Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 134,000 members

redjaxm@aol.com · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:59 pm Subject: Freedom Debt Relief

Hi I have signed with Freedom debt relief and I just had them settle with one of my creditors to keep them from suing me. Now I pay more to the Law firm and my Original amount owed was 4900.00 now with the settlement it is 6900.00 that is just one of my accounts, the rest haven't even been contacted that I am in this program. What a crazy rip-off does anyone know how to get out of the mess they have created for me, should I file bankruptcy or should I ride it out with them??

Ps I thought they could help me and when I started I was close to being behind in payments, but not yet, now it has ballooned into a huge mess.

Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:15 am Subject:

Redjaxm
Often time’s debt settlement can balloon into a huge mess. With settlement companies they like to let everything go into default to push your creditor into accepting less on the debt. I can see why it is done but it sure is hard to go through and it can make bad credit worse in no time. Freedom debt relief should have told you this up front.
You may be able opt out of the program and try another approach to settle on you own. There are some great people on this site that can help you, and I’m sure someone will be along with some advice for you. Hang in there

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:59 am Subject:

I so agree about great people on site and the hang in there!!!! absolutely!

No Freedom From Debts · Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:02 pm Subject: Freedom Debt Relief made it worse

There is NO QUESTION that Freedom debt relief is ONLY Sales Oriented! The Account Executive told me that they were members of TASC in good standing, they were one of the largest debt settlement companies in the country with "in-house" reliability, and their two founders were Stanford graduates dedicated to reign over the largest and most seasoned debt settlement company's in the country. As it turns out, their NASCAR paced growth is the result of their historical sales track emphasis, not their Customer Service Pit Crew!

The sales rep called me relentlessly, to suggest that his persistence was to nothing more than his empathy to "enroll" me into a program that would protect me from my creditors; that he understood the gravity of the matter. It seemed very desireable to have immediate attention given to my discouraging debt situation, so I signed up with the. That's where the real trauma began!

I was assured that I would hear from a Customer Service Rep within 10-14 days? ( Why should it take that long to give my file customer service attention? ) But in reality, it was about two weeks before I heard from anyone. I did not receive a Welcome Packet in the time that my sales rep informed me I would receive it; and when I tried to call my sales rep, the return call was not nearly as prompt as it was when they wanted me to enroll? In fact, it took me several calls just to get a response. Quite honestly, I began to feel that I had been exploited for the price of an enrollment fee! When my sales rep finally got a hold of me he assured me that I was worrying over nothing. Then he informed me that my file would be "Escalated" to the Customer Service Supervisor. The only thing that has escalated is increased creditor claims that they do not work with Freedom Debt Relief! I'm beginning to understand why.

Maybe the maze of operations are just too large to be effective or maybe they have taken freedom "from" debt relief customer service?

The fact is that after I have been paying Freedom Debt Relief for several months, my creditors are all threatening to file a law suit in court. When I try to reach a customer service rep, I am either ignored or I get different answers every time I call. Freedom Debt Relief is really a Freedom Debt Retreat; because the debts have simply been postponed; not relieved. And now the debts are larger than ever.

My neighbor used a smaller but national company known as Rise Above Debt Relief. For him they have certianly demonstrated that they Rise Above the inabilities and immobilities of most larger settlement companies! All that glitteres is not gold. Although Rise Above is a smaller company, they actually specialize in personal customer service. They actually have a national credit & debt law firm backing their company that every client gets the benefit of. Your file is assigned to a licensed attorney in your state to communicate with your creditors at no additional charge; in fact the fees charged by Rise Above Debt Relief are less than the fees charged by Freedom Debt Relief and there is no comparison between the lack of customer service that I received from Freedom Debt Relief and the the competent legal service that my neighbor recieved from his debt attorney arranged by Rise Above Debt Relief.

When selecting a debt settlment company, my advice would be to be very careful. The proclaimed "Pace Cars" on the national settlement sales race circuit don't necessarily have competent Pit Crews! At least to me, the "Freedom Car" seems more focused on the shiney "pace" of select Stanford Alumni than the financial freedom of their clients.

WorseOffThanBefore · Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:48 pm Subject: Freedom Debt Joke

I agree! I was just on this site reading reviews after being exploited by Freedom debt relief.

I've had to hire my own attorney to get us out of the mess that Freedom Debt Relief got us into. I actually referred three other clients to Freedom Debt Relief, after being promised reliable service. I think they must train their sales reps to prey upon the hope and vulnerability of desperate citizens in debt. When you are "drowning in a sea of debt" as my sales rep put it, "what would you do if I threw you a life preserver?" I did just what you may do ... I grabbed the enrollment life preserver quickly hoping to relieve the fears of creditor jurisdiction. After enrolling, we received more calls from our creditors than we did before we signed up. And, I received the same remarks from my creditors; they said they did not work with Freedom Debt Relief. What I found out later, is that all creditors work with an attorney knowledgeable in credit law. But Freedom Debt Relief does not provide legal assistance. After only two short months of being enrolled in the Freedom Debt Relief program, I instructed my bank to cancel my auto draft debt savings payment to FDR. WE could not get competent answers from Freedom's Customer Service Dept. First we were told they were going to send out letters to our creditors, then we were told they were not going to send letters to our creditors. We felt that we had enrolled in a program that was not going to help us.

We have since learned the Federal Trade Commission is carefully watching debt settlements Programs that try to settle your debt with in-house debt negotiators? The debt settlement business is booming, and our attorney has informed us that many states are requiring that you are represented by an attorney. My attorney told us Freedom Debt Relief was not even licensed in many states, yet my sales rep boasted that they have 40,000,000 clients nationwide? A few years ago the FTC shut down a company called Ameridebt because they had grown so large so fast, that it was determined they were exploiting the consumer and not offering freedom from consumer debts. It was merely a vehicle to reap huge fee income at the expense and dismay of the consumer.

We are finding that our creditors have far greater respect from a debt attorney than they do for Freedom Debt Relief. And the calls have quieted significantly.

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:18 pm Subject:

I would send out a letter asking to withdrawal from the contract. Ask for fees and payments to be returned ASAP. Maybe an attorney would be the best way to go or check out the free consultation offered on this site. (800 602-1579)
Let us know what happens…..and best wishes, I’m pulling for you!

Jess1 · Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:05 pm Subject: Leave the program ASAP

I listen to Dave Ramsey almost every day. These programs do nothing other than get you into deeper debt and shatter your credit. Dave's baby steps are the way to go.

I also found a site offering free debt programs that are actually the same as the ones others charge for. They actually have all sorts of financial calculators etc. and interesting articles. Go to masteringmydebt.com

Good luck

Jess

Banks · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:43 pm Subject: Misguided

Lets clear things up...banks are always going to tell you that they do not work with a debt settlement / consumer counseling / debt management firm - THE COLLECTOR FOR THE BANK WANTS YOUR MONEY (and don't get it wrong, whether it a collector for the bank or a collector at a collection agency, they are performing the same job - COLLECTING on debts).

The FTC is not watching the industry because it's growing and it definitely didn't shut down Ameridebt b/c it grew so fast. The FTC shut down Ameridebt because they were lying and cheating consumers out of money. Period. End of story. They were a consumer credit counseling agency that took money from consumers and did nothing with it. They deceptively advertsied to consumers stating they could save consumers thousands, and did nothing.
You want to know something funny, consumer credit counseling is funded by the major banks. So lets get this straight. The banks, fund CCCS companies, to help "collect" money from consumers who owe them debts. When you cut through all of the smoke and mirrors, CCCS is a glorified version of a collection agency. Intead of calling and harassing consumers, they setup consumers to payback creditors on 4 5 or 6 year plans which really does not effectively eliminate your debt. And then, the bank pays the CCCS company a percentage for every payment that the CCCS company sends to the bank. And who are they really looking out for? You, themselves, or the Bank? You decide.
The debt settlement industry does have its faults. And there are unscrupulous companies as in any industry (look at the mortgage industry and what they are going through - hmmm, those are the same banks that consumers have credit cards with - wonder if there's any connection). The FTC will regulate the industry for these unscrupulous agencies and will deal with them accordingly. That is their primary role.
States don't require that you are represented by an attorney. Banks don't require that you are represented by an attorney. It's a sales pitch, just like you get from the used car dealer down the street from you. While your attorney may have reduced the calls, odds are they will pick up again once your accounts are transfered around from collection agency to collection agency. Hopefully your attorney has experience in settling debts, otherwise you will be in the same situation that you were in previously. Reputable debt settlement companies exist and banks do work with them. Major banks are afraid to admit this because of the fear that they will loose millions of customers with CCCS companies who are continually paying them money.
Banks lobbied to have the Bankruptcy laws changed, to force consumers into CCCS before being eligible for BK. And it did have a slim impact at first, but BK is back on the rise and CCCS companies have not seen the dramatic consumer increase that was expected. Instead, consumers are left with no options, other than do nothing, try to do it on their own, or try to work with a Debt Settlement Company. This is exactly why Debt Settlement Companies exist. They are alternatives to Bankruptcy and CCCS. Hopefully they will be better regulated soon.

Brad Stroh

As the Founder of Freedom debt relief, i take offense to a competitor taking 'pot' shots with fake testimonials (as Rise Above Debt Relief did above and in even more eggregious and unethical posts elsewhere).

Anyone that wants to see our customer service statistics (average 99% of calls answered in under 30 seconds in March, and less than 10 seconds of client hold times) or resolution statistics (FDR settled over 3,764 in the past month - how many did our so called competitors resolve?)

We work hard for our clients. Always did, and always will. Call me directly if you have questions.

Erik · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:03 pm Subject:

Brad,

I wouldn't have ever thought that companies would go as low as to do something like that!

rizabove.com · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:58 pm Subject:

I was browsing the postings and noticed that we at Rise Above debt relief are being blamed for posting bogus information. Trust me, we are way too busy helping clients to get out of debt to be doing such a thing. Maybe some of the 105 customers that complained about Freedom Debt Relief to the BBB are actually posting their frustration. All I know, is Rise Above Debt Relief has a $25,000 cash guarantee to save clients 30-60%, a national law firm handling the negotiations, and a payment plan that gets negotiations done faster for the client. No debt relief company comes close. But we absolutely are not fake posting. When customers are complaining, look inward, not at your competitors!!

JD DUMAS · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:26 pm Subject:

As the President and managing partner of a client-focused debt relief company, I also take offense to fake posts. But I'm not sure if they are fake, I just know that no one in my company has time or even cares about Freedom Debt Relief, we are way too busy!! We are very flattered though when reading your obvious fake posts on bills.com and other websites about our company because that gives us more publicity and when anyone does their research, well, it's an obvious choice. We do have an open door policy, so if you suspect any false/fake info being posted from Rise Above Debt Relief, we welcome a call/discussion. Otherwise, if these are posted by our happy customers, more power to you guys!!

Brad Stroh · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:04 am Subject: Response

FDR works hard for our clients and likes to compete to help our clients. We compete by elevating our performance and not by denegrating others or unethical behavior.

Any consumer with questions is welcome to call us any time - we are here to help people with real debt problems.
bgs

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:31 am Subject:

am I wrong here? please let me know!

selina · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:40 am Subject: debt shield

i am considering to use debt shield for my credit
card debt. does anyone knows dealt with this company. i will appreciate your help.
thanks.

RiseAboveDebtRelief.com · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 7:00 am Subject: Always check with the BBB.org

Make sure you do all your research first, as not all debt relief / Settlement companies are the same. I checked the Better Business Bureau and they have at least 26 complaints already, and most unhappy consumers don't take the time to complain, so that is a big red flag. Also the BBB.org has important information about them concerning their fees and structure.

Also, make sure they go over your budget to see if this program is right for you and you can afford it, explain all the negatives along with the positives, and offer you a guarantee.

I obviously work for a competing firm, but there are plenty of good ones out there along with even more bad ones, so be careful, do your research and you'll be fine.

*Name:
*Email:
*Phone:
*Zip:
*Debt

	* denotes required field

Internet's first get-out-of-debt community - 134,000 members

Freedom Debt Relief

Members Area

Free Debt Counseling

Ask the community

Featured Discussions

Featured Articles

Question of the Month

Also See

Recent Forum Discussions

Recent Blog Post