Freedom Debt Relief - How good a company is it?

Make sure that they are a member of TASC.

I found Freedom debt relief to be lying to me. They have taken several thousand dollars from me and settled one credit card for $1400. Their fee has been either $7000 or $9000, depending on who you speak with on the phone. I have not been able to access my account over the internet as they say I can. I was promised fee refunding, because I was among the 1% who the plan didn't work for, but, I have not been sent any money or been able to contact the vice president who promised me the refund. Beware of Julie in legal.
They make promises, but never deliver. I started out with debt and great credit. Freedom Debt Relief gave me debt, several companies suing me, bank account garnishments and bad credit. They still contact me once a month when it is time to draft my bank account. BEWARE!!!!!!!

Hi, I'm a copy editor with BusinessWeek.com who get totally hosed by Freedom debt relief. I have written about it at the BusinessWeek.com blog, Recession in America. This site won't let me post the link to it, which is too bad.

You'll have to do some surfing on the Net to read about how I gave FDR $25,000 and they paid off just $6,000 of my husband's debt.

Sending money to Freedom Debt Relief or the Freedom Financial Network is like kissing it good-bye. Good luck!

You mean this article?

by: Monica Gagnier

I????????ve been spending a lot of time on the road lately, and I????????m struck by the number of radio ads for debt settlement services that boast they can cut a consumer????????s credit-card debt by half or more.

???????So scared you can????????t answer your phone anymore???????? they ask. ???????We????????ll get creditors off your back.???????

I know from experience that many of these outfits make promises they can????????t keep. Shortly after my husband and I bought a house in Beacon, N.Y., in December 2005, I began looking for ways to cut his debt, which he had let creep up over the years.

Like millions of Americans, my husband received credit cards in the mail during the 1990s. For some folks, these 0% offers were too good to pass up.

Unfortunately, if you lost your job or got sick and you were late with a payment, the interest rates could skyrocket from 0% to 30% virtually overnight. That was in the agreement that came with the pre-approved card, but most people never bothered to read the fine print.

Compounding matters for debtors was a concept known as ???????universal default.??????? If you missed a payment on one card, other creditors would automatically raise their rates even if you had been paying them on time.

My husband fell behind on his credit-card payments when he quit his job as the manager of a restaurant to pursue his dream of working in the golf industry. As a result of this career shift, his income fell by two-thirds.

I did a lot of research on the Web and discovered an outfit in San Mateo, Calif. called Freedom debt relief that I thought would be able to help us.

At the time, the debt consolidator????????s Web site contained a quote from The Wall Street Journal praising the firm, which was founded by two former Stanford University MBAs, Andrew Houser and Brad Stroh. As someone who used to cover business schools for BusinessWeek, this tale of MBA enterprise impressed me.

When my husband and I signed up for the Freedom Debt Relief program in February 2006, I told Samantha Sherman, the company's vice-president of customer relations, that I would be writing about our efforts to get out of debt. I was confident that the story would have a happy ending. After all, Freedom Debt Relief advertised that it had more than $1 billion under management.

The first thing Freedom Debt Relief had us do was write letters to the credit-card companies asking them to close my husband's accounts. The debt consolidator provided us with a form letter we could use that explained my husband intended to make good on his obligations.

Instead of sending payments to the banks, we allowed Freedom Debt Relief to withdraw between $1,000 and $1,500 a month from our joint checking account. This money was deposited in an escrow account, ostensibly to pay creditors.

At the time, Freedom Debt Relief told us that if we stuck with their three-year program, they would reduce my husband's debt from about $85,000 to half of that.

While were in the program, many of these creditors called us several times a day to tell us Freedom Debt Relief was not negotiating in good faith and hadn't returned their calls.

Several of my husband's debts were transferred from creditors such as JPMorgan Chase, American Express, and Citibank to debt collection agencies, which started harassing me at work. I knew that these debts were going to end up in court if Freedom Debt Relief dragged its feet in negotiating settlements.

At one point, to avoid a judgment against my husband, Freedom Debt Relief offered to lend us $12,000 through its mortgage arm, Alivio Mortgage, at 9% interest. When I asked Sherman why this particular bank had filed suit against my husband rather than settling with Freedom Debt Relief, she told me that the bank thought we "were hiding assets." I believed her and signed the promissory note to Alivio.

For months, I pestered Sherman to provide me with monthly statements outlining where our money was going and how much debt Freedom Debt Relief had been able to eliminate. We never received a single statement until we terminated the program in November 2007.

When all was said and done, we paid the debt consolidator more than $25,000, of which roughly half, $13,700, went to fees. Freedom Debt Relief paid out $6,000 to creditors and managed to reduce my husband's debt by $4,000, an amount on which we had to pay taxes. You'll notice the math doesn't quite add up. There were also loan payments to Alivio Mortgage.

Why did we drop out? The better question is: Why did we ever go in? I'm embarrassed that as a longtime financial writer, I signed up to be fleeced and persuaded my husband to go along with the program. Yes, this whole thing was my idea.

At the time, it seemed that we needed a middleman to negotiate with the credit-card companies and try to make payment arrangements that wouldn't further increase our debt because of late fees and 30% interest rates.

When I was doing my research, I didn't know about this site, where real people talk about their experiences with debt settlement companies. Today, there are lots of unfavorable comments about Freedom Debt Relief and other debt consolidators here and elsewhere on the Web.

After we made the decision to terminate the program, I began a letter-writing campaign. I sent e-mails and snail mail to the consumer affairs departments of both California, where Freedom Debt Relief is based, and New York, where we live. I wrote to the New York State Banking Commissioner and the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency. Each recommended that I write to another state or federal agency.

I didn't have any hope that we would get any of our money back, but I wanted to prevent others from losing their hard-earned cash.

I almost fell off my chair one day in March of this year, when I received an e-mail from Chuck Finney, the Deputy District Attorney of San Mateo County, Calif. Finney and I have exchanged many e-mails and talked on the phone several times as he attempted to persuade Freedom Debt Relief to disgorge funds to me and my husband and 130 other clients.

After these talks stalled, Finney and his boss, District Attorney James P. Fox, filed a civil suit on Oct. 30 against Freedom Debt Relief in San Mateo County Superior Court. They allege that the debt consolidator "engaged in unlawful business practices and made false or misleading statements to consumers."

Among the allegations is that Freedom Debt Relief violated California's financial code by offering me and others loans through Alivio Mortgage. To do this, the company is required to be licensed by the state's Department of Corporations. It is not.

Since my husband and I terminated our agreement with Freedom Debt Relief, I wrote to several of their managers, explaining how unhappy I was and asking them to either refund our money or send it to my husband's creditors, as originally promised. I never received a response.

Even though Freedom Debt Relief reneged on its promises, I've made good on my vow to write about our saga.

Things could be worse. I'm reading a biography of novelist Charles Dickens, whose father went to debtors' prison more than once. That was what happened to people who couldn't pay their bills in 19th century England.

Yes, my husband shouldn't have gotten into debt in the first place, and in retrospect, given all the investigative articles about for-profit debt settlement firms, I should have looked for one that was nonprofit. There's no question we made some big mistakes.

But charging fees of 50% to help overextended consumers settle their debts is criminal, in my book. I'm glad the state of California agrees with me.

If you are a client of Freedom Debt Relief, Alivio Mortgage, or a sister company called Freedom Financial Network and believe you have been mistreated, please call the San Mateo DA's consumer and environmental unit at(650)363-4651.

For a long time, I didn't tell any of my friends about this dark chapter in my financial history. But as I started making confessions, I heard similar tales of woe.

One friend lost her job and used her credit cards to finance a small business that collapsed after a key customer filed bankruptcy. She now owes $225,000 to credit-card companies and is being harassed day and night. She's now attending Debtors Anonymous meetings several times a week.

Sorry this happened to you. But can you believe that with all the negative people are still signing up with them?

another option you may want to look at is freedomfromcreditors.com. They have a solution that allows you to keep control of things while they hold your hand and some of my associates who used them achieved far better results than typical settlement. Their credit was hammer though... Now, they are working on repair which freedomfromcreditors is assisting them with. They understand the laws that protect you and use these to put creditors in a position of strong negotiation possibility. They also protect against lawsuits and provide solutions to them. I've been very impressed.

Debt company sued for misleading customers
By Michelle Durand

Many customers of Freedom debt relief actually incurred greater debt through late fees and collection lawsuits because the San Mateo-based financial services company purposely misled consumers to get their business, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.

The Consumer and Environmental Unit of the District Attorney????????s Office joined with the California Department of Corporation to sue Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, Freedom Financial network, LLC and company owners Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh. The lawsuit filed Oct. 30 in San Mateo County Superior Court claims the defendants engaged in unlawful business practices, including making false or misleading statements to consumers via the Internet and telephone to induce them to buy debt reduction services. The suit also claims the company violated the state financial code by operating without a business license from the Department of Corporation.

The business, located at 1875 S. Grant St. in San Mateo, advertised having approximately $1 billion in debt under management throughout the United States. The company advertised being able to negotiate a 40 percent to 60 percent reduction in debt to unsecured creditors but, according to prosecutors, instead made some customers???????? situations worse.

???????Instead of their debts being settled or reduced, many of the defendants???????? customers suffered increased debt because of late fees imposed by creditors, referral to collection agencies or collection lawsuits. Some customers ended up in bankruptcy,??????? according to the suit.

Prosecutors want an injunction ordering the company to follow the law, pay restitution and pay civil penalties between $2,500 and $10,000 for each violation.

The company????????s goal, according to its Web site, is to eliminate rather than simply lower debt. The plan for those who qualify, the site explains, is a ???????debt reduction program??????? which involves ???????affordable monthly savings obligations??????? to get consumers out of debt ???????in as little as 2 to 3 years.???????

The founders have been profiled by numerous news organizations and were finalists for the 2006 Ernst & Young Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Consumers who believe they have been victimized should file a complaint with the District Attorney????????s Consumer and Environmental Unit at (650) 363-4651.


Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: [email]michelle@smdailyjournal.com[/email] or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.

Debt company sued for misleading customers
By Michelle Durand

Many customers of Freedom debt relief actually incurred greater debt through late fees and collection lawsuits because the San Mateo-based financial services company purposely misled consumers to get their business, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.

The Consumer and Environmental Unit of the District Attorney????????s Office joined with the California Department of Corporation to sue Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, Freedom Financial network, LLC and company owners Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh. The lawsuit filed Oct. 30 in San Mateo County Superior Court claims the defendants engaged in unlawful business practices, including making false or misleading statements to consumers via the Internet and telephone to induce them to buy debt reduction services. The suit also claims the company violated the state financial code by operating without a business license from the Department of Corporation.

The business, located at 1875 S. Grant St. in San Mateo, advertised having approximately $1 billion in debt under management throughout the United States. The company advertised being able to negotiate a 40 percent to 60 percent reduction in debt to unsecured creditors but, according to prosecutors, instead made some customers???????? situations worse.

???????Instead of their debts being settled or reduced, many of the defendants???????? customers suffered increased debt because of late fees imposed by creditors, referral to collection agencies or collection lawsuits. Some customers ended up in bankruptcy,??????? according to the suit.

Prosecutors want an injunction ordering the company to follow the law, pay restitution and pay civil penalties between $2,500 and $10,000 for each violation.

The company????????s goal, according to its Web site, is to eliminate rather than simply lower debt. The plan for those who qualify, the site explains, is a ???????debt reduction program??????? which involves ???????affordable monthly savings obligations??????? to get consumers out of debt ???????in as little as 2 to 3 years.???????

The founders have been profiled by numerous news organizations and were finalists for the 2006 Ernst & Young Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Consumers who believe they have been victimized should file a complaint with the District Attorney????????s Consumer and Environmental Unit at (650) 363-4651.


Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: [email]michelle@smdailyjournal.com[/email] or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.

I don't know about the whiny woman who had them help her and give her a loan, but they did what they promised and got me debt free.

I think it's a partnership program. I pay my monthly cost, I call them when there is an issue and they settled all of my debts and dealt with the bad stuff.

Honestly, they were great and I expected the worst.

I logged on and saw this.

I felt obliged to say that they have been nothing but good to me. It's my debt, and I take responsibility for that.

They helped me budget. They helped me save. Now they have settled thrree of my eight accounts and I think I will be debt free in about a year and a half.

They have been nothing but good to me.

Freedom is the best debt resolution company.

I called a few companies for a free consultation, and Freedom was by far the best. They were very upfront about how the program worked, in particular about the downsides of the program like your credit rating taking a hit and collection calls coming in, and fully explaining the fees. I am still trying to make my payments, but if it gets to the point that I can't, Freedom is the company I would choose.

I am exploring the debt negotiation process and there are TONS of places --- can someone please recommend one that didn't take advantage of you and actually worked ??!!! thx

I'd recommend calling a few of the larger more established firms that have been around several years, are members of the industry associations, have proven systems and relationships and scale with creditors and are ethical.

While I have seen a few unhappy (and vocal) clients, I can tell you that Freedom Debt is a good choice for debt settlement. They are one of the largest and are ethical and have been around. Also, a firm like CNI or Provanta have proven track records and they are good at what they do.

Be aware, however, that it's no walk in the park. You have to take responsibility for getting debt free and you will likely get collection calls, and you could even get sued. What you want is a firm that stands behind you and fights for you with your creditors.

I'd still pick Freedom Debt but call several ones and see which one feels right for you.

(Andrew Housser) Founder and CO-CEO of Freedom Financial Network "FFN", LLC, and it's affiliated entities, Freedom Financial Network, LLC, Freedom debt relief, Inc.; Freedom Debt Relief, LLC; FDR; Alivio Holdings, LLC; Bills.com, Inc.;Bills.com, LLC; Bills.com; Freedom Tax Relief, LLC; Alivio Mortgage, LLC.

This guy is a BOARD MEMBER of the TASC (The Association of Settlement Companies). Sometimes I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. This is just bad comedy.

Sometimes you just have to let time take its course for people to wake up.

If you feel uncomfortable using a company that has a board member of TASC on it then you could always choose a company that uses TASC that doesn't have a board member on it.
Personally it wouldn't matter to me either way because knowing that TASC has certain guidelines and has kicked companies out of it for unethical practices is a good thing.

So lets see if they kick Housser out.

What are the names of the companies that they kicked out?

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Chevy Chase Bank has settled a seven-year-old class-action lawsuit that could affect hundreds of thousands of credit card holders who say they were charged late fees and excessive interest rates that were not part of their agreements with the bank.

The bank agreed to pay $16.1 million and repair any damages to customers' credit history. A court-appointed firm must now try to locate the customers, many of whom have moved since the problems surfaced more than 10 years ago, according to the settlement in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

lawcash.com/attorney/4895/chevy-chase-bank-lawsuit.asp

I think this is ABOUT enough with all the SAME posts. YOU did this on another thread, too. To comment on which is the 'best' Settlement Company...as someone ( I think?) had said that you just 'feel' the company you pick is right for you. Make sure and do ALL your research, too. Companies MAY sound like they are on the 'upand up', but.....just research them and found out thier ratings, etc.

How people look at the bbb as a measure of credentials. Does anybody know how the bbb began. If you pay them enough money you can write your own report. Then people say well they got 68 complaints.lol. I've been doing debt settlement for years. 68 complaints is awesome if you got 10,000 clients. Then people go well their with tasc or not with tasc. Tasc is the biggest joke ever. lets say the tobacco industry did something similar. The association of tobacco companies. it wouldn't give anyone any more credibility but it sounds good. "i guess". truth is if you talk to someone about a settlement program the only thing that matters is they tell you that its gonna hurt your credit your gonna get collection calls and their is a chance you might get sued. Settlement is good for people who know their going to be passed due or already pass due. Cause the affects of settlement would not be changing the inevitable other than the "client" would actually get to pay their debt versus bankruptcy or garnishment. Btw when a debt is charged off and sold to a third party collection agency its the best thing ever because they have to abide by the fair debt collection practices act which means you can get them to stop calling and they buy debt anywhere between 8 to 12 percents so average settlements are usually pretty low 30 to 35 percent. Have a good day everybody and good luck. Your gonna need it.

that1guy I agree 100%. Finally some unbiased reason everyone. Take heed.

I am familiar with this company and they are on the up and up. There are MANY debt settlement companies out there using similar names, so be careful there. Yes, FDR has BBB complaints (as does everyone in this industry), but out of the 50 thousand + people working with them, that seems to be a very small percentage. Do not work with any company that requires a payment up front, that is a very bad sign. From what I understand Freedom debt relief receives their fees on a monthly basis, not all up front. So their interests are in line with ours. They do not get paid unless we are happy and stay in the program. If they are not doing what they said, you can pull out at any time.

My husband and I have been going thru FDR for 14 months to pay off debt. To make a long story short, they have done nothing! They haven't contacted the creditor AT ALL and now my wages are being garnished because of them. They tell you not to contact your creditor while on the program so we didn't, I guess they didn't either. We have called to get our $$$ back and they keep saying "we'll have someone call you back" or they are trying to give us less than what we have put in. We are in a worse situation now than we were in before.

I made an inquiry with FDR and was emailed a 13-page agreement to sign including a power of attorney and authorization for automatic debit from my checking account. If you read the agreement through, there are key phrases, such as "FDR makes no predictions, promises,or representations as to the outcome of its services or the time it may take to reduce or eliminate Client's debts" and "FDR does not make monthly payments to your creditors" and "Your creditor may raise the interest rate on your account and impose other penalties. Your account balance will continue to grow as your creditor adds accrued interest, late fees, over-limit fees and penalties." and "your creditors are likely to continue collection efforts on delinquent accounts while you are enrolled in a debt settlement program. Such collection activities can include phone calls and letters, charging off accounts, and sending accounts to collection agencies or law firms for collection. FDR makes no claim that we will be able to stop these collection activities..."
In addition, FDR fees are paid up front from the monthly payment you will be making to them. The rest goes into a "savings account" to eventually pay your creditor. This "savings account" incurs fees. All in all, this sounds like a real "iffy" setup and I plan to opt out and look elsewhere.

Hmmmm...it seems my post on Housser was EDITED. That's scary.

Sounds like each of you need access to a good attorney. I can help. Contact me at earlfutch#comcast.net.

Opps: email is [email]earlfutch@comcast.net[/email].

I signed up with them (FDR) over a year ago. They have been so nice and pleasant to deal with, and they just sent me the MOST wonderful holiday card signed by 500 of their employees thanking me for my business. It brought tears to my eyes to see their care for me in my predicament and on the holidays. Thank god that there are people like them out there that look out for people like me that no one else will help out.

I'm still looking for those companies that the TASC threw out for misconduct. Anyone know who they are?

FDR is a respected company within the debt settlement industry. They are a member of TASC (The Association of Settlement Companies). The fact is that debt settlement is much more favorable than filing BK. They will probably settle your debts for about 42% unless you get sued, and then probably the average will be about 60%. This is a better route than filing BK becuase you will typically settle in about 3o months, depending on your balances. The credit scores will suffer now but recover much sooner than BK. The fact is that if you are in financial trouble this is a good way to resolve the debts and still have a chance at rebuilding your credit sooner. credit counseling stinks becuase it lowers your rates and overall payment, but you still payoff the entire balance and it takes forever. No one will give you credit (when needed, like a car loan) while you are in Credit Counseling. Debt Settlement does not report to the bureaus.

I've worked with this company recently, and there was something about it that just "felt wrong". Yes, I did see examples of people saving money who were enrolled in the program, but I think I saw a lot more people in the program who didn't benefit at all. Their balances were seriously increased by late fees, etc., and when FDR did settle it wasn't much of a savings when you include all the fees that you pay them.

I was fed up by their sales people "rushing" people into the program and not fully explaining how it works. In customer service, I felt we had to clean up their mess. They are behind in sending out the Cease Communications and Power of Attorney forms, and they don't tell you up front that they can't send those out to everyone. FDR operates under many different names, such as CNI, debtamerica, and many more. They have two different Welcome Packets, one for California and one for everywhere else. The management team didn't really care to help their operators on the phone, and kept coming up with the same excuse "well, they signed the contract".

I don't trust this company, and I've worked for them! Anyone can do this crap themselves. Stop paying your creditors, save up your money instead, and then take the settlement offer your creditor gives you. This is exactly what FDR does, except you have to pay them 15% in fees based on your total debt balance to do it.

I got tired of working in customer service and "cleaning up the mess" that other departments have done. No one takes responsibility or ownership on these accounts, and the poor clients are bounced around from one customer service rep to another because the employees are "not allowed" to transfer to someone else. And once the sales rep has done his job, you are not allowed to transfer an existing client back to him.

Sorry, but something doesn't feel right about FDR. And I still remember the time the manager had me stall a client on hold for 5 minutes because she had to find her "script" in order to answer questions about the California lawsuit!

Government Actions

On May 29, 2008 The California Corporations Commissioner filed a desist and refrain order against Andrew Housser Founder and CO-CEO of Freedom Financial Network, LLC, and Bradford Stroh Founder and CO-CEO of Freedom Financial Network "FFN", LLC, and it's affiliated entities, Freedom Financial Network, LLC, Freedom debt relief, Inc.; Freedom Debt Relief, LLC; FDR; Alivio Holdings, LLC; Bills.com, Inc.;Bills.com, LLC; Bills.com; Freedom Tax Relief, LLC; Alivio Mortgage, LLC for being in violation of sections 12200, 22104, 22153 and 22154 of the Financial Code.

Without any admission of wrongdoing the complaint alleges that FFN engaged in the business as a bill payer or prorater as defined in the Check Sellers, Bill payers and Proraters Law, California Financial Code section 12200 without a license
BBB Definition:

license - A permit or accreditation required by the State, Province, County or Municipality where a company is located indicating competence or professional certification that allows the company to provide products or services related to their particular field or industry.

from the Commissioner and in violation of that law including overcharging consumers in violation of Financial Code sections 12314 and 12314.1. The order states that Alivio Mortgage, LLC a Delaware limited liability company that is affiliated with both Freedom Debt Relief and Freedom Financial Network failed to get approval from the Department of Corporations to move their place of business which is in violation of Financial Code section 22153. It is also alleged that Alivio Mortgage, LLC failed to meet the statutory net worth requirement which is in violation of Financial Code section 22104. Alivio Mortgage, LLC, co-located with the other businesses of Housser and Stroh conducted business at a place in which business other than making loans is engaged in without either written notification to and the authorization of the Department of Corporations which is violation of Financial Code section 22104.

It was ordered pursuant to Financial Code section 12103 that Andrew Housser and Bradford Stroh, and their affiliated entities, FFN to desist and refrain from engaging in business as a bill payer and prorater unless and until they are licensed or exempt and from violating Financial Code section 12314 and 12314.1. It is also ordered pursuant to Financial Code section 22712, that Alivio Mortgage, LLC and any and all officers, directors, employees , independent contractors, agents, and affiliates operating on it's behalf to desist and refrain from the following: 1) changing locations without notification to and the approval of the Commissioner: 2) failing to maintain minimum net worth of 25,000: 3) conducting business at a place in which other than making loans is engaged in without either written notification to and the authorization of the department; 4) using advertising without prior approval from the commissioner.

On October 30, 2008 the San Mateo County District Attorney's office along with the California Corporations Commissioner filed a complaint against Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, Freedom Debt Relief, Inc., Freedom Financial Network "FFN", LLC, Freedom Mortgage, Alivio Mortgage, LLC, Alivio Holdings, LLC, Bills.com, Freedom Tax Relief, LLC , Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh. The complaint states that since at least 2003 and continuing thereafter, the defendants and their affiliates have offered financial services to consumers including debt negotiation and debt reduction services.

Without any admission of wrongdoing the complaint alleges the defendants of making untrue or misleading statements and omission of material facts (Business & Profession code section 17500), unfair competition by all defendants (Business and Professions code sections 17200 and 17203), unlicensed activities ( Financial Code Section 12200) fee overcharges and unauthorized charges ( Financial Code Section 12314 and 12314.1).

The complaint also states that in November of 2007 the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation's Division of Banking issued an order to Freedom Debt Relief and FFN to immediately cease and desist their unlicensed debt management plan activities in their state and ordered them to refund all fees received relating to all debt management plans currently being serviced.

In 2008 the state of Colorado contacted defendants about their failure to comply with the Colorado Debt Management Services Act. The complaint states the defendants are unlicensed and did not file to register in the time frame required by Colorado law. It is also alleged in the complaint that defendants violated the following legal requirements;
Agreement requirements (neither FDR's current or former agreements comply), Disclosure requirement, Advertising requirements and excessive upfront fees.

The case is currently pending.

It looks like they are done. So again Andrew Housser is a co founder of FDR and he is an ACTIVE board member of the TASC. An organization which some here love to promote. TASC mentions nothing about all this government actions being taken against this company. This is so obvious about TASC and FDR and anyone associated, the clues, the evidence......but hey I'm just the messenger.

Oh and the names of those companies the TASC through out for misconduct please. Anyone?????????????????????

LOL....Commercial anyone.

I'm currently a client of FDR; I have been for the past 35 months. IF you ask me what I think about the "program" my answer would be the biggest mistake i've made. My initial debt was $21,000. They told me that they would settle the whole thing for about $13,000 including fees. Well, I have paid $13,580 and still have 3 more accounts pending. I did the math and I still owe them about $7,000 more. Add the numbers and at the end they money that I was supposed to save will end up in their pockets. I'm sick and tired of making payments, paying more that what I agreed. When I asked them about this situation they said that the contract was just an estimate. I told him that their estimate was way off and he had no answer for me. My credit is horrible. I'm at the bottom 7 percentile compared to the US. Before this program my credit score was decent in the low 700's. Imseriously thinking about taking them to court. They just stole MY MONEY from my hands. Listen, I'm no fake, I'm real. Noone is paying me to post this. I did it because I want to help others not to make the same mistake.

IF you want more info please email me at dj_xxx and include as subject FDR Info. I will be more than happy to assist you and stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life.Email removed for your safety..Bossy4455

I talked to them and their sales people just seemed soooo sleazy! I mean they're higher pressure than the collectors I'm trying to get away from.

I work for FDR and the settlements you speak of are not typical. We are very fortunate that we are able to obtain great settlements for our clients as you can see on our website. There are exceptions sometimes and this may have been the case. We are very committed to settling our clients debts in a short period of time for as little money as possible. If you would like to discuss your account please contact customer service.

You are not licensed to do business. Why would anyone contact you?

Give me a break.

I started the program two months ago and wished I had seen this site before I did. I called today and was informed I would get 174.00 back on my initial 1200.00 (600 a month) for processing. And nothing has been done! How do I get this back? Small claims?

I started the program two months ago and wished I had seen this site before I did. I called today and was informed I would get 174.00 back on my initial 1200.00 (600 a month) for processing. And nothing has been done! How do I get this back? Small claims?

I started the program two months ago and wished I had seen this site before I did. I called today and was informed I would get 174.00 back on my initial 1200.00 (600 a month) for processing. And nothing has been done! How do I get this back? Small claims?

I started the program two months ago and wished I had seen this site before I did. I called today and was informed I would get 174.00 back on my initial 1200.00 (600 a month) for processing. And nothing has been done! How do I get this back? Small claims?

I started the program two months ago and wished I had seen this site before I did. I called today and was informed I would get 174.00 back on my initial 1200.00 (600 a month) for processing. And nothing has been done! How do I get this back? Small claims?

Alberto, I am sorry that you got suckered into this program. Like I said, I used to work for this company and I have seen more examples of your situation where clients barely saved any money or they wound up paying more in the end. Very few clients have I seen that actually saved anything.

As far as getting your money back, you may want to find a good attorney and show them the contract. Unfortunately, FDR has cleverly worded their contract to sleaze their way out of anything. Such as "Our estimates are only estimates", and some creditors may seek legal action against you.

It all goes back to your contract. And I'm sorry, but customer service isn't going to be commited to do anything to help you. In the end, they are going to throw their hands up, say that they are sorry things worked out that way, and point you back to the contract that you signed and initialed.

Don't be hard on the employees. Most of them don't even realize that THEY were scammed into believing this company is legit. Most of them were trained in such a way to make it look like the program was the best thing since sliced bread. I believed in it too. And then, I woke up and realized that the owner's of this company are seriously getting rich while taking advantage of people in real bad situations.

There have been few examples of where I thought this program might be a good idea. Some people out there just want someone else to deal with it. FDR is perfect for those people. For everyone else, you are better off trying to resolve your debts on your own.

And yeah, I think those sales people are sleaze bags. They are quick to sign you up and not fully explain everything, and then they wash their hands of you and pass you to customer service.

Freedom debt relief has 70,000 clients and there is only 67 complaints in three years. How is that bad??? If you read the BBB all accounts have been resolved, There are sompeople in the world you cant please. They help me get out of debt for half I owe. They are 5 star.

Well, this story ought to get everyone's attention. First Story: I am not having to pay roughly $ 8500 (this includes late fees and interest) on two accounts because a debt collecting law firm states they have not received any payments on these 2 accounts. They have never heard of FDR and have no record of any payments being paid on these 2 accounts. My legal person Raymond Chia (post this name and memorize it!) Second Story: I have to go to court on Jan. 20 at 1:30 (yeah, it's inauguration day and all) to appeal another court case. This ludicrous guy states that we had a verbal agreement that after he paid this creditor X amount that I was to pay the balance of $400 @ month until that balance was paid. Well, duh??? I never got anything in writing; he states he sent an email??? I followed up on this and had another person email me that very email dated back in October of which I know I never received. He stated I may have inadvertently deleted it because it would have ended up in my junk mail. I told him that if I would be expecting his email and still nothing. Now who's the liar here??? Well, now I had to go downtown to county courthouse to file an installment payment of garnishment and then take the document to the HR department so that my wages would not be garnished. Well, hello!!!! If I'm paying FDR $280 a month to handle these creditors then how the heck do you think I could ever agree to playing an additional $400 a month to this creditor?? I'm sorry, now I am losing my cool. Hope this story makes head turn.

Savvy :x

Thanx for your response. I stillhave the oroginal contract and I read every part of it very carefuly. As you mentioned, whatever I do I am on the loosing side. I mean, I can't believe I signed the contract not really understanding what I was getting into. For example; the contract says "Client acknowledges and understands that FDR does not provide legal advice" HELLO!!! On paper I signed one thing but they are telling me verbally to do something else. They told me not to contact my creditors and to stop making payments.

Now read this, straight from the contract:
"IN THE EVENT OF ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN THE PARTIES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE PARTIES AGREE TO SUBMIT THAT DISPUTE TO BINDING ARBITRATION UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION (AAA).
VENUE FOR SUCH ARBITRATION WILL BE IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA. BINDING ARBITRATION MEANS THAT BOTH PARTIES GIVE UP THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. IT ALSO MEANS THAT BOTH PARTIES GIVE UP THE RIGHT TO APPEAL FROM THE ARBITRATOR???S RULING EXCEPT FOR A NARROW RANGE OF ISSUES THAT ARE APPEALABLE UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW. IT ALSO MEANS THAT DISCOVERY MAY BE SEVERELY LIMITED BY THE ARBITRATOR"

I have no idea on what rights I gave up on here. Im screwed!!!

People Out there, cut on cell phone bills, cancel you cable tv/satellilte, cook your own meals and stop eating out, save electricity, and save as much as you can to pay your bills; do whatever it takes but don't, by any means, join FDR. Its a ripp off, at the end you'll end up worse that how you started. DON DO IT!!!

I SIGNED UP WITH THEM AND THEY TOLD ME TO SEND IN LETTERS TO MY CREDITORS REQUESTING NO FURTHER CONTACT. WELL THEY NEVER SETTLED ON MY DEBT NOR DID THEY WARN ME I WAS GOING TO BE SUED SO THAT I COULD TRY TO COME UP WITH ADDITONAL FUNDS. I DIDNT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT TIL I WAS SERVED AT WORK. WHEN I ASKED THEM ABOUT IT THEY HAD NOTHING TO SAY. THEY JUST SAID I DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH FUNDS IN THE TRUST ACCOUNT. I BET I HAD ENOUGH FUNDS IN THERE TO PAY THEM AND NOT MY CREDITORS. I WISH I WOULD HAVE HAD THE OPTION TO TAKE CARE OF MY DEBT MYSELF. AS SOON AS THEY TOLD ME TO NOT SPEAK TO MY CREDITORS AND REQUEST I GET NO CONTACT WITH THEM I PUT ALL EGGS IN THE WRONG BASKET. THE debt settlement COMPANY NOW HAD ALL CONTROL AND THE ONLY CONTACT WITH MY CREDITORS. I REALLY REGRET THAT DECISION AND WISH I COULD SUE THEM FOR SUCH BAD ADVISE.

A small number of accounts do go to legal status and FDR is fortunate to have an internal team to work and negotiate these accounts. FDR charges fees for it's services, If you have not been serviced properly contact FDR's customer service department.

Has anyone heard of this debt relief company?

In FDR's debt settlement program, FDR negotiates a lower, one time settlement payment to the creditors based on the hardship you are going through. FDR's unique relationships and large numbers of clients allow FDR to resolve large amounts of debt. Please see the FDR website: freedomdebtrelief