Freedom Debt Relief – How good a company is it?

i've been enrolled in Federal Debt Relief program now for 4 months and so far they've held true to their word. We've been depositing around $700 per month and have accumulated about $800 that is to go towards our settlements. One account has gone to an attorney, and they've assured me they will get it resolved as we build our account.

DO NOT USE THEM.
I was using them (two months)and the phone calls were horrible, debt collectors.I was afraid to answer my phone, it was very embarassing if people were over and they are wondering 'why isn't she answering all thos calls? HMMM?.
I wound up getting a call form the court,(only after 2 months of not paying my bills) they were putting a judgement against me (bank of america) and I had to either come up with the money or they were going to send me a summons to appear in court. I talked to another person at Bank of America (the court told me to call him) and they were very forceful, they have som tactics... If I didn't come up with the money(in like 45 minutes, they wanted me and my husband to call all our credit cards that were open and ask for blank checks to be overnighted, of course they couldn't do that because I had the 'bad credit' already. They arent' going to give me another line of credit!)then the summons would be sent out! So I CALLED MY PARENTS. That was painful, but they did have the money and I overnighted the checks to Bank of America. (they did settle down the debt from 60,000 to 40,000, so turns out I DIDN'T need Freedom Debt Relief review after all.) Luckily I had my parents, but if I didn't have them, I would be getting ready to go to court. Bank of America said they WOULD NOT take any payment plan. I HAD to pay in full!
After all of this, the $2, 600.00 that I paid to Freedom, well they took that and RAN with it! So you could say it just made everything worse!
DO NOT DO THESE PEOPLE Just keep paying your bills, switching to 0% whenever possible. Its better than ruining your credit!
Luckily, since I paid in full, my credit will not be hindered.
All I can say is find another way to break the cycle.
Good luck
"LUCKY" in NJ
PS: Thanks mom and dad!

I am still somewhat confused after reading everyone's advice. I think I am going to call my creditors and try to do it myself informing them that I know in time they will give my card to a collection agency and getting on .05 or .10 on the dollar and I am willing to pay .40 right now and be done with it. If not then I will file bankruptcy and they will get 0!

I have been dealing with them as of late. I have 70K of unsecured debt, my great credit cards from 3 banks have raised my interest rates not because of late payment etc but they said it was because of having so much unsecured debt. With the increase I will in the short term begin to not be able to pay their minimums and I am searching for any way out. They said they could probably reduce my debt to 35K and they work with my card companies all the time; I just would like to hear from someone who has had a good experience with Freedom debt relief. I tried to search the BBB but could not get anything on them./

I would like to thank FDR for all your help. Helping me take this step is very exciting to me and it is very nice to know that there are people in this world that still care about helping other people. Thank you again. You have a great day.

I decided to type this in response to a previous commenter who specifically mentioned Citibank not working with Freedom Debt. This used to be a true statement, but has not been true since mid 2007.

As an employee for a large bank who works directly with debt settlement companies, I have seen the practices of many debt settlement companies. I can honestly say that if I were in the position some clients are in, Freedom debt relief would be my company of choice.

There are only a handful of companies that actually start paying debts immediately. Most accumulate funds over at least a year and then try to pay your debts. By this time the debts are with third parties and possibly being litigated. With Freedom they immediately start contacting your debtors to negotiate settlements.



I am not encouraging anyone to go this route because it does have a serious impact to your credit report, however being in a position to see how clients are handled, if you have decided a debt settlement company is for you, I would choose Freedom Debt Relief.

I read an article today in newspaper that reported many many corporate companies are now outsourcing their collections to India..it stated that these people do a much better job..amazing that even debts in the u.s. are now being outsourced to other countries
debt collectors are now being replaced by workers in India

I just cancelled my FDR account, it ruins your credit and one of my credit card companies turned my account over to a lawyer and a ended up with a summons to pay my debt in 20 days or go to court. i wasted about 3000 dollars for nothing, my advice would be to stop paying your credit cards, save up as much money as you can for about 6-9 months and then try to make a settlement with the 3rd party collectors. FDR may sound good, but i would not recomend it.

I have over 50,000 of debt and am struggling to pay the minimum payments each month. I am using up my savings and getting no where. It sounds like debt relief is something I should consider. I am confused about a couple of things. If I enter into this do I still keep making my minimum payments??
HAs anyone gotten sued over this and wound up in worse shape then when they started? I really need help....

If you enter a settlement program you will no longer make minimum payments to your creditors.
When entering a settlement program you need to be aware there is the risk of getting a judgment. Those risks are small "1%-2% " if you are doing a 36 month program or faster. Even if you did get sued a good settlement company could still be able settle on that judgment but it will likely settle at 70%-80%. The pros far out weigh the cons in most cases.

Thank you for your response. Should I shop around to find the best settlement company? How do I find a reputable one? I spoke with one on the phone and they are saying they typically reduce the total debt by 40%....so instead of owing 50,000 I 'd owe 30,000. Are there companies that are better more successful at getting that lowered more?

99 % of all settlement companies will quote settlements around 40%. Any company that quotes an average settlement less than 40 % is not being realistic. Some of the better companies with solid reputations with the BBB are New Beginnings debt settlement LLC , Century Negotiations , Oak View Law , and Superior debt relief.

No, but I was ripped off by debt relief of America. If you
haven't looked at a non profit credit counseling, I recommend
you do that first. SERIOUSLY!!!
DRA told me that there were no hidden charges, their charge
was 10 of my owed bills & it was built into the payment. First
they took over $1500 up front before they even started my
"savings" account. When I had enough money to settle
I had to call & call and ask why aren't they doing anything.
Finally, they settled one of my debts for $1200 with the
agreement to pay $1000 and the remainder $200 the following
month. They never did & now I made a payment of $1000
and the company wants $1600 to settle. Oh and for them
to setttle they also take 10% of that amount. When I complained and stopped my savings I was still being charged $50 a month for their counseling benefits. So right now I am further debt than I was, my credit sucks!!! I am driving a gas guzzler and have no way to trade it in for a better car and Credit counsling said their only advice is for me to file bankruptcy because its too late. If you want to settle your debts, do it yourself. Put your money in savings & you will get offers. I setlled my one debt for 1/3 of what I owed, I wish I had known up front that I could have done it myself, thats what I'm trying to do with my remaining debts

I just found out from the BBB that Freedom debt relief can no longer do business in California. They have been ordered to cease & Desist. The report is really bad. Buyer beware!!

Would you please list the source where you obtained that information?

I read from the BBB Better Business Bureau that Freedom debt relief, Freedom Financial, Bills.com, and whatever else names they have, can no longer do business in California, they have been ordered to cease and desist!! Wow, I know many of these posts were by the owners, and who cares that they are Stanford graduates..egotistical brats, so be careful reading all the praise.

Anyway, buyer beware, they are doing business illegally in many states and now their own state has barred them from doing business there!!