Freedom Debt Relief – How good a company is it?

I recently withdrew from FDR due to the fact that I am being sued by one of my creditors and if you read your contract it states, "they (FDR) will not give any legal advice". So when the creditors hire an attorney and the proceed to file court papers, YOU will end up with a wage garnishment.

I have a large amount of Medical debt and a few credit cards. Total is 75k. Freedom has settled 3 of my debts and has stopped all creditor calls. They return my Emails immediately and call me the next day to address any issues. I have only been with them 19 months and feel that in the grand sceam they have done a great job! They constantly try and settle accounts but are subject to the amount of money i have in my account. they never ask me for more money unless the settlement offer is reasonable and i have the extra cash. they seem to be making great decisions on my behalf. I am pleased and would recomend them to anyone who asked me. Granted i still have a ways to go but i like what i see and they seem very eager to support my cause.

I am just like a lot of Americans who, I'm sure, have recieved the letter from the CC agency that begins "due to the economy".

Over the past nine months, my CC interests rates have increased, on average, two fold. In some instances the interest rates have tripled. In addition, my limits have been slashed and my monthly payments have increased from 2% of balance to 5%. Ouch!!!

I have never been "late" or "over the limit" ~ but I'm being treated badly.

I looked to FDR for, well, relief....

First RED FLAG ~ In response to my questions, I am told "I can tell you've done your homework. You are smarter than the average consumer". NOT....

Second RED FLAG ~ The representative emailed the contrat to me at 4:45PM with a note "if you have this back to me by 6:00PM you will not have to pay any of your CC accounts now due"

third and final RED FLAG ~ THE FINE PRINT. PLEASE READ, READ, AND RE-READ THE CONTRACT.

Section 10. Miscellaneous

Complete Agreement: Modification & Amendment:

THIS AGREEMENT REPRESENTS OUR COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATE OF OUR MUTUAL UNDERSTANDINGS AND SUPERCEDES ALL PREVIOUS WRITTEN AND ORAL AGREEMENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF ANY SERVICE(S). OTHER THAN AS SET FORTH HEREIN, THIS AGREEMENT MAY ONLY BE MODIFIED OR AMENDED BY A WRITING SIGNED BY BOTH OF US, PROVIDED, HOWEVER THAT WE MAY CHANGE ANY TERM OF THIS AGREEMENT, OR ADD ANY ADDITIONAL TERM TO THIS AGREEMENT, BY PROVIDING YOU WITH FIFTEEN (15) DAYS' ADVANCE WRITTEN NOTICE OF SUCH CHANGE. IF YOU DECLINE TO ACCEPT SUCH CHANGE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMENDY WILL BE TO TERINATE THIS AGREEMENT AND WITHDRAW FORM OUR DEBT RESOLUTION PROGRAM.

I'm no genius ~ but my take is that FDR can "say" anything it wants and not be held liable. In addtion and at anytime, it can change the terms of your contact with a fifteen day written notice.

The last I looked ~ a CONTRACT WAS A CONTRACT AND COULD NOT BE CHANGED.

As for me, I will deal with what was delt ~ I'm NOT giving anyone money to get out of debt. Hmm...pay to get out of debt. Kind of an ~ oxymoron.

this has NOT been a paid advertisement.

There isn't anything a debt settlement companies do that you can't do yourself. If they can get a settlement - like the above example of $11,000/8000 on $22,000 of debt - then you certainly can. It's not magic. Want your interest rate reduced? Ask them to reduce it...They willl do it. If you can pay a lump sum all the better as it improves YOUR leverage. Negotiate Hard. Have patience. You may have to talk to different people at the creditor to find someone who is willing to work with you in a professional and courteous manner. Negotiate hard. Get everything in writing....It's relatively simple to do.

You can also click on "Do It Yourself" above and get tips on negotiating settlements yourself. Also, the Federal Trade Commission has a website about working with your debt, called "Money Matters" (nice double entendre).

I recently dropped out of FDR and would give ANYTHING to have the 3K I paid them back. They literally did nothing for that money. They energetically signed me up - I am still in disbelief that I am in this situation, but I was in financial crisis mode and panicking and they made me feel more secure - then passively collected their hefty fees for months. Okay, fine. But then, I asked them to start negotiating with a collector on one of my accounts. The collector was driving me nuts and I had saved up sufficient funds to settle. Twice I emailed them asking whether they had made contact with the collector. I also called them about it. Every time, I got the same response, to the effect of: "our records show your account is in active negotiation. We could say your account will be settled soon, but we cannot promise because it depends on your creditors". Then, a month later, I unilaterally received from the collector a written offer right in the range I had asked them to settle in. I was able to call the collector and knock that offer down another 10% or so.

Bottom line: they are not doing anything you can't do yourself. They don't let you talk to their negotiators, and you can never get a straight answer regarding what is happening with your accounts. Unless you really like to feel out of control, I would not recommend them.

i have paid fdr 2670$ and the so called account you have to set up only has 322$ in it. they are scam artist. no wonder it takes years to pay it all off. now im way worse off than i was. now bankrupsty is the only way, thanks alot you a******.

Hello Unregistered,

This site doesn't represent FDR. So, you must take your disputes to them. Since they have taken fees from you to resolve your problems, they must offer adequate services against it. Report them to FTC and State Attorney General. You must get back the fees that you have paid them towards their services.

If you are in debt, save your money to either file bankruptcy, or see if you can't reach a settlement with your creditor. WE have been with FDR for about a year now and they have done barely a thing for us. Yes, they did settle one of our credit cards for less than we owed, but we are now being sued by another because they are not getting their money. When I called about this, there is a person who is suppose to be making this particular account a "priority" and was suppose to call me back within two weeks, so far the only thing i've heard from them is a list of fees they will charge to talk to us about it.
This week we are seeking to file bankruptcy, and FDR has been notified they will not be getting thier money, it is paying to hire a lawyer to handle the mess that is out of control now.
Save yourself the hassle later, and don't go through these people.
BTW one thing they don't tell you about until later, is that you may be liable for taxes on the portion that is written off when a company settles. It is considered income for you. Something else I have to look forward to come tax season.

Find out first what negative consequences you will have before doing debt settlements with any debt settlement company. Among them are tax consequences, damages to your credit rating, and possible judgements against you followed by wage garnishments. Creditors can alway get a judgement against you and recover all their money through involuntary wage attachments. Debt mangement plans ususally accomplish the opposite.

I was employed with freedom debt for a year aka freedom financial network the only way it will actually help is if your monthly draft into the company is a substanical amount lets put it like this theyre all liars! the sales people make commission off of your first few months- it doesnt even go into the program it goes into whoever sold you- right into their pocket after your "initial retainer" the dept i worked in settlment negotiations- we correspond w/ the collection agencies and some attorneys all negotiaters are greedy- basically we make money off of how many accounts we settle per month so at minimum youre looking at 50% mind you your debts will continue to accrue interest and assess penalties fees collection costs and attorney fees- it is a SCAM EVERYONE THERE IS GREEDY they will tell you its the best thing since sliced bread - all a lie for your money they guarantee debt free in 3 yrs but its not not true people with medical u can forget it we never got good settlements besides meds not that big a deal- chase wont even work with them because of law suits, they outsource chase to a different debt settlment co. alot of stuff goes to LARU legal account resolution unit where basically ur getting sued and end up paying more than 100% ur debt trust me i worked here take your business elsewhere or just work out payment with creditors and pay one less hungry mouth HOPE THIS HELPS!

It is to bad, that these companys are allowed to prey on those of us who are already hurting. Even as mad as I am right now about the whole situation we now find ourseleves in remember the old addage about 'buyer beware." I bought into their stuff and now we are trying to fix it the only way we can and who knows how we will come out in that. It is a situations with live and learn.
However as I said previously save your money, negotiate a settlement yourself if you can, and if you think you can't get it worked out save the money to hire a bankruptcy attorney who will truely be working in your best intrest. We haven't even offically hired ours yet and he is already working on our behalf.
Good luck everyone.

If you really want to know what the deal is with debt settlement companies, how they rank, who to trust, what to look out for. I would be happy to do my best to assist in making an informed, educated decision.
If you would like to find out IF debt settlement is RIGHT for you, drop me an email at heath_macie@hotmail.com.
I respond personally to any requests.

Why do people find it so hard to read something before signing it, either electronically or physically?

From Section 7 of the contract (which just so happens to appear about 1 line above your first initial spot):

"Although CNI does not give tax advice, Client understands that Creditors may notify the IRS of any debt forgiveness which may be taxable to Client."

I enrolled with FDR in last August 2009. I, too, was in panic mode and my monthly credit payments exceeded $1100. Despite my high revolving credit, my credit score was great. However, the consultant with FDR calmed my panic and quoted me a monthly payment of 800 which seemed a hell of a lot better than 1100. I read through the contract--how my credit score would plummet, how any settlements could be deemed income and therefore taxed, the upfront fees and subsequent account fees, yadda yadda yadda. My consultant also informed me that I could withdraw at any time. And that is exactly what I intend to do after dealing with the credit agencies myself. If I had done this at the time I closed the accounts, I could have saved myself the money, worry, stomach knots, and credit score. Negotiating on my own resulted in payments, for all 3 lines of credit owed, less than the monthly payment I was putting into the GCS account. But no, FDR said, companies are not willing to settle with you. Furthermore, one company in particular (Resurgent Capital Services), who has the lousiest customer service I have ever had the experienc of dealing with, has called me three times after being requested not to call me at work. What happened to those cease and desist letters to stop the phone harassment? Each time I speak with a rep, they swear I never told them to stop. The woman that called me today asked to speak with my HR. I don't think so missy! I'm not having that at work and if they are willing to work with me, such as through a hardship program as the rep today suggested, then I will do that rather than risk litigation and more penalties.

Basically, my questions are: has anyone withdrawn from the FDR program and (1) were told to pay further fees and (2) were able to withdraw their funds from the GCS account (without hassle and in a timely manner)? I have about $892 in there minus the fees already.

I understand that FDR may and will keep their fees without refund. However, did they really try to negotiate my credit settlements, even in the short time I've been enrolled in their program? Likely not. So, per the "agreement", I am short of my plan period. No, I didn't give them a full chance to negotiate my settlements. Nor do I have the utmost confidence they will be able to do so. Fine, keep the fees. But also per the "agreement", the GCS account is mine and owned by me (per Special Purpose Account Application section). Technically, the additional funds leftover after FDR takes out their fees, belong to me. And I most assuredly want that money back to start paying my credit companies.

I haven't spoken with either company re: unenrollment and I plan to do so shortly. My plan of action is to speak with GCS first about closing the account since FDR has already withdrawn their fees. This way FDR can't go in and remove other "fees" as I believe I read on another complaint board from another person in similar shoes. If I cancel GCS now, they also cannot take out further account service fees since it would be closed. My payment was just deposited today so I am well within the notification time frame to cancel my agreement. I hope there are no further adverse effects stemming from the cancellation of my terms with FDR. I've been up to date on paying into the account and have not defaulted in any way. I do not see anything re: additional fees should I unenroll. Call it paranoia or just trying to protect my wallet.

I have not used them personally because I have heard a lot of bad things about them.