Freedom Debt Relief
reviews and complaints

I have 5 years of complaints against this company, Freedom Debt relief. With a PROMISE of settling my credit card and medical debts within the first few months of enrolling, I signed on to the program. STUPID ME! I had some tiny debts $600, etc, that went unresolved for 5 Years with this company, TOTALLY DESTROYED my Credit, and still on there as late payments... for 5 years they did that to these creditors... I paid in $554 each and every month, even though I could not afford that and they dragged and stalled and I will be lucky if those late payment remarks come off my FICO and Credit by 2023. Meanwhile I enrolled in the program in 2013. Just FINISHED a month ago. I had thousands in my account with them and had to battle and beg monthly to just try to get them to reach a settlement. The worst company on the planet! With some very unscrupulous and unethical people at the top... Shame on all of them!

But they got their 22% of each enrolled balance...

Total savings MINIMAL! THE WORST!

I signed to freedom debt relief because they promised to settle the debt on my account. They told me to stop paying my credit accounts and instead send the payments to them so that they could start negotiating for me. Six months later, my credit card debt has doubled and they offered freedom relief plus to pay everything at once. I agreed because at this point my credit was ruined and I didn't want my debt to be multiplied any more. Now they settled all the accounts, but I've ended up owing them $20, 000 at 22.5% interest rate when I only had $8, 000 debt to begin with. So they've ripped me off of $12, 000 and put me in worse situation than what I started with.

I was under the impression I would be helped with paying off my debts.after 7 months in the program I was served papers from the court system for a debt. This cost me over $300.00 in costs as I had to pay to have papers faxed and notarized. Also a debt went to a collection agency. Also they charge 18 percent fees for each debt.This company as cost me more money than what I have. They focus on one debt at a time, which makes the other debtors take other actions on what you owe them.The freedom lawyers charge you. Why do I pay other people to notorize papers when I have freedom debt lawyers supposedly working for me? Also they lost a hardship statement paper to a debtor. I had to relocate that and send.

I gave several days advance notice that I could not make my payment and wanted to cancel my account with the company and was not able to phone them I received an email saying my account termination was in the process but then told I was still being charged the payment and that my termination was not in process due to not calling in. I have emails stating the process was started then on the live chat was told differently due to the fact I had no means to call into the company

I signed up with Freedom Debt Relief to help me pay off 3 debts. It's been over 8 months and they have not paid a penny to any of them. One of the debts has already been sold to another company. One of the other ones is about to do the same thing. FDR is the biggest RIP off and newest Ponzi scheme I have seen. Do not use them under any circumstances.

A friend of mine started used them about 4 months ago to pay off about 56, 000 in debt. He pays $850 a month and wasn't aware of the fees or the settlement fee they tacked on. They haven't paid any of the accounts. He had enough money in the savings account to pay the first account but they have yet to settle. This is the most evilest company ever. They use vulnerable people and take everything they have. They are sooooo evil. I hope that everyone who is affected can get back their money. Don't deal with them. Save yourself the headache and heartache.

What a rip-off this company is! I knew there had to be a catch!

Only 1 1/2 months had gone by that I stopped making payments to one of my creditors, after being encouraged by FDR to get behind on purpose!

I don't think legal action can begin until 3 months!
Nonetheless, FDR settled with them and afterwards took $650.00 out my account in Fees because they say I signed a contract that they get 23% of each settlement amount!

And after I missed a deposit payment, FDR claimed it was my fault that the Settlement has now been cancelled!

I was never aware they were going to take out Fees for the Settlement.

When I asked if there would be any fees that I would have to pay, was lead to believe that because I signed up for NLLG (National Litigation Law Group), that there would be no fees!
What a joke and misleading scam!

They took out $650.00 in Fees from my Account that was supposed to be used to pay Creditors NOT fees to FDR!

I feel betrayed, scammed, taken advantage of to say the least!

So, I called and asked - "does this mean I will get another letter in the mail to go to court again to try and re-settle this account?"

I was told yes but that I would NOT have to pay any more fees.
You think I believe that or a word they say now?

This company encouraged me to let me bills get behind so they can settle "for less" they said and then charged me 23% of the Total amount and took it out of the escrow balance that was supposed to to be used to pay my creditors!
What as joke!

Please know what you are getting into with this company!

These people are scam artist criminals. They make flat out blatant lies as promises. They know they are lying and are great at it. They just stole $1800 from me because they refuse to return my dedicated savings account balance after failing to pay the payment on my debt. They have bleeping [censor] answering questions. They told me I owed $900 more one day, $600 the next and then that the money wasn't in on time. There was plenty of money to pay in my account. As i said these people are flat out CRIMINALS! Do not use them. I hope they are put out of business very soon by the lawsuit the federal agency has just filed against them. They should all be in federal prison for spewing their lies and knowing they are suckering people in just to make their situation worse and then stealing their savings account funds

FDR explained the process as being a few month to 6 months that your credit rating would be impacted. They lie! They drag out paying off your debt collectors and your credit is ruined for years! They give you a date of 31/2 years that your debt will be paid off and then drag it out to 4 1/2 years!

Try giving them a bad review or feedback on their site, and the site won't let you submit negative feedback! State you " love them" and then you can submit!'

I would never recommend them!

I regret going this route! My credit was fine, just wanted to pay off high credit cards quicker and with less interest, but didn't expect my credit rating to be impacted for as long as it is.. Will pay off sooner and be done with them! Don't do it!

They told us we would have to pay $680 for 42 months to be debt-free. Then we got sued and they settled, but charged us a bunch of fees ($3100) and extended our estimated debt-free date by 12 months! Meanwhile, they're only paying our creditors $242 a month.

We've submitted inquiries on their site, but got no response.

Something dirty is going on here.

Can we take legal action against them?

So I referred a co-worker and got her into the program, which is a good program but when it comes to referring someone just don't bother. The co-worker I got into the program has 20, 000 worth of debt and I am supposed to get a $250.00 incentive, so I was told when I started the program. Well let's just say I been getting the run around and still have not received the $250.00. You call Freedom debt relief and they tell you the affiliate company is responsible for your credit. I call the affiliate company which is Century and they say it's freedom debt relief that is responsible. At this point I am upset with the whole ordeal and just am not going to refer the other 3 people I was going to.

All I can say is wow! True to the nature of salespeople they tell you what you want to hear and none of it is true. It has been 2 months, my creditors are telling me they have not been contacted by FDR and I thers are telling me they do not negotiate with for profit debt relief companies. My credit score has already gone down 100 points and 3 accounts closed. I am calling to cancel today while I can still try to salvage what is left of my credit. Smh, I am so good at doing my research but I definitely dropped the ball on this one. Reach out to your creditors and let them know you are having financial issues. Most of them will be willing to work with you to help you get back on track. You can do this on your own.

I have been placing $2, 400.00 in my dedicated account that they put up for me since December 2016, believing that these funds will be built up to pay off my creditors but FDR prioritized their own settlement fees before my debts to the creditors. This was not explained to me.

I wanted refund of my $6, 000.00. Please help me. I am diabetic and so sick. I am doing double jobs while taking care of my mother with end stage renal disease. They knew very well of my situation but still took advantage of my financial predicament.

Not only does this company not tell you that you must claim your savings as income on your tax return, it does not tell you that you owe them a percentage of the amount they save you. By the time we pay them $8, 000 in fees and pay the additional taxes, they saved us nothing. I do not and will not recommend this service to anyone. If you have a question or complaint the service does not answer emails or calls.

All I can say is watch out with this place, especially the fees. Read everything VERY VERY carefully. What you will probably gloss over when you are reading the paperwork is that they charge 21% of the amount that you initially sign with when you accept a settlement (not the settlement amount), and they take it all out at once. So, like in my case, I had a $7500 bill that they settled for $2700, after the first payment was taken out of my account another payment was taken out, their fee, which was $1579! $200 went to the bill and $1579 went to them. So, basically my account was drained. I had to make adjustments to my account because the $600 a month payment was killing me, so I had them change it to $300 (a few months prior to the settlement), as a temporary three month thing. I was told when I changed it that as long as I called before it went back up to $600 I could keep the $300 amount if it was easier for me, or I could even lower it more if I needed to. After two months I called to make that payment permanent only to find out if I did I would lose my settlement because it was based on the $600 a month. So I had to withdraw from the program, the representative did not care about my circumstances and had the attitude of “oh well, either go back to $600 or lose your settlement, or withdraw”. Now I am out another $1579 because they keep the fee. Very disappointing. The biggest problem I have is that they do not EVER disclose that when you are setting this stuff up. They never once said to me that the fees are taken out when a settlement is made, after the first payment, and it's taken out all at once, and oh, btw, it's based on the amount that was submitted when you first sign up not the settlement amount. I never imagined that they would take payment like that, and they gloss over stuff like that, it was never discussed with me, I never would have signed on. So just be careful if you decide to do this and ask how it all works and make sure they explain everything to you.

I have recently reviewed my credit scores from all three reporting agencies (Experian, Transunion and Equifax) and have found that because of my decision to join Freedom Financial my credit report have been destroyed.

After years of hard work and dedication to maintaining my high credit rating I have found that all 9 accounts included in the Freedom Financial program are reporting multiple lates (40+). Since these accounts have all been closed (required by Freedom Financial) my credit to debt ratio is over 200%. My one last remaining credit card (which I use exclusively for business purposes) has now reduced my limit to $900 making it in effect - worthless. Reduced after an internal review and credit check. My wife had access to three of these accounts and they have all three hit her credit report essentially freezing our ability to make any financial transactions.

Although it was explained to me they I would see a “few” lates reported on my credit, it was never explained that I would be required to go through financial devastation until Freedom Financial decided they would take action to settle these accounts.

Their plan, wait until all of your accounts go to collections, negotiate a settlement (blackmail) and then use your money (less fees) collected over 6-8 months to pay off the credit cards. After 2-3 years once your debt if paid off you can start over trying to rebuild your credit.

Advise to all of you seeking debt support. Please join Consumer Credit Counseling, file chapter 11 or even fake your death before doing business with this Freedom Financial or Greenlink Funding.

Freedom debt relief is the WORST company ever! They take your money and tell you they will clear up your debts but when you try and call someone you will get NO call back! I tried for over 2 weeks to get money money refunded and every time i would call they gave me a song and dance! we will call you back in less then 30 min and of course NEVER A CALL BACK! they also said oh yes we work with all creditors well no they dont! i have gone directly to my card companys and set up payment plans with them they are much easier to work with. STAY away from this company its a big scam!

FDR has been completely misleading about their ability to settle my debts. What was initially a "plan" to settle my debt within a 32 month program is now being stretched out to 50 months. They cite their inability to "settle" an account until there is "Sufficient funding in my account" for their "negotiators" to be able to approach credit card company's and settle the account. The service they offer as an intermediary in the debt settlement process is misleading and approaches fraud. DO NOT buy into their service. You will be much better served to work with your creditors yourself. FDR should live up to their word and settle my debt within the time frame and right at or near the fund level at which they proposed. This business practice would and should put any company out of business.

As a client of FDR I would like to share some very important information. I have been satisfied with their handling of my accounts but still feel they can do a better job of communication. The following is information that you all need to know before going with a debt relief company. The write off amount of each creditor will be sent to you in a 1099C in the year you paid the debt off and you must include them as income on your taxes. I was responsible for an ADDITIONAL $35, OOO ON MY TAXES IN 2013. My social security check was also affected and decreased because the write off amount increased my income. I lost money. My house insurance was increased by $150.00 because my credit report has two of my accounts in collection. They were settled in 2014 and will be closed in August 2015. I recommend that you be very careful before using debt relief and attempt to settle claims yourself. The debt relief forgot to tell me Chase bank does not ever settle with a debt relief company. I could have settled with them at a 50% reduction but did not know and kept referring and sending the offers to FDR. Thus Chase wrote off all the accounts. I really did not save any money using a debt relief company. I hope this gives others information to help make a informed decision.