Debt Free Associates - Consumer reviews about this company

They are members of both TASC and IAPDA and so I think it should be a good settlement company.

BBB sucks. They are biased against settlement. Their site is useful to at least see if they have any unusual number or unresolved complaints.

I am new to the forum and am looking for some advice. I have been researching debt settlement companies and was ready to move forward with Debt Free Associates. Now, after reading their fine print, I am having second thoughts. They use Global Client Solutions and Rocky Mountain Bank and Trust which both have a lot of negative reports out there.

I am looking for a settlement compant that allows me to hold my money until they have a settlement offer for me and then I'll be happy to pay them their 15% fee.

Any suggestions? I also thought I'd try to contact my creditors directly and use the letter templates provided.

I have a lot of credit card debt and I'm now at the point where I can no longer afford the payments. I'm not sleeping and my anxiety level is through the roof. Most of the debt is with Chase, anyone have positive experiences trying to settle with them?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Global client solutions gets negative reviews because of the nature of the debt settlement business. Global Client Solutions and Rocky Mountain are just the bank and industry processing software used. You don't need to worry about any bad rep they have I would pay more attention to the actual company. I used global client solutions when I worked for another debt settlement company.
Also, I have a friend at Debt Free Associates and they are a good company.

(Link Removed by Shazzers as solicitations are against TOS rules)

Link removed. Please read TERMS OF SERVICE for a more detailed description regarding advertising. Shazzers

Hello, JEFFI. I don't want to get into your 'personal' life, but, I'm just wondering if you can tell us who the friend is. I'm looking for a good, debt consolidation company, myself, and I would like some 'feedback', etc. Debt Skinny???? What is that?

I would also reccomend the @#$%^&&**(. They really care about their clients and are actually attorney backed. Here's their number removed...pm
[samebox:8a17ccdea8="paulmergel"]sorry no solicitory numbers or personal numbers allowed.[/samebox:8a17ccdea8]

Of course, people may recommend their friends at certain Debt Consolidation Co's. However......you' ( in general) may want to look up their 'ratings' as well. If these Co's have complaints, etc. 'You' can't just take someone's word for it.

You posted your question on June 7th, today is August 3rd. Did you go with Debt Free Associates and are you happy with your choice? Do you have complaints against debt free associates?

I am currently using the services of the company, and while their promises didn't exactly turn out to be 100% accurate, I just got a settlement offer for 30 cents on the dollar through them. Hey, it's better than nothing, and as part of the settlement, the creditor has promised to report the account PAID with $0 balance, not settled. There's one guy Brian I've been working with for over a year now and he helps me with any problem I have. DFA even helped me when Chase filed a suit in an arbitration forum for a $13k credit card debt. I settled it for 8k and that was on the high side. I do recommend DFA. Just know that it isn't exactly true that they settle accounts for 37.5 cents on the dollar on average. It's more like 45-50%. Other than that, they're great.

I just got off the phone with Debt Free Associates...I am wanting to sign up with them...

So how long did it take them to get you a settlement? What else did they tell you that was not exactly true?

You guys can get all the same deals they do w/ out paying the 15% comission...just call your creditors and tell them what you are offring as a settlement...debt settlement compnaines get no special deals that you cany get on your own.....you may settle your debt for 40%, but after paying them the 15% on top of that, you are really paying 65% settlements...something to think about

Not to mention, unless you're insolvent, taxes on top of that.

You can click on "Do It Yourself" above for good tips, and also the FTC has a great site called Money Matters with a lot of good info, too.

Is debt free associates a scam? I have not seen anything on here recently about them. I am looking for a reliable company for help.

I signed up with the company and made all my settlements myself without their help. They took $1500 out every month from my checking account for 6 months.
They have not paid back any of it and they did nothing.
What should I do?

Rudranii''' why would you sign up with a company have them process all your accts and right when they are getting ready to settle your accts - you just go ahead and settle them yourself?!? that makes no sense?!? why didnt you just do it yourself from the beginning? i would be upset if someone came to me asked for my help and signed up for my services, had me to all the preparation work and then they just do it themselves and say they want their money back?!? doesnt make sense sounds like you wasted alot of peoples time and money

i must agree that the actual settlements dont begin until around month 6. i think my first settlement was actually month 9. it takes awhile to build up money into to the account, and most want the money in one lump sum. so usually how settlement co work is they make you stop payment and wait for it to go into collection were you get the better deals which is around month 3 were the negotiation process starts. so till you counter offer back in forth a few times it takes a few months

I'm think of using Debt Free associates of Carlsbad Ca. to help with my debt. Does anyone have any info !!

I had signed up with DFA, but after reviewing, and some "soul-searching" I realized this program was not right for me. They signed me up to deduct $800 a month for 36 months. At this point, I would be paying only 10k less on my credit cards - the rest going to DFA for their fees. Didn't seem like a deal to me. So, I cancelled after two months, at which point after $1600 in bank deductions, I only had just over $300 in my "savings account" toward my debt settlements. The rest was going directly to DFA - they stated they initially take 40% for their fees. But, by my math, 1300 is more than 40% of 1600.

I have been enrolled with DFA for a little over a year now, they have settled out 4 of my accounts right around 30%, I'm not sure why someone said they're settlements were higher, but I'm pretty sure they vary from bank to bank. Good company!

Wake up people!! In order to negotiate yourself you would need 30%(Cash) of the Credit Card Balance to settle with them, most people dont have the willing to save, thats why you should use a debt settlement Company!

The company is a scam and anyone saying good things about it probably works there!

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anyone know anything about Total Financial Freedom debt consolidation company

Do not use Debt Free Associates! I learned the hard way

I have been very successful settling my own debts. I would not trust someone else to handle it because they are not going to be as careful as I would be. I have read about how frequent the lawsuits are when one uses them. That is the last thing I need...to have all of my customers and friends able to see the public record on my State's CaseNet site. Handling it on my own, I have been able to keep them at bay and have full control. I would NEVER use a debt settlement company unless for some reason I was physically or mentally unable to handle it...in which case I would just bk.

I also use them and settled most of my accounts myself because at that point I had no choice. One creditor refuses to work with any type of debt program. DFA takes all of the fees up front so your account doesn't start adding up until after a year. I had creditors suing me, taking my wages and tax refund before DFA could settle anything. They do not help in any way only refer you to a lawyer that gives you bias advise for them. I've paid them $400 a month for 15 months and pnly have $2000 in my account to negotiate with. They prey upon desperate people going through a hard time who are looking for help. I do not recommend them. Instead try to work out everything with your creditors on your own.

I am in the same situation right now and I am sorry I did not read these comments before....the best is to settle yourself with all your creditors; you'll get the same results plus you'll save the non-refundable high enrollment fees!

I am currently a client of debt free assoc and I have paid hem 5500.00 and have not yet had a settlement offer. I have been paying them since Sept 09 and right now I have 900.00 in my account. They have taken the rest as fees. I hope to drop the program after I research my committment with them.

If I cancel my agreement am I responsible for the 40% of there fees.

Can someone explain how the process works- does dept free give you a loan and then begin the settlement process or do you need to come up with the lump some payment when they reach a settlement with a creditor? Hows does this effect your credit rating?

Jimber, I signed up with Deft Free Ass. in May of 2009. The process is, you stop paying your credit cards and make payments to Debt Free. They are suppose to set-up a savings account which you control. However, in my case they did not. The idea is that the credit card accounts go delinquent, which makes the credit card company hungry to get as much as they can as quick as they can. Supposedly after 6 months to a year the credit card companies are willing to settle for less to recoup as much as they can. This is when Debt Free Ass. is suppose to start to negotiate. However in my case the credit card company decided to hit me with a lawsuit in Dec of 2009. At that point, I spoke with a lawyer and they told me to severe ties with Debt Free Ass. And call the credit card company and neogiate with them and explain how Debt Free Ass, took advantage of me. Well to make a long story short, I was able to negotiate a payment plan with the credit card company. Not for a reduction in balance, however I got them to stop all interest. So basically now everything I pay goes to the principle. Which will help me pay it off in half the time. All I got from Debt Free Ass, was taken advantage of. I lost about 4k to them. Once I got the lawsuit, they told me to file bankruptcy. So I paid all that money for them to tell me that. Hard lessen learned. They are scumbags. What goes around comes around. Don't Do It !!!

I signed up with Deft Free Ass. in May of 2009. The process is, you stop paying your credit cards and make payments to Debt Free. They are suppose to set-up a savings account which you control. However, in my case they did not. The idea is that the credit card accounts go delinquent, which makes the credit card company hungry to get as much as they can as quick as they can. Supposedly after 6 months to a year the credit card companies are willing to settle for less to recoup as much as they can. This is when Debt Free Ass. is suppose to start to negotiate. However in my case the credit card company decided to hit me with a lawsuit in Dec of 2009. At that point, I spoke with a lawyer and they told me to severe ties with Debt Free Ass. And call the credit card company and neogiate with them and explain how Debt Free Ass, took advantage of me. Well to make a long story short, I was able to negotiate a payment plan with the credit card company. Not for a reduction in balance, however I got them to stop all interest. So basically now everything I pay goes to the principle. Which will help me pay it off in half the time. All I got from Debt Free Ass, was taken advantage of. I lost about 4k to them. Once I got the lawsuit, they told me to file bankruptcy. So I paid all that money for them to tell me that. Hard lessen learned. They are scumbags. What goes around comes around. Don't Do It !!!

I just cancelled with DFS and am having a hard time getting my savings money I accumulated, the little that is is after paying fees. I am now settling my debts myself and it is going well. I wish I would have known this before giving DFS 5500.00 of my money in fees. I also have to say that while trying to get my money from savings the experience with Global was exhausting. The manager that I spoke to was rude, very unprofessional, and downright nasty. My experience with DFS was far better than with Global. I would advise anyone DO NOT SIGN WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=black]How can you get sues for unsecured debts? I think in the state of Texas you can’t get sues for unsecured debts. So from what i read so far is not to sign up with DFA. I wished i would have found this out earlier. I been with DFA since Feb,2010, i have settle one debt on my own and have called DFA to find out why they haven't try to settle any debt since i have the funds. DFA told me that they haven't received any 3rd party letter, that is BS as soon as i get them i fax it to them. Maybe DFA is just waiting to get all of the fees first before helping the customer out.[/COLOR]
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[QUOTE=Anonymous;708561][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=black]How can you get sues for unsecured debts? I think in the state of Texas you can???t get sues for unsecured debts. So from what i read so far is not to sign up with DFA. I wished i would have found this out earlier. I been with DFA since Feb,2010, i have settle one debt on my own and have called DFA to find out why they haven't try to settle any debt since i have the funds. DFA told me that they haven't received any 3rd party letter, that is BS as soon as i get them i fax it to them. Maybe DFA is just waiting to get all of the fees first before helping the customer out.[/COLOR]
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There's little reason to hire someone to do something you can do yourself. In fact, your lender may actually prefer it.

SCAM! My impression of Debt Free Associates (they send out letters as a fake Federal government agency I guess called the Consumer Debt Initiative ??? Bail Out Plan) is that they are snakes who steal and lie and cheat people out of money. These guys are bad news and may be scam artists. I did some research and found out that the owners are Bradley Smith, Branden Millstone, and Brian Voytovich. I think all Debt Free Associates cares about is ripping people off to make as much money as they can and use debt relief as their front. There are many legitimate debt relief companies in business that provide a good service, but I don???t believe Debt Free Associates is one of them. For example, Debt Free Associates sends out letters called the ???Consumer Debt Initiative ??? Bail Out Plan??? with a logo of the United States Capitol Building on the front of it. What was odd to me was that this company is based in Southern California???BEWARE! This link shows an example of the letter they send out.

http://getoutofdebt.org/17682/examples-of-scam-mailers-sent-by-debt-settlement-companies-to-trick-consumers-some-are-members-of-tasc

OP, until about 2 weeks ago...I was going to file bankruptcy due to the fact that my husbandd ran up all of our credit cards and more to try to save his business....we had so much debt ...I am truly emabarrased...somehow just as we were finalizing our trip to BK court and the paperwork.....I found this site. Decided to settle my husband's accounts by ourselves.....and pay mine through payment plans (he also took out debt in my name)....anyway, we have worked out Debt settlement with BOA, citi, Chase and another one (which I can't remember)...it is not hard...you just have to tell them the truth ...what happened and that you cannot pay the full amount....BOA and Chase settled for about 25% overall.....Citi did give us a good offer at one time...but since I used the BK work....they want about 40% on my husband's card and 30% on two others....Please look for a couple of threads on here with BOA Senior Accounts #......they are great to work with for FIAA and BOA accounts. Again, my husband and I have had no real problems...call back another person if you don't like who you are dealing with. In general, they have been very nice! good luck to you
YOu will have to pay taxes on debt that is forgiven. File state taxes and pay them beore January 1st, then you can deduct the state taxes you paid from the federal taxes due. I have already consulted our tax guy...good luck to you...look for threads that are helpful here.....

Debt free Associates is a rip off.. they have taken our money and done NOTHING

Debt Free Associates is a "SCAM". Please dont sign up with them. In my experience with them, I paid them over $4,000.00 and 2 out of 4 of my creditors are sueing me. They tell you no to talk to your creditors and stop making payments till it goes so long theres a lawsuit. And of course their fees are too high you can never save enought to offer a settlement.

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Do not use debt free>>>>>

hello, I am knew with dfa and am very concerned. everytime they take money out, they deduct is for Customer Fees? Anyone know if this is just for the first few months? thank you

I was about to call DFA to get some help with one high interest rate loan, but forget it I'll just keep paying on this high interest rate loan. I've call BoA to try and lower the interest rate which is at 23.99%, but they won't give in. Any help on dealing with BoA to try and get a lower rate? Thanks...

When I first signed up with DFA they explained the fees and how the program works. Of course they are going to have a fee for the work they do and maintaining the account. Before I signed on the dotted line I went over the program SEVERAL times with the DFA rep until I totally understood how my payments would be applied to my debt and their fee. I had a large amount of debt of close to 70k. They explained that the fee I paid to DFA ($7,500) was based on a percentage of the total debt to be consolidated so in the first year the majority of my $800 a month payment did go to pay the service fee but it was explained to me up front. They do take more of your monthly payment out for their fee during the first 6-12 months so you won't see a big balance on your account in the beginning but if you will be patient it DOES pay off. I just settled a Wells Fargo account of 6k for $2,025 and have been given an "offer" on my largest debt on my B of A platinum card account of 24k for 11,500. Some people get wigged out that a credit agency sues them for the debt; they will do this whether you are in a program like DFA or not. At no time did DFA tell me they would have an attorney represent me in court; they did say they would provide documents and information from their attorney that I may use if in the event I choose to go to court to try to further reduce the setlement. I received a notice from a creditor that they were suing me so I went to court and the other party did not show so the 5k account may be dismissed with NO PAYMENT (I will find out next Friday). If you go to court and explain to the judge that unfortunately you are like millions of other people right now and have a loss in income they will reduce the payoff substantially and a monthly payment can be arranged. If you choose to you can of course try to settle with the credit company yourself but I have not seen them willingly settle for the amounts that are finally coming in for me now. The key is patience and take time to understand the program, it took me about a year before settlement offers came in. Let's face it; so many of us are in a financial jam right now and if you get behind on payments or can't pay off your debts your credit rating is screwed for 6-7 years anyway so if it takes a few years to settle it this way and save a lot of money in the process it was the best way for me to go. In the long run the savings I will receive will definitely outweigh the cost of the program. This was my experience with DFA and this is the way the program works so if this type of program works for you then best of luck, if you choose to go solo it may work for you too. Hopefully things will change for the better economically in the coming years but it sure doesn't look good right now, so I am doing whatever I can to get out of debt. The stress can be a killer.

SCAM!!!! Be Aware!!!Debt Free Associated, if you do the math, you will find out that they do absolutely nothing but charge you an outrageous amount. I am posting this because I strongly feel that it is wrong for them to rip a hard working off. So please do yourself a favor and save your money; look out for the settlement offer letter; contact the creditor and see what they can offer you. Seriously... here is the break out. 1 time initial processing fee of $199. Then, based on your debt, for example, 60K, you will be asked to have $700/monthly save in a trust account. For the first 4 months, you will only have a total of $477 saved up and the rest goes toward their fees. Then the next 12 months, you will have $441.10 out of the $700 save in your saving account. Then, from the 13 month until the end of the contract (until you pay off your debt), you will only have $625.00 out of the $700 save in your account. Do the math and see if it's worth it. After all, you just sit there and wait for the offer settlement letter and then contact them repeatedly to follow up. I am not sure how other people claim that Debt Free Associate save them money? Was the offer being offered or did they really negotiate for this amount?
In summary, assuming you have been with them for 15 months, this is how much you spent, save, and paid for their fees..
Total Money you put out: $199 + $700 (13) = $9,299.00
Total Money Pay to Debt Free Asso: $199 + $2,322.94 (first 4 months) + $2,330.10 (next 9 months) =$4,852.04
Total Money you have in your saving account at month 13 = $4,446.96
So, if you do the math, $9,299.00 - $4,852.04= $4,446.96 and that is like 52% you are paying them.

Hope this help!

First of all, I would not give Debt Free Associate all that credit and I am glad that it does work out for some people. However, I do not see how someone can benefit from this whole process. First of all, they claim to be an expert but they screw up over and over again. Secondly, the longer you wait the more money you spend on fees to keep them in business.

Here is the details so i hope you do the math. These creditors will send you offer letter or you can call them yourself to sette the claim. When you sign up, they will charge $199 for sending you a pre-written contract with your name and their company info on it. Then, they will pull your credit report and calculate the total amount of debt your want to get rid off. For example, a 50K debt will require an estimate of $700 a month saved up in a saving account handled by Global Client Solution or some other ones.

For the First 4 months, here is the break out: 700 * 4 = $2800
~ $70 go to Client Solution (70*4) = $280
~ 510 go to Debt Free Associate (510*4) = $2040
So, your $2800 that you think you have saved up is now worth $480...

Then, for the next 12 months, here is the break out: 700*12 = $8400
~ 70 go to Client Solution (70*12) = $840
~$222 go to Debt Free Associate (222*12) = $2,675
So, your $8400 is really now $4,884.72

Then, from month 16th untill you settle your debt in full
~70 go to Client Solution a month
~ $75 go to Debt Free Associate a month
So your $700 is really now $555

Using the 4 months and the following 12 months, as illustrated above, here is the break out..

you put out $11,200 - Debt Free Associate Fee ($4,715) - Global Solution Fee ($1,120) =

$11,200 - ($4,715 + $1,120) = $5,365 (This is your actuall savings for 16 months)

Now, let say you owed CitiBank $20,000 and they send you a settement letter to settle for 30% = $6000. All debt fee going to do is call them, while you are on the phone so that they can use YOUR $5,3,65 to pay for part of this debt and you will pay for the remaining. On the top of this, be prepare to pay for the $20,000 - $6000 = $14,000 extra income tax at the end of the year. Depending on your income tax bracket, but this will certain push you up one bracket higher.

I don't know... I save the full $11,200 and use it myself to handle this. At the end of the day, I pay $5,835 for someone to keep my money and for someone to sit around play phone tag with me.

I hope this help.

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I am not sure about those people claiming DFA helped them. In my case, they did absolutely nothing and I ended up negotiating al 4 debts for 30%, totallying 42K+ for $12K pluss over 3 months. You just have to work with the creditors and take it one step at a time. With DFA, they took more than $2600 and did absolutely nothing. They called me back after my offered expired and asked if i had sent in my payment. If things are bad already, i rather take my own risk and have some control around this rather than paying someone and have them tell me to wait. Reality is, if it is in your favor, jump on right away and tackle one at a time. I say, you save this money, and do the job your self. it takes a little time but going with DFA or not, you are still under the same amount of stress.

I recently received a solicitation from DFA and was considering signing up with their company until I read the posts from unsatisified consumers. Thank you for your honest information regarding this company. I will work with my creditors to get my debt resolved. Best of luck to all of you. Thank you again!

If any one wants a debt "settlement" company call 866-833-6398 they can get you deals at 20-30 cents on the dollar and you pay the creditor directly.