Freedom Debt Relief – How good a company is it?

jabaker

I have been corresponding with them (freedomdebtrelief.com) and talking with a guy of Freedom Debt Relief by phone and have not yet entered into any agreement but today I decided to do some homework and found that their CA Corp. status is "suspended" and that is a HUGE red flag for me. I'm still waiting for more info on that but I also checked the BBB and there have been 67 complaints so far against Freedom Debt Relief scam that I can find...and that's through a regional BBB site. Who knows if there are more reviews elsewhere. It all sounded very good, and on the "up and up" but what do I do now? I have about $20,000 in debt and they agreed to settle my debt for about $11,000 total out of pocket. They charge but I'm still better off with their numbers. Problem is, I'm very afraid of doing business with anyone in the debt settlement industry having such complaints. I need help very soon though! So far I'm not late on any of my bills but it's not far off. Please suggest me on Freedom Debt Relief reviews.
SameBox Response from "Vikas":

Response from Freedom Debt Relief Managing Partner - http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...relief_955.pdf

eleroo · Sub: #2 **Freedom Debt Relief complaints** Replied on 10-09-2007, 01:33 PM

Hi jbaker. Welcome to the forum.

I think that I might be a little leary of a company that has so many complaints with the BBB. How have the complaints against Freedom Debt Relief been resolved? Did the BBB post that? If you would like, you can use the free consultation that is offered from this site. I'm not sure if they recommend any particular debt settlement company, but they could probably lead you in the right direction. Good thing you checked them out, though. Hopefully someone will come along shortly who has personal experience with Freedom Debt Relief are talking about and can give you their experience. Good luck!

Anonymous · Sub: #3 **Freedom Debt Relief complaints** Replied on 10-10-2007, 04:43 PM

I researched Freedom Debt Relief today and now they have 68 complaints with the BBB. I told them that I was not interested in doing business with them but now they keep calling me to pressure me. They say that I am making a big mistake, that Freedom Debt Relief can settle my debt in 6 months or less. I was going to pay lump sum not payments. They said they could save me 9,600.00 (3600 is their fee). Has anyone actually been happy with Freedom Debt Relief complaints?

SUEBEEHONEY70

Debi - tell Freedom Debt Relief to take a walk. With that many complaint reviews against them (unresolved ones, at that!), they are not worth your time nor your money.

Stop taking their calls and save yourself money.

lawn1016 · __________________ Mommy to Matthew Patrick...born 3/6/08!

Ja-I asked for a quote, but never got back to Freedom Debt Relief scam. They would call me SEVERAL times a day leaving me voicemail. At first I thought they were a debt consolidation company, but they aren't. The thing that threw up BIG red flags were that they claim to be able to do it in 12-36months, while if you read articles on-line, a reputable company could take 3-5 years if you do a payment plan.

Anonymous

there is a difference between debt settlement and debt management. There's a red flag if you're making statements and you dont know what you're talking about. the average debt settlement program is 36-42 months. The average debt management program is 6-9 years according to the National Law Center. Settlement works on the behalf of the consumer to REDUCE priciple and Management companies are sponsered by the banks and have pre negotiated interest rates, and will reduce INTEREST only. the main problem is they tell you 48 months, but if you do the national average of 11% interest and a monthly maint fee of $35-40 a month, you will see the program going a lot longer. Neither program is easy and they BOTH have their pros and cons. One is designed to help someone lower their monthly payment AND avoid bankruptcy and the other is designed to give you one payment when you have 6+ credit cards and you CANT manage your time/payments. The fact you can keep paying minimals and payoff debt within 20-30 years, but at higher interest, debt management will be a lower interest, but it's compacted into 6 years, which tends to actually raise your monthly payment. Freedom Debt Relief is a debt negotiation company.

goudah2424

Todius - Thank you for your post. A lot of people don't understand the difference between debt settlement and debt management. They get confused and think a company (like Freedom Debt Relief) is a scam when they may not be.

DOLLARSandSINCE · Sub: #8 **Is Freedom Debt Relief scam?** Replied on 10-11-2007, 10:19 AM

I do not know anything about Freedom Debt Relief reviews but if your total debt is 20k and they are saying they can reduce it to 11k plus charge you 4k in fees then your bottom line is 20k reduced to 15k which is a 75% settlement. Itâ€™s not hard to get that on your own if you are 6 months behind in your payment. Heck many credit card companies will send you a settlement like that without even asking for one. If you are not behind in your payments and you enter this program or one like it then they will quit making payments until the credit card company settles which will hurt your credit. I would probably stay away from Freedom Debt Relief though since they have a bad BBB rating and they are trying to high pressure sale you into using them. It's a scam.

Anonymous · Sub: #9 **freedom debt relief complaints** Replied on 10-11-2007, 10:34 AM

Let me clarify. My total debt is about $20k and their settlement program, INCLUDING their fees, is only about $11k. That means, in reality, since their fees are 15%, which is about $3k...I'm only paying back about $8k of my debt back. I've done alot of research and even spoke to the founder of their company and it all seems on the up and up. I'm just scared I guess. I'm so untrusting of anyone, including my creditors! I KNOW my creditors could really care less if I'm having trouble as long as they get paid the monthly minimum. If not Freedom Debt Relief company can someone recommend a good debt settlement company they have worked with???

Oh, and I addressed the BBB complaints with their founder and he said he wishes they had none but Freedom Debt Relief always resolve their complaints. I did look at the BBB and I believe they are all resolved. He invited me to contact the CA Attorney General's office as he knows I will not find any negative information there. Their founders are Stanford graduates...blah blah blah. Help! I'm scared! It's either this or bankruptcy!

DOLLARSandSINCE

I can tell you for sure that Freedom Debt Relief will not succeed in 40% settlement which is what they are telling you without messing up your credit score. Your accounts will have to be charged off before you get that kind of settlement even with one of these companies trying to negotiate. As your accounts get charged off the amount you owe escalates. The credit companies start tagging you with late fees, over limit fees, higher interest and other fees to balloon your balance. In 6 months that 20,000 could easily grow 35% to around 27,000. They may still be able to get a 40% settlement on the beginning balance but keep in mind that your credit will be a wreck afterward. As you settle your score will improve but the settled amounts leave gray marks on your report. Sometimes you can dispute these and the creditor will not verify those marks so they disappear. Also keep in mind that your creditors will 1099 you afterward too which means you have to pay your tax bracket on the difference between the ballooned amount and the amount you paid.

I have not personally worked with any debt settlement company so I can not recommend any but one thing I would do is try to not pay them a large amount up front without anything being settled. Maybe you could get the company to agree to take payment as the settle items for you. For example if the settle a 5,000 account for 2,000 then you would send them a check for 2000 made out to the creditor and another check for $750 made out to them which is their 15% fee. I do not think they could settle any of them though if you continue to make your minimum payments. I would also recommend that you try the counseling on this site prior to going with any settlement program.

In reality 20k in debt is actually pretty low. I certainly would not file bankruptcy over it. I would try to cut corners, sell stuff and take extra work to pay it down which is what I did for my own debt. Do not let the creditors make you think it is an urgent matter either. Take care of your necessities first. If you end up delinquent on your accounts so be it.

Anonymous · Sub: #11 **freedom debt relief complaints** Replied on 10-15-2007, 09:10 PM

I spoke with Freedom Debt Relief too regarding my $28,000 credit card debt. The "consultant" was very upfront about my credit taking a hit. But hey, if they can settle my account for only 40% including the fees then i'm all for it. Im not planning on buying a new house or refinancing in the next few years so Im not really worried about the credit score dropping. They did mention credit repair once the account settles though. I'll have to look into that some more.

FYI

Freedom debt relief is an ok company if you have the money up front. I deal with them at least 3x a month. They are usualyt more inclined to wait until somehting has charaged off on your credit report for a few years hoping they can get you a 40-50% SIF offer.

HANKYSPANKY42

question if they have all these complaints with the BBB why are they an okay company? Freedom Debt Relief scam.

lawn1016 · __________________ Mommy to Matthew Patrick...born 3/6/08!

From what I understand, if Freedom Debt Relief settle the complaints with the BBB & the customer, that affects their standing. I've seen a lot of companies with a TON of complaints, but they addressed them (the company).

Anonymous · Sub: #15 **Freedom Debt Relief scam-stars** Replied on 10-29-2007, 08:34 PM

I had started to work with freedom debt relief and to date they have taken $1300 of my money and lost my information twice. They have lied to me and when I asked for a termination notice and the remaining $236 they didn't respond and took half of the money that I had left. I made a terrible mistake. I should have checked the complaints against Freedom Debt relief and now have to file for bankruptcy because this has cost me so much. When I started I was not in arears and had a decent credit score, now I just have a mess.

lawn1016 · __________________ Mommy to Matthew Patrick...born 3/6/08!

I'm sorry it didn't work out Working with freedom debt relief review!! They have many complaints.
I would apply for a free consultation or call the 800 # on the right...they could let you know what your options are & maybe how to get what is yours from FDR.

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