Help I need advice on FDR.

Here is the BBB report with them. Personally the BBB has lost a lot of credibility with me since they recently have tried to extort my company with BBB membership dues and since we didn't pay them they gave us an F rating but thats a whole other can of worms. However what concerns me with Freedom Debt Relief has continued to operate despite a desist and refrain order issued through the Department of Corporation on May 29, 2008. Personally I would shop around with some other debt settlement companies that have a good standing or at least look at the number and types of complaints and if they were resolved or ignored.

Wasn't that only in the state of California or was that nationwide?

I know this company well...I work for them!

We have been around since 2002.
We have helped over 61,000 clients.
We have saved clients over $149 million.
The state of California is accusing us of being a "pro-rater", a company which manages client funds. We are confident that we will win this allegation. Our customer contract clearly states that we DO NOT manage client funds.

Dear wwgodzilla,

I am an employee at Freedom debt relief and have been so for more than 3 years now. Here are some of our recent statistics:

Since our inception in 2002 we have saved clients over $149,000,000.

In 2008 alone FDR settled 36,000+ accounts.

Average settlement rate for 2008 was 46%.

5 second average hold time for a client calling FDR's Customer Service.

Our annual customer retention rate is close to 80% every quarter.

If you still have some questions or concerns we will be glad to address them, just let me know how to reach you.

As far as the lawsuit is concerned, that applies only to the State of California, and the allegation is that we are pro-raters, just like credit counseling, which is not the case at all, and we are doing everything to defend our cause. You can read more on the TASC website.

Thank you for the information. FDR has always answered there phone's right away and have answered all my question's, being new to this I get a little scared. I just hope I can keep up the payments.

I read the BBB complaint. First, the complaint is based on a pending lawsuit. Nothing has been proven nor has a judgement been made. Second, the complaint clearly states this is relevant to the state of California only. Though I don't agree with several of Mobile 0311's points, I do agree with checking out other agencies other than just one to determine to quality of product and service offered. (FTC, State attorney general, D&B, etc.) Admittedly, they told you everything bad that was going to happen. You ultimately signed up because you trusted them.

Freedom debt relief (FDR) is an industry leader in terms of ethical standards and client results. The company has saved its clients over $140,000,000 and has settled over 36,000 accounts in 2008 alone. Customer service is top in the industry with the an average hold time of only 5 seconds.

The BBB issue noted above relates to a disagreement with the state of CA relating to a "prorating" law, which has to do with the flow and control of money not the level of service provided to clients. In FDR???s business model consumers accrue settlement funds in a third party FDIC insured bank account in the client???s name which the client fully controls. For more information see the Debt Settlement Industry Association???s news release stating that it is 100% supporting FDR in its debt settlement practice (TASC).

They did tell me everything, including that the companies could sue me although that does not happed all the time and FDR tries very hard to deal with them so it does not go very far. I did feel good with them and still do. I can't believe I got into such debt and everything I can do whether a settlement or bankruptcy will not be easy.

Why are so many people on the blog saying so many bad things. I am sure they were told everything. I know where my seperate bank account is and I can keep track of all the monies. What's the deal?

I also work for FDR. In addition to an entire staff dedicated to answering calls and emails from our clients, we have a department completely dedicated to handling creditor calls. This means that when a creditor (or law firm) calls FDR, they speak with a live person who can try to negotiate a settlement on the spot or at least inform the creditor of what's going on. This usually helps to ease any tension on the creditor's behalf. On the other hand, if an account does reach a "legal" status, we also have an entire team dedicated to resolving those accounts.

The best piece of advice that I can offer you is that if you ever have questions about your program or just need a little reassurance that everything is okay, give us a call. We are here for you... in 5 seconds or less.

This is nuts or a set-up. FOUR Freedom Debt Relief employees here to defend their honor? Give me a break. There's no need to pump your company.

Do people a favor and either be an advocate and help answer the questions around here, as you're obvioulsy knowledgable about this stuff. Or go back to work and cram down large fees on people who are already down and broke. But don't send a litany of employees to the forum to re-post your sales literature.

This is not a setup. I really am an individual who went with FDR and the people working with them are just trying to help me. They are even giving me their extensions if I need to call them personally.

I didn't quite get that there was a question. Clearly this person in the first post joined and now is asking if they should drop out. I am seeing a serious lack of knowledge on a lot of posts. Did you not read your agreement? Did you not research the company before you joined?
I think that referring you to the BBB is not going to prove that you made the right or wrong choice. The BBB has no credibility with any worthy business. They can rate any business any way they please and have no regulations. They regulate themselves.
What questions do you have?

I am just responding to legalbabe75. Yes I did read the agreement and that is not really my question and I agree with you about the BBB. I guess I am just wondering why there are so many bad responses regarding FDR on this website. Thank You.

To wwgodzilla. There will always be disgruntled people from anywhere and any debt program. Some, not all, but some people think that getting aid with their debt means that they shouldn't have to be bothered with the debt that they are responsible for. I am a supporter of debt settlement because I saw it work for many people. I know that the bad you see on this board are more so then not written by the people that didn't take an active role in the program that they participated in. I can not say enough that if you have questions you should ask them. The best advice I can give is to talk directly with the company you are with. If you google Walmart I am sure you will find thousands of people unhappy with them but does that mean there aren't millions of other people who shot there daily?

You are so right. Thank you. I got into this mess and I definately don't expect it to be easy. Like you said other people probably want an easy out. No such thing. You have made me feel better.

I am glad you are more at ease. And I must revise what I wrote about Walmart. I meant SHOP but i wrote shot. debt settlement works. It really does. The people that saw it through till the end aren't writing a ton of positives about it because they aren't at home doing searches on the company they used because they are out enjoying their life debt free. There are people out there that aren't willing to take responsibility for their debt. Just today I have read people claiming that a company took their money and that certain companies are a scam. I would bet that if those people were being honest they would admit that they just thought the company was going to wave a wand and their debt would go away. There is no legitimate company that tells you to sign up and you won't ever have to do anything. YOU DO HAVE TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN YOUR DEBT! These disgruntled people agreed to pay a fee and probably signed a form allowing their company to deduct the fee from their bank account. They also signed a contract along with a disclaimer that goes over everything. Do not weigh your thoughts on the BBB because I can't stress enough how the BBB itself is the biggest scam out there. They govern themselves. They decide how to rate a business with no guidelines or rules. How can they be legit if there is no one that can supervise them? They should never be a decision maker for anyone on anything

Very interesting letter sent from TASC to the BBB.

Well said legalbabe75, when a company has a substantial number of clients, you are bound to see a lot of rants about it. It is unfortunate that only the negative posts get propagated in a flash, while the good service we provide to a majority of our clients goes unheard.

To ball_mich: we are not pumping ourselves, we are just presenting the facts.

Sorry Nithin, when four "employees" post to say how great the company is over a one hour time span, that is pumping.

I'm not saying FDR is a good or bad company. I am saying that when you have every employee sign in as a guest and anonymously post, without actually being an advocate and helping people other that to promote your company, that is highly suspicious.

I totally agree that there are certain posts that are blatantly walking advertisements for certain companies. I also think the random posts by moderators with the link to BBB and AG is a little ridiculous. Again, the BBB is no place to turn to go made an educated decision. If so- none of us would shop at Walmart or buy food at our local grocery stores. I am not affiliated with any settlement company but I stand by the settlement industry.

ya never cancel keep on fighting those blitches need to learn

Do not sign up with FDR! My husband and I signed up with the company almost 4 years ago and to date they have saved us only 15% of what we owed to creditors. Out of 7 creditors only 3 have been "negotiated" and 1 we have to pay directly to a lawyer and 2 haven't even had anything negotiated yet. Just so you know FDR has received over 170 complaints through the BBB.

Mobile do you OWN a debt settlement company or do you just work for one?

I'm asking because you used the phrase My company.....