Freedom Debt Relief Reviews

First off, most of the people get into a program like this because they are already in a bunch of debt. I was in the program and not very long due a decision my attorney and I made. At this time, they had come to a settlement agreement with one of my accounts. One payment was made and their fees were taken out when they made that payment. Days later when I called to cancel, I was told the my remaining balance would be back into my account within 7 to 10 business days.

Well of course after a week, I never saw the money so I called. At that point I was told that I was not getting any money back because it was part of their settlement fees. Talk about livid, I am trying to make my mortgage payment and the one account they settled which they wrote to me and said was now "NULL & VOID" is costing me the balance of my funds because it was their settling fee.

This place is nothing but highway robbery. That is totally ridiculous. Don't waste your time! Work with the creditors yourself or contact your own attorney. This place is a JOKE and will cost you more than getting it resolved yourself. I am not done with them yet, my attorney will be getting in touch with them. It might not be a lot of money to them but for someone barely surviving in this economy, I couldn't afford to lose all that money. I am pissed of.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Do not use Freedom Debt Relief financial services unless you want to be sued! I had 8 accounts listed with those swindlers. I was sued on 5 of them, and I actually had to negotiate for myself the settlement on the remaining accounts. This company should be shut down immediately.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I would keep away from this place, they will tell you one thing and then do the complete opposite. Stop payments for 3 months saying you are done with the program, then start again, and say "sorry" you should have been told that. They are the most apologetic company I have ever seen. Do yourself a favor and go with another company.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I knew all of the online reviews seemed a tad too good to be true, but I consolidated with FDR in Dec 2015 (as they seemed to be the most reputable). I've made every bi-weekly payment on time. Well, I was served papers at my apartment Saturday. The best part is that I thought the sweet-looking lady was Amazon. Oh no, not Amazon.

"Good morning, are you X?" Me: "yes." Her: "sorry to wake you up, you are being sued by Bank of America." Me: "wait, what?" Too late, the lady was gone.

In my panic, I found out FDR has a different number and "department" to handle when X is being sued. I'm guessing I'm not alone. And I hate everything. To make matters worse, as I was choking and confused, talking to the FDR lawsuit expert operator about my getting served, I asked about another debt.

The house of cards was crumbling! I had a different letter where a collection agency offered to cut a $10,000 debt to $2,500. I thought FDR was negotiating for me. (This is my fault, why didn't I do it?) FDR operator, "wow, that's a really good deal. Did you say the debt was sold to a new collection agency?" Me: "YES!" (sobbing). I've known several people who have successfully consolidated bigger debts and ain't NOBODY been sued. Like, actually served civil court papers at their home. FDR STINKS.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Enrolled in this program 2 years ago. Unlike others, we DID sign up for the legal services at $12 a month with National Litigation Law Group.

After fees, and the negotiated settlement, we ended up paying 111% of the balance we originally owed on that account that our creditor sued us over. So, don't believe that the litigation services are going to help you. We have paid faithfully into this program for the past 2 years, trusting in this company to advocate for us.

According to their dashboard, we have 3 more years to go. I am researching other options. On their dashboard, they show the amount they have ”saved” you in negotiated settlement, but you have to click deeper to learn that when you add in their 20% of the original balance fee, you've actually ended up paying about 60%. Or, in the case of that one account of mine, 111% of the original balance.

I am so incredibly angry. We had a lot of accounts and were overwhelmed, which is why I originally signed up with them. Now, after having looked in detail at what they are actually doing with my money, I see that they play on people's fears and desperation and you end up worse off than if you had tried to negotiate with the creditor on your own.

They let your account balances increase because that account balance is what they use to calculate their fee. They let your accounts go to collections because it makes them more money to drag things out. We have had 3 of our creditors serve us with summons that they are suing us.

It's clearly not true when they tell you that they get a better settlement for you because of their negotiating power, nor that they will communicate with your creditors. I know precious little, but I've educated myself enough in the past 30 minutes and mustered up the chutzpa to negotiate a better settlement than paying 111%.

My taxes were filed. I was getting nearly $800 back in a refund until I got my form from FDR for the 'debt forgiveness income' THE DAY BEFORE TAXES HAD TO BE FILED. I had to file an amended return and ended up OWING $240 on my taxes. Think about that for a minute.

Not only did FDR negotiate settlements for me and charge me fees that had me paying 84% of the original balances of my debt (and actually it was MORE than my original balances, because they let interest and fees rack up to inflate the fee they would be able to collect), they cost me my $800 tax refund PLUS $240, my credit is trashed, and I've been sued three times.

Do not have them help you. It is NO HELP. On the positive side, I can say that any time I called customer service, I felt real good after I hung up the phone. FDR trains their customer service well to reassure you and make you feel wonderful while they take advantage of your poor financial choices and/or desperate feeling situation.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Upon entering the program, I had a customer service person who really took great care of me. After I actually signed up with the program, everything has been crashing down.

What they DON'T tell you is that you will MOST LIKELY get sued by the creditors! I have experienced four so far and a lien on my property. Oh, and also, you WILL be getting forms (after the settlements on accounts) that show the DIFFERENCE (saved amount) and you will have to report this amount as income on your taxes when you file them!

And, though the attorneys representing FDR through NLLG are legit, they are only limited to a certain amount as well, and the fees that pay them (from your account) on a monthly basis, are CRAZY. Now, I realize people need to get paid, however, I was CRAZY trying to keep my head above water BEFORE entering into the FDR program.

Now, well, my advice is: DON'T do it! Try and handle things yourself in any way possible. I have been on the phone for three days STRAIGHT trying to get a litigation settlement payment from my account straightened out, and all I have gotten is, "I will handle it," but NOTHING has been done.

They keep raising my payment amount and auto withdrawal when there is a settlement. I started at $300, to $486, and to now $526$! Really? Not to mention my credit score it bottomed out. If you want a real person's advice, stay away!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I joined the program having never been late on one payment. After a call to Chris Karen of Freedom Debt financial, I was convinced this program was for me.

Everything went well for 4 to 6 months; I made my monthly payments without fail. Then I received an offer from their "sister" company Consolation Plus that I did not want a personal loan at 22% interest, as it was as much if not more than my credit card interest. After refusing their loan, it started. I was sued three or four times.

I was told not to talk to my creditors so I asked my "representatives" at Freedom to explain to my creditors that they'd get their money and not to sue, but they did NOT! My program lawyer called me one day before a trial I was supposed to begin to tell me that I needed to come up with three or four hundred dollars or my checks would be garnished. Then they proceed to tell me that if I'd pay my bills, I would not be in this position!

I take the personal loan, they pay off my creditors, and then yesterday, April 15, I receive to my house via priority mail from Freedom Debt financial one 1099-C form that after a call to Freedom Debt to find out why they would hold a tax document (that I'd already called the IRS to find out should have been mailed by my creditors by February 15), and Freedom Debt had (since March 15) lied and refused to acknowledge that the postmark is April 13th and they've sent via priority mail. They say it's been put in the mail a month ago and it's not their fault that the US Post Office took so long to deliver it.

The only problem is I live in AZ! That's 129 miles from where the Scottsdale, AZ address my creditor mailed it to them at! Oh, and come to find out there are four 1099-C tax forms of mine they held on to for over one month! It's all a huge scam to get you to take a consolidation loan. Do not believe these crooks!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I thought I was being protected in this program, but it's awful. I am more stressed out in this program than I was before I started it.

I got a summons to go to court, and Freedom Debt Relief asked me to get the court date changed so I did, and they had another six weeks to work on it, and still nothing is worked out. My second court date is in less than a week, and still, nothing is being done.

Another thing is that I thought I was enrolled in legal counsel and I was not, so I have to go to court without legal services and lose half a day of work that I can't afford to miss. There is more than enough funds taken out of my account to settle this one; I have been in the program for five and half months. Please check into other companies before you choose. Do your research.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

We used Freedom Debt Relief for 18 months and then decided it wasn't worth all the fees they were charging. It turned out to be too expensive, so we decided to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

After terminating my account, they continued to text me with settlement requests and also took money out of my bank account three week's after I terminated my account. I spoke with three different supervisors and each time was assured the account was closed, and no money would be taken out. They lie, or they do not communicate with their own bank (Crossroads Financial). I had to call my bank and pay $30 for a stop payment against them, as well as file a claim to get back the money they withdrew from my account.

BEWARE! My bankruptcy lawyer says they are a scam, so use them at your own risk. They are very friendly until you want to close your account.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

In the beginning, I was happy with the representative. I thought all the creditors were informed. Then I get a summons that I am being sued by a creditor. I tell Freedom Debt Relief and am told they cannot handle it because I did not sign up initially with their legal department. Now I have to handle it on my own and get an outside lawyer.

I also informed them about my payment amount and for them not to increase it. I called several times and sent an email. Of course, no one listened, and they increased my payments, causing me to stress ion getting the extra funds back into my account.

One account was reduced by Freedom Debt Relief, but the rest of my accounts are in worse condition since joining this group, and now I am more stressed than before. I need to check out another group to help me.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

If you're thinking of trying this, don't do it.

You are paying this company to negotiate a lower rate or pay-off, and for what you pay them, you may as well negotiate it yourself. It will be half the price.

It was two years ago that I pulled from Freedom Debt Relief. One of my credit cards was down to one payment, and they didn't pay it. When I inquired as to why, they said they didn't have enough money in my account. At the beginning, they told me what monthly payment I would need, and I didn't miss a payment. They didn't even bother to call me and tell me that it was not paid.

Now, two years later, I again am being bothered by a debt collection agency for a debt that should have been taken care of two years ago. For $250, that should have been paid by Freedom Debt Relief.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This a scam. If I can pay their $9,000 fee, I can pay the creditors!

I emailed my cancellation the day after I started this process and six days later they still took out $647 out of my checking account. I am having a tremendous time getting my money back. They claim that they require you to call to cancel, but the CONTRACT says you can do this by email, mail or delivery. When I questioned them (call center), they didn't care what the contract said.

RUN, this is a scam!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

It has been going great so far with two accounts settled and paid (don't forget that forgiven debt is taxed!) and was on my way to complete it in 2018. Last month I noticed my program end date shot up from 2018 to 2022 unless I pay more. I'll keep this updated since I recently contacted customer service.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

After facing more than $20,000 in credit card debt and getting refusal upon consolidation loan refusal from various lenders, I received a phone call from Freedom Debt Relief. One of the lenders that rejected me for a consolidation loan forwarded my info to FDR and the rep explained their approach to debt relief.

I was very hesitant at first. The idea of simply stopping my credit card payments in order to settle my credit card debts for less than I owed was very scary. After all, it's embedded in your memory to "pay your bills on time" and dealing with debt collectors was not something I wanted to deal with. But the rep was a smooth talker, and after getting nowhere making credit card payments, I stopped paying my credit card bills, gave the money I would normally pay to FDR, and let them handle the credit card companies when they saw fit.

When I started the program, I had seven credit card bills and as I previously mentioned owed approximately $20,000. In the first year, they were able to settle two of those debts at about half of what I owed. I would constantly check my credit reports (at that point it was down in the upper 500’s because of all those cards I stopped paying). When these two debts were settled and reflected on my credit report as not delinquent anymore, I knew FDR was for real and was happy to give them my hard earned money to settle my remaining debts!

A year and a half into the plan, I received a series of calls from FDR with an enticing new deal! Since I had been faithfully sending FDR payments without skipping, I was given the option to participate in Freedom’s “Consolidation Plus” consolidation loan repayment plan. They would settle the remainder of my debts and I would pay Freedom back in terms of a high-interest loan. The loan itself, at 23% interest, was a tough pill to swallow but it’s about the same APR that the credit cards carried and at the time that the time my credit score was so low so beggars can’t be choosers! I went for the loan and once all of my debts were settled, I only owed $13,000! That was a savings of $7,000!

Over the course of the next two years, I got a second job in order to pay FDR and the consolidation plus loan. I initially was giving FDR $170, twice a month ($340 total). The CP loan term was five years, but due to the second job, I was able to give them much more! I gave them $425 every two weeks for two years and successfully paid the loan off early! My credit score is now back in the lower 700’s and while I’ve managed to acquire some credit card debt since it’s only $1,500 and I plan on keeping it that way!

Freedom Debt Relief saved my financial life in many ways and would highly recommend them to anyone overwhelmed in debt! FDR works, but only if you let it. You simply can’t just not pay them and have them work for you like that. You have to be willing to trust them, pay them, and be willing to make sacrifices in order to get rid of your credit card debt. Be like me and get a second job if you have to! Just remember, nobody forced you to get in the kind of debt that you’ve accumulated in the first place! If you need help from companies like Freedom Debt Relief, be ready to do your part to ensure that your debts get settled.

Hopefully, I’ll never have to use them again, but my experience with FDR has taught me a lot about debt, knowing my spending limits, and NOT to abuse your credit cards and refuse credit limit increases. Thanks again Freedom for all your help!

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I try to pay off my loan, and they try to get me for another $7.00 because my check needs two days to be processed. What an unprofessional company. Let’s charge everyone $7.00 to pay off their loan in full. They would not work with me. I am paying $6,195, and they still wanted the $7.00. I have never been late, only this month because I was paying it off. After one day late they call me at work. My payment was due on the 10th and today is the 13th. Please do not do any business with them. I only had problems. I am glad it is over. Very difficult people to deal with.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

They have terrible customer service. I've already called three times to get a simple email, but they can't seem to do it.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I think Freedom Debt Relief is working hard to help me get back on the right track, but I personally just don't think it's moving as fast as I thought it would on the smaller debts! I was told that after a 120 is when they would go after Synchrony bank debts, but I had to call Freedom Debt well after four months (it seems like) before I received any word on my first settlement!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

We signed up with FDR in 2015. We did it because I had been out of work ten months and then my husband has a stroke. Jonathan at FDR promised he could have us debt free in three years. From the beginning, it was us doing the leg work. Then the harassing calls started coming in from creditors. They had us change our address and phone number to their address.

A few months later we get a notice on our door to appear in court even though our address was changed to theirs. I called Jonathan, and he says that happens, but there is a bank that will take it on. He did say the interest was higher so our payment would be more. We thought we were on the down hill stretch of this and I contact them to find out Jonathan never told us it increased us to over five years an an extra $28,000 on top of our debt.

I have asked them for copies of anything we signed to show we agreed to this no response. We are considering a lawyer at this point.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

It's taking too long to negotiate debt resolution on accounts. Only one account settled in five months. I am very disappointed in the overall performance and in the long duration of the process, plus my crediting rating continues to plunge.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

This company is a total scam! Do not walk from this place; I suggest you run. I was charged huge fees after making monthly deposits, and very small amount went to my debt. I will be filing a complaint with the better business bureau. The employees there are liars!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I joined Freedom Debt relief in July of 2015, I needed them to help me resolve some debt I had incurred. They were taking $175 out of my account each paycheck, almost immediately it was games and scams with this company.

I had a $18,000 car payment that I had fell behind on, the finance company reached me and offered to settle the amount for $5500. I called freedom Debt Relief and spoke to a lady by the name of Cynthia Brittenum, to see if I had enough funds to cover the amount. She told me that I did, and to email her the settlement letter and on November 10, 2016, to call in and make my last payment to them of $105 to bring my account balance to $5500.

I called in and tried to make my payment and they informed me that I would have to pay $4000 for their service charge and I do not have enough to make the payment. This was after I had made an arrangement with the finance company.

The finance company informed me that they were going to rescind the settlement, and charge me fully for the vehicle because of this. I canceled out of the program because they are not honest and will play with your money and their customer service agents know nothing. I would not use them unless your bill is somewhere between the $200 - $1000 range anything above that they will get you, and act like they did nothing wrong

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

First I want to give a big thank you for not only getting me out of debt but also for coming to my aid in a serious crisis. I was totally amazed at the real care about my crisis. And you guys where there to offer nothing but help, you listened to my story and cared. And then gave aid. What other company does that? That makes you TOPS in my book. Thank you.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Calling Freedom Debit Relief was the best decision I have made. Every person I talked to was beyond kind and understood my situation.

I signed up with them in August and by October all threatening phone calls stopped. By November, they already had two of my accounts in negotiations, and one was paid off in December. My credit score is on the rise!

The website is very easy to understand, and they show you your progress. There is an option to pay extra to get your debt paid off quicker with no penalties.

Amazing company, with amazing people that truly care.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

My experience with Freedom Debt Relief has been a complete nightmare. From the beginning of the process, they calculated my monthly payment incorrectly, and they then continued to contact me for additional funds to resolve the first account. That just continued.

Then I was summons to court by the Discover credit company. Freedom Debt Relief gave me no help. I had to contact Discover's attorneys myself and resolve it, and Freedom still paid themselves for the resolution of that account.

Then when I thought all my accounts were resolved, I noticed one small creditor was not resolved, so I have been calling Freedom Debt Relief for the past year and a half to please ESCALATE this account, so they said they did. I probably have talked to more representatives than any client ever. Many representatives told me to stop my monthly payments because of the surplus in my account.

So I continued to call every month to check on the status of the last account and talked to managers and whoever they would promise to contact me they never did. So just this August my last account was settled. What a joke. All that time it gained so much interest. So they finally contacted me to give them more money. What a joke. They did not save me much and still took $375 for themselves for resolving the account. If I was not persistent about resolving my debt and contacting them monthly, the account would not have been touched and I would have a crap load of money in my account from monthly payments.

After disputing this with them and I told them to check my account notes and the conversations they say they record, and that I have been diligent in trying to resolve this myself. Their response was they did not see anything about that in my account notes.

Do yourself a favor and never do debt relief, and not with this company, and if the company says your conversation is being recorded, tell them you are recording them. I still have to pay the company $26 to be finished with them. I told them you can eat that $26 after all that I have been through. They said no and told me to have a good day. I am glad to be finished with this nightmare and would not wish this on anyone.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I became a client of Freedom Debt Relief when my only other option was to file bankruptcy. When the economy tanked, my job went from full time to two days a week. I continued to make my monthly payments by emptying my savings account while I looked for work. In the end, I reached out to Freedom Debt Relief.

In the beginning, the lady on the phone was sympathetic. Like she understood everything that I was going through. Once I signed up, customer service changed. My agreement was for $152.00 each payday. When I went back to full time, I called to increase my payments. From what they tell you, that will help you resolve your debt faster.

This went on for a year and a half. I never missed a payment or had any issues. After a decade of having the same bank account, I changed bank accounts. The ONLY company I forgot to advise was Freedom Debt Relief (that's because the program was seamless and you really don't think about it). When I missed the payment (after being with them for a year and a half), they didn't call and say, "Hey Ms. Anderson, is something wrong? You missed your payment." NO! I didn't realize that I missed a payment until I started getting emails from them to get back on track. After then, I realized that they quit making payments on my behalf, which in turn, canceled my settlement with the said company.

IF they had called, I would have given them the new bank account number, and then things could have remained the same. Instead, they tell me that I'm in default and now I need to restructure my payments because I have to pay a different amount to the creditors. The best example of what happened is with American Express. I missed my payment to Freedom Debt Relief, and they did not pay American Express. The following month I was on track, and they tried to pay American Express, who rejected the payment because I defaulted on the agreement.

This went on for over three months, meaning that American Express did not get paid for three months. I (not Freedom Debt Relief) reached out to American Express and explained what happened and even after not getting paid for three months, they honored the settlement agreement (the only thing Freedom Debt Relief did was offer to restructure my payments so they would have the money to pay American Express the full amount of the original debt).

I got over that and stayed with the program. I shouldn't have! I am paying them $202.00 bi-weekly ($404.00 a month). I have two accounts left. One, a settlement was agreed on and I only owe them $4,080.00, and the other is for less than $1,300.00. But, they have me in the program for another 20 months. That is because they are only paying $204.00 every month for the company with the agreement. They will not be paid off for 20 months (1 year and 8 months). If they would apply more money to them, it would be paid off in 10 months.

I asked Freedom Debt Relief to increase the payment to them (I just wanted all this behind me), Freedom Debt Relief wouldn't do that. I told them that I was considering pulling that company out of the program so I could make the payments myself. Freedom Debt Relief made that sound like the worse possible thing to do. They told me all the "worse case scenarios," although, that's not how they put it. They just said, "We'll send them a letter telling them that you are no longer in agreement with them which would void the agreement." Which means that I would have to try and negotiate with them or I would be sued for the full amount (after Freedom Debt Relief took their fees of $2,725.00 for that account), which means that it would have cost me more to pay them off.

I FOUGHT with Freedom Debt Relief to get contact information (in the beginning of the program, you sign papers so that collectors only talk to Freedom Debt Relief and you are completely out of it). I was on the phone with them for over 30 minutes while they repeatedly and continually told me that they strongly advise against me reaching out to the collection agency.

I finally got a phone number from them. It was the wrong number; they did not give me the number to the company they were sending payments to! However, I did find the collection agency with the account, and I was able to find contact information. I am happy to say that the account will be paid off in 8 months compared to the 20 months Freedom Debt Relief had me set up for. Of course, the collection agency just wants to get paid. When I offered them the entire $404.00 a month that I was paying Freedom Debt Relief, they were more than happy to take it.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I feel that it is taking too long to settle my accounts. I wish they had settled with Discover first. Discover is adding interest and late payments every month. I think they should have dealt with my accounts first and then continued taking my monthly payment to pay for their amount. I thought that is how it works.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

You were able to settle the QVC account for a fraction of what I owed them. Thanks for the great work. But for every action, there is a reaction. They closed my online account and told me I could not purchase from them anymore until they let me reopen a new account sometime later next year. Just one thing I have had that account for 20 plus years and I hate to have lost it.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend