just leave a reply. Ill give you the honest truth.

Thought at first I wasted my time writing all that. I guess it takes some time to appear. I hope this information was helpful. As for myself, I said goodbye to the debt industry and dont see myself ever coming back.

We are in the process with Freedom Debit Relief for a year now and find them very professional and we are getting credit cards paid off. I don't blame them for paying themselves first, and they did spread out the payments...unlike a bankruptcy attorney (he doesn't have the luxury) FDR can't control everything, no one can, and they have had very good explanations for every bump in the road. If you are expecting magic that won't happen with any company. I think most of the complainers expected magic. I would recommend FDR.

wow, so how many of your forum "members" are just a bunch of overseas companies paid to write false statements? Debt Consolidation Care takes away jobs from Americans and pays the BBB a pretty penny for their rating and not to have client complaints about the company posted. http://www.ripoffreport.com/Bait-and-Switch/Debtconsolidationcar/debtconsolidationcare-com-int-ebc5f.htm

I am 26 months into a 40 month program with FDR. Yes, I had huge credit card and unsecure debt totals of almost $50K so it was a long term deal either way you do it. Like any business, the firm wants to be paid so yes, the first part of the payments went toward paying their fee but after that, they have steadily resolved my accounts as funds are available in my account. I am responsible for the debt that I incurred (well, that's what the judge said in the divorce anyway while the ex stood there and lied) Two creditors were identified upfront by FDR as "aggressive creditors" from their own experience with them but all others have been resolved at a significant savings. I am the type to read everything before I sign so I knew going in that their pledge was to save x percent based on the balance at the time of settlement - not the balance when I joined the program in 2008 as you might wish when you are starting - but as I said, that debt is my fault not anyone else.
The one thing that I would caution you with FDR or any other firm - plan to pay income taxes on any amount forgiven by your creditors as a result of negotiations with the firm. It WILL be reported on a Form 1099 to the IRS and you WILL be required to either include it as income and pay tax on it or prove insolvency with your tax return filing. (Insolvency is not that difficult to prove early on but as the debt total decreases, it will become more difficult and you will likely end up paying taxes. Again, this is not unique to FDR but just a general issue of which anyone should be aware.
This time next year, absolutely debt free. Yes, I still had to deal with some calls early on in the program but connecting a fax machine instead of an answering machine and screening calls made that easier.
The key to success with FDR or any other firm is that you MUST pledge to yourself that you will incur no more debt for anything whatsoever. Your credit will be in sad shape when you finish but is that the fault of FDR (or your chosen firm) or wouldn't it have been screwed anyway if you continued with the load of debt?

FDR openly discloses they do not make monthly payments to your creditors and there is a possibility that your account can be placed in a legal status due to lack of payments. If FDR is able to obtain a settlement prior to funds being available whether the account is in a legal status or not FDR may reach out to the client to obtain additional funds. Should the client not have additional funds FDR will be unable to settle the account until sufficient funds have been saved by the client. FDR also openly discloses that lack of monthly payments to creditors will have a negative effect on your credit.

I work for Freedom Debt Relief and we are a great option for people in debt that are not able to keep up with the high monthly payments of their credit cards and that do not want to totally ruin their credit by filing bankruptcy. FDR follows state and federal guidelines when it comes to Debt settlement. Also we get our clients some of the best settlements in the industry. To date we have saved our clients over 443 million dollars. I would encourage you to call us for a free consultation to see if this is the best program for you.

I succesfully completed the FFDR program with none of the above mentioned complaints. I am debt free because of the outstanding work of FFDR. They gave me an estimated time of completion and I actually finished 5 months early.

LOL. So, what if I just made minimal payments to my creditors and whatevr I had left over, I put away for a settlement? Wouldn't that work? I don't need to hire a company to do that!

You can contact your creditors and try to settle your debts on your own. In this way, you don't have to hire a debt settlement company and won't have to pay any fees. You can check out the given page in order to know the required steps to settle the dues:
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/steps.html

FDR openly discloses they do not make monthly payments to your creditors and there is a possibility that your account can be placed in a legal status due to lack of payments. If FDR is able to obtain a settlement prior to funds being available whether the account is in a legal status or not FDR may reach out to the client to obtain additional funds. Should the client not have additional funds FDR will be unable to settle the account until sufficient funds have been saved by the client. FDR also openly discloses that lack of monthly payments to creditors will have a negative effect on your credit.

If i could get one person to rethink dealing with Freedom Debt Relief then I would be happy. They are not what they say they are. I had five debts. They settled 3 of them. The other two went to court and I ended up paying twice what they were originally. It was my own fault for trusting them without doing the homework. Please do yourself a favor and go with a non-profit. It might take longer but you will be happy in the end. I wish I could have the last 3 years back. I would have done it the right way. Save some pain and stay away from Freedom Debt relief. For real.

I went throught Total Debt Services and although they settled 2 of my accounts, they have done nothing for the 3rd one and from owing $3000, I now owe $9135 thanks to interest. I would say don't go through any debt consolidate agencies. They will take your $$, charge you a fee and no promises.

Freedom debt relief is a total scam. I paid this company $21,000 over 2 years and they only settled one debt of $1000. In the end, I had 3 law suits against me, I couldn't turn the lights on in my home for months trying to avoid being summoned by a Sheriff (pretending I wasn't home) and nearly had my wages garnished. I filed for bankruptcy. When I first signed up with them they were in good standing with the BBB, after 2 years this was no longer the case and they had so many legal issues that they were no longer licensed to do business in their own state of California. The initial consultants are friendly and nice but once you are in a situation where a case goes to legal because believe it or not, attorneys do not have to negotiate with them, they drop the ball BIG TIME - forget about them answering your calls, returning your calls, being in the office, or following up on their negotiations. They also tell you that things are in the settlement process that really are not - call the creditor and find out the real status. Once in legal, I can't tell you how many times I was told from FDR that someone would call me within 45 minutes never to hear from them again. I can't express how bad this company is and how much money you will be out of by the end of it - with nothing to show for it. DON'T DO IT. I filed in the long run and ended up spending $21000 and going through a lot of crap in the process.