Freedom Debt Relief – How good a company is it?

I'm in one of my serious moods so here goes:

It amazes me that a company that has numerous complaints with the BBB, States after them for corruption and fraud and a horrible reputation in general can be considered for USE in any way. And to top it off does not have a license to do business in ANY state, as well as, has numerous businesses with the SAME address. There is no question as to the guilt of this company and anyone affiliated.

One can only wonder if some of these posts are legit. But hey what do I know?

First let me say I have over 15 years in the debt consolodation & settlemtn industry. ANY company that promises you ANYTHING other than they will do thier best to get you a low settlement is LYING to you. NO creditor has ever had a policy where they will automatically take 50% or 40% or whatever they are promising you... and if they do... CALL THEM YOURSELF and save the commissions & fees assiciated with dealing with a settlement/consolodation company.
However I can tell you from experience that TAX settlement/relief agencies are some of the WORST liars out there. NOTHING and I mean NOTHING will force the U.S. Goverment and/or IRS into a settlement. It depends on a LOT of circumstances, and to be honest, if the agent handling your case for the IRS has had a bad day... so sorry your not getting approved.

I have had personal dealings with Freedon Tax/Debt relief, and they are a very unscrupulous company. They have SO many restrictions in thier agreements that they can "drop you" for about anything and you dont get a cent back, (I am sitting here reading one of thier "tax settlement sets of paperwork as I type).

They sent one client of mine paperwork to sign and send back to them prior to a certain date....funny thing is they didnt send it out untill 4 days AFTER that date. The client signed and sent the paperwork back with the fee asked for.... they kept all the money (including this "additional fee"), and told them because the paperwork was NOT returned "in a timely manner" they were dropping them.

NOW in response to the posting on both this site and Ripp Off Report dot com, The client WAS from the Asheville, NC area.

FDR (Freedom Debt Relief) lies, cheats and steals from people who are already desperately finanacially strapped. DONT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. (llok them up on the BBB, Oakland CA. website.... they have an "F" rating.... you DONT get that JUSt from having complaints.... you get that from having MANY Substantiated Complaints..... Let em know if I can be of ANY more help...... Signed - Professional Debt Settler

I have used them and it has taken forever, now i am with work and they still demand a payment. How can I get what I have in the account back and cancel.

Thanks

Professional Debt Settler it seems someone put a link to your response that states the TASC's position on the BBB ratings of debt settlement companies. Here it is folks:

Freedom Debt relief on the BBB: Please read CAREFULLY

F Rating BECAUSE

Government Actions:

On May 29, 2008 The California Corporations Commissioner filed a desist and refrain order against Andrew Housser Founder and CO-CEO of Freedom Financial Network, LLC, and Bradford Stroh Founder and CO-CEO of Freedom Financial Network "FFN", LLC, and it's affiliated entities, Freedom Financial Network, LLC, Freedom Debt Relief, Inc.; Freedom Debt Relief, LLC; FDR; Alivio Holdings, LLC; Bills.com, Inc.;Bills.com, LLC; Bills.com; Freedom Tax Relief, LLC; Alivio Mortgage, LLC for being in violation of sections 12200, 22104, 22153 and 22154 of the Financial Code.

Without any admission of wrongdoing the complaint alleges that FFN engaged in the business as a bill payer or prorater as defined in the Check Sellers, Bill payers and Proraters Law, California Financial Code section 12200 without a license
BBB Definition:

license - A permit or accreditation required by the State, Province, County or Municipality where a company is located indicating competence or professional certification that allows the company to provide products or services related to their particular field or industry.
from the Commissioner and in violation of that law including overcharging consumers in violation of Financial Code sections 12314 and 12314.1. The order states that Alivio Mortgage, LLC a Delaware limited liability company that is affiliated with both Freedom Debt Relief and Freedom Financial Network failed to get approval from the Department of Corporations to move their place of business which is in violation of Financial Code section 22153. It is also alleged that Alivio Mortgage, LLC failed to meet the statutory net worth requirement which is in violation of Financial Code section 22104.
Alivio Mortgage, LLC, co-located with the other businesses of Housser and Stroh conducted business at a place in which business other than making loans is engaged in without either written notification to and the authorization of the Department of Corporations which is violation of Financial Code section 22104.

It was ordered pursuant to Financial Code section 12103 that Andrew Housser and Bradford Stroh, and their affiliated entities, FFN to desist and refrain from engaging in business as a bill payer and prorater unless and until they are licensed or exempt and from violating Financial Code section 12314 and 12314.1. It is also ordered pursuant to Financial Code section 22712, that Alivio Mortgage, LLC and any and all officers, directors, employees , independent contractors, agents, and affiliates operating on it's behalf to desist and refrain from the following: 1) changing locations without notification to and the approval of the Commissioner: 2) failing to maintain minimum net worth of 25,000: 3) conducting business at a place in which other than making loans is engaged in without either written notification to and the authorization of the department; 4) using advertising without prior approval from the commissioner.

On October 30, 2008 the San Mateo County District Attorney's office along with the California Corporations Commissioner filed a complaint against Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, Freedom Debt Relief, Inc., Freedom Financial Network "FFN", LLC, Freedom Mortgage, Alivio Mortgage, LLC, Alivio Holdings, LLC, Bills.com, Freedom Tax Relief, LLC , Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh. The complaint states that since at least 2003 and continuing thereafter, the defendants and their affiliates have offered financial services to consumers including debt negotiation and debt reduction services.

Without any admission of wrongdoing the complaint alleges the defendants of making untrue or misleading statements and omission of material facts (Business & Profession code section 17500), unfair competition by all defendants (Business and Professions code sections 17200 and 17203), unlicensed activities ( Financial Code Section 12200) fee overcharges and unauthorized charges ( Financial Code Section 12314 and 12314.1).

The complaint also states that in November of 2007 the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation's Division of Banking issued an order to Freedom Debt Relief and FFN to immediately cease and desist their unlicensed debt management plan activities in their state and ordered them to refund all fees received relating to all debt management plans currently being serviced.

In 2008 the state of Colorado contacted defendants about their failure to comply with the Colorado Debt Management Services Act. The complaint states the defendants are unlicensed and did not file to register in the time frame required by Colorado law. It is also alleged in the complaint that defendants violated the following legal requirements; Agreement requirements (neither FDR's current or former agreements comply), Disclosure requirement, Advertsing requirements and excessive upfront fees. The case is currently pending.

AND This what the TASC has to say about them:

Freedom Debt Relief
1875 S. Grant St. # 400
San Mateo, CA 94402
650-571-0961

Freedom Debt Relief is an accredited member of The Association of Settlement Companies [TASC]. This company has demonstrated the required business practices and standards required by TASC to display the TASC seal. To find out more about TASC, please visit us

Notice ANYTHING WRONG HERE?????? So let me get this straight. We are to believe that the BBB is lying about the government actions and the TASC is right? None of this is true? FDR has an F for a reason. The TASC has it WRONG. Why isn't FDR kicked out of the TASC? Why is Housser still on the board of the TASC? Does it have to be spelled out for everyone? STOP deluding yourselves. The TASC is NOT your friend. WE ARE, THE PEOPLE WHO COMPLAIN. At least they are not at the present time. Maybe in the future it will work out but right now IT'S NOT. It's a useless protection at the present time. Means NOTHING. Check out what I had to say about the TASC on the thread Is the TASC a Scam Organization. Interesting FACTS there.

C'mon people stop closing your eyes here.......WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

FDR has tens of thousands of clients and a hundred or so complaints. FDR's BBB complaint ratio is less than that of the California Bar Association along with many top financial institutions. Frequently, BBB complaints are the result of not understanding how the FDR program works. Also, the State of California, Department of Corporations has asserted that FDR should be classified as a "prorate" which is a statutory term commonly applied to credit counseling agencies that receive and control consumer funds. FDR disagrees with the Department of Corporations' interpretation and hope to resolve our differences without resorting to a law suit. FDR believes this lawsuit affects only California-based customers, and then if only FDR cannot reach an agreement with the Department of Corporations.
I hope this clears up some of the confusion for you.

Does DS stand for Dip Sh!t? Because that's what you must think we are. FDR is a scam pure and simple. You're real good at the BS posts by "Guest" that "FDR helped me so much....blah blah blah" but nothing from a bonafide real human. Someday soon, God, Allah, Buddha, Vishnu et al willing, you'll find your happy a$$e$ in a nice pleasant federal penitentiary. Bubba gonna take good care of ya!





Edited for content - ND

Nascar , dude thats pretty graphic and a bit over the top

OH MY GOD!!!VISUAL!!!

I toned it down a bit....sorry

honestly i thought it was hilarious!

I just got served by on of my creditors and FDR can not do a thing about it. They are going to garnish my wages even though I have been working with FDR who promised to nogosiate with my creditors. I had to stop working with FDR and file a chapter 7. FDR came out ahead they kept over $2600.00 of my money. They are just taking your money and doing nothing for you.

Unfortunately, that is one of the dangers of doing settlements in general. No company can protect you from lawsuits if the creditors don't want to negotiate, or your company is too lazy or too incompetent to do their job. The fault lies with the companies that promise they CAN prevent lawsuits, because it just ain't so. Even attorney-based settlement comanies can't prevent it, although it is less likely.

FDR is a real company, and likely provides a good service.
FDR is owned by Bills.com and they also have many AKA company names with the Freedom Debt xyz title.
BBB complaints are hard to avoid when you deal with thousands of consumers who are in debt. Unfortunately there is always a % of consumers who want to blame everyone but themselves for their woes. Debt settlement is ONLY for people who have a legitimate financial hardship, have over 10k in Credit card debt, and understand this is a last ditch effort before bankruptcy. The lower the debt amount you have the less favorable settlement is to you. People with over 30k in credit card debt and have a hardship, but some income to work with can benefit the most from Debt settlement.

If you see debt Settlement companies using these phrases in their marketing DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICE.

"Lower your payments by"...
You do not make ANY monthly payments to your creditors while in debt settlement. You save your own money, until you have enough to make an offer to the creditor to pay off a reduced amount.

"Cut your monthly expenses" is an acceptable phrase.
In settlement your savings plan averages about half of what your normal CC monthly payment is, thus your monthly expenses are lowered. However this is NOT a payment to your creditors and is why that marketing slogan is deceptive.

Anything that suggests you can have your debt settled in under 18 months is deceptive. If the credit card company thought you had enough money to pay the debt off in 9-18 months, well you have enough income to pay the whole thing off period and no negotiate will take place. On the flip side, companies offering programs that last more than 42 months are doing a disservice. No creditor will want to wait that long to get paid, they will likely file a law suite.
Bottom line, is that you want to be able to save up and pay off your reduced debt within 24 months.

70% debt reductions - Pure BS. Although sometimes this can happen with some smaller debts, the average is 50% PLUS the cost of the service.

Lower your interest rates
Pure BS - Settlement has nothing to do with your interest rates. These marketers are using the benefits of 3 programs all wrapped into one, to fool you into applying. RUN.

** No disclosures on the website? No Privacy policy? No Terms of USE? RUN. This is a Lead Generator who will sell your info around the internet.

"As Seen On" ABC, Oprah, NBC.. or pick the network. It's bull. Virtually all of these references refer to some obscure and general mention of debt settlement on the mentioned network.

No Fee Gaurantee - Okay great, what about the upfront fee? The admin fee, and other fees?

A-Z service. Never use a company that does not settle their own debt. A sales only company, has no vested interest in your outcome. They can tell you anything they want, because once you sign up, they get paid. Then 36 months from now the company responsible for the sales reps promise have to deliver.. they don't. If the settlement company handles both the consultation and debt settlement then they have a vested interest in your success.

Credit - Your credit will get hammered. If you think staying in debt is worth having a decent credit score then you should not use settlement... and perhaps should go take a financial education course. Please get an honest assesment of your credit score and don't assume it is "good".

LOL....go to the Freedom Debt Relief website and click on the Top Debt Settlement tab. It will make you laugh. They say they got a $29,290.82 credit card debt to $3,000.00 for their client. And there are many other outrageous claims in that section....LOL.

That sounds WAY to good to be true.....LOL.

My grandmother always said, if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is...just cut back, get creative, work another job, move in w/ friends or family, sell the things you do not need and don't buy anymore stuff...it is all about being frugal. Actually, I would call the credit card companies myself and ask them to take a percentage of the balance and close the account. It's better than getting nothing or charging off the account. It's worth a shot to salvage your credit score, because just when you think you don't need it...you really do! Good luck