Complaint Review: Freedom Debt

The last commet is true. Many debt settlement compaines do not settle with all creditors because they do not do as promised both to the clients and with the creditors. We are the leading company and truly here to help people. As in any industry, their are good companies and bad ones. Be sure to check any company out. For example, clients can easliy see our good BBB rating over several years and the fact we are featured as financial experts on many television programs. No company has ever existed that was perfect, but we try very, very hard to help our clients to the best of our ability and we have been very successful in helping our clients.

If you can afford to pay off your debts on your own you should. But if you are in a hardship, (barely able to make minimum payments, considering bankrtupcy,failing a credit counseling program for example) we might be the answer to have you debt free as quick as possible for the lowest cost possible.

If your credit is perfect now, it probably won't be when you are done with the program, although all of your accounts will show a zero balance. This program is better than a bankrtupcy for your credit and much shorter than credit counseling (2-3 years vs 5+ typically with credit counseling). Not to mention the payments and total debt paid back is a fraction of credit counseling. Also lenders usually look at credit counseling the same as a bankruptcy, not so with our program. One more thing to consider is that when you are debt free, your debt to income ratio is improved and you can move on with life. I often say wealthy people earn interest, poor people pay interest, where do you want to be in the future?

Creditors WILL settle if you have a financial hardship. Sometimes all it takes is better budgeting and you can get out of debt on your own- we can help you find a path to debt freedom even if it doesn't involve our sevices. We are here to help.

Call us at 888-710-3328 for free information.

Jeremiah Martin

I decided to type this in response to a previous commenter who specifically mentioned Citibank not working with Freedom Debt. This used to be a true statement, but has not been true since mid 2007.


As an employee for a large bank who works directly with debt settlement companies, I have seen the practices of many debt settlement companies. I can honestly say that if I were in the position some clients are in, Freedom debt relief would be my company of choice.


There are only a handful of companies that actually start paying debts immediately. Most accumulate funds over at least a year and then try to pay your debts. By this time the debts are with third parties and possibly being litigated. With Freedom they immediately start contacting your debtors to negotiate settlements.



I am not encouraging anyone to go this route because it does have a serious impact to your credit report, however being in a position to see how clients are handled, if you have decided a debt settlement company is for you, I would choose Freedom Debt Relief.

I decided to type this in response to a previous commenter who specifically mentioned Citibank not working with Freedom Debt. This used to be a true statement, but has not been true since mid 2007.


As an employee for a large bank who works directly with debt settlement companies, I have seen the practices of many debt settlement companies. I can honestly say that if I were in the position some clients are in, Freedom debt relief would be my company of choice.


There are only a handful of companies that actually start paying debts immediately. Most accumulate funds over at least a year and then try to pay your debts. By this time the debts are with third parties and possibly being litigated. With Freedom they immediately start contacting your debtors to negotiate settlements.



I am not encouraging anyone to go this route because it does have a serious impact to your credit report, however being in a position to see how clients are handled, if you have decided a debt settlement company is for you, I would choose Freedom Debt Relief.

I decided to type this in response to a previous commenter who specifically mentioned Citibank not working with Freedom Debt. This used to be a true statement, but has not been true since mid 2007.


As an employee for a large bank who works directly with debt settlement companies, I have seen the practices of many debt settlement companies. I can honestly say that if I were in the position some clients are in, Freedom debt relief would be my company of choice.


There are only a handful of companies that actually start paying debts immediately. Most accumulate funds over at least a year and then try to pay your debts. By this time the debts are with third parties and possibly being litigated. With Freedom they immediately start contacting your debtors to negotiate settlements.



I am not encouraging anyone to go this route because it does have a serious impact to your credit report, however being in a position to see how clients are handled, if you have decided a debt settlement company is for you, I would choose Freedom Debt Relief.

freedomdebt.org is a completely different company offering a completely different service. The client put in the correct phone number for freedomdebt.org, which is for Freedom Debt Management, but entered .com by mistake. Again, we are not the same company and are not an internet based company and we DO NOT accept clients via the internet.

In the last several months we've had more and more people signing up with debt settlement companies. We've taken a new route, immediately send the accounts to our attorney network. It doesn't matter if the account is brand new or six months delinquent, we send them to the attorney advising to try to obtain a judgment. As noted above, debt settlement companies will try to settle for 30%-60% of the balance, which is fine. We already give the customers 30 cents on the dollar to settle the accounts; they don't even have to solicit it. It's funny how some of these people who have signed with debt settlement companies have no knowledge as to what happens to their credit report and many have never heard of a 1099-C (It's a good thing debt settlement companies are educating the consumer so they can make a sound decision). I've looked at some other postings by ex-employees and consumers that have had relationships with these debt settlement companies, and I noticed that there aren't too many happy people. There have been references to the Attorney General of a few states looking into these companies. I wonder why....The large financial institutions are sick and tired of these guys, a few of them in the top 10 of the Fortune 500 with several lobbyists in Washington. It won't be too much longer before there is so much regulation of these companies and so many penalties involved, that they will slowly be weeded out.

Considering that debt settlement is here to help consumers that have gotten into a serious financial predicament by their credit card company (and Citibank is one of the largest) ? I have no doubt that you would not be happy at the success of debt settlement companies to help thousands of consumers.

Reputable debt settlement companies only take clients who are in a financial hardship. Creditors settle when people cannot afford to pay their debts. Debt settlement is a bankruptcy and credit counseling alternative, not for someone who can afford to pay off their debts.

Our company settles with all of the major creditors typically saving the client half of what they owe and gives them a payment that is manageable- rather than seeing them just not pay or file bankruptcy, or worse yet for the client, go into a credit counseling program, and then fail. Reports show around 70% of people who go to a credit counselor never complete those program (they often just quit paying all together or file bankruptcy).

Of course you are going to say something is "bad" when you think it is hurting your companies profit margin, especially when people have run into a tough time in their lives and can't pay their bills or pay them on time- then what happens? The typical credit card company helps them out by jacking up their interest- often up to 30 percent and adding over limit fees and late fees. They occasionally refer them to a credit counseling company (which is like putting a Band-Aid on severed limb) to possibly, but not always, get a lower interest rate, because then the credit card company can then try to collect 100% of what is owed plus interest, while only having to pay the credit counselor a few percent of the debt for helping them to collect it. Credit counselors are said to be "collection agencies".

By the way many credit counselors are having their non-profit status revoked. See these links:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=5406174

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/12/AR2006011202085.html


People can certainly settle debts on their own- just like someone who knows the law very well might be able to do well representing themselves in court or if you have a leaky faucet- if you know how to do plumbing, you might fix it yourself. Most people do not have the knowledge, time or willingness to deal with their creditors- similar to why most people who file bankruptcy use an attorney or at least get help from a paralegal rather than doing it themselves. Most people would be much more successful in dealing with their debt by being represented by a reputable company whose only job is to deal with the debt of the client. We help many thousands of clients and deal with thousands and thousands of accounts. This allows us to make the process much more efficient for us and the creditors by settling many accounts at one time. It is a win-win-win for everyone involved- the debt is satisfied with the creditor and they recovered a substantial portion of the debt (which the full amount in reality has been paid back more than once considering that with the interest rates and fees many credit cards impose on people). The second win is that the client is out of debt for an amount they can afford, and the third is that our company generates a very modest revenue so that we can continue to help people struggling with debt.

You also failed to mention that when a creditor sells an account to a collection agency- they usually get sold for a few cents on the dollar (often as little as 2 or 3 cents!). We settle accounts typically for 30-50 cents on the dollar- so which makes FAR better sense for the creditor? In reality all we did was "level the playing field" for our clients.

You're right that creditors have the right to send an account to legal status, heck your next door neighbor has the right to pursue legal action against you just because they don't like you and you looked at them funny. The fact is creditors rarely go this route and throw "good money at bad." LESS than 1% of our accounts are in legal status and we fully disclose to our clients of the (very small) chance of that happening. Assume you had cancer, and the doctor said "these pills will cure you, but there is a very small chance there will be side affect," what are you going to do? We believe that being truthful and honest with our clients is always the best approach.

In a state such as Texas where there is 100% homestead exemption and no wage garnishments, what would a creditor do with a judgement anyway? I have seen many judgements that couldn't be collected and "settled in full" for mere pennies on the dollar. In other words- it would of been better for the creditor to settle the account prior spending money on legal fees and courts costs- hence why legal action is so rare. If someone is in an financial hardship and can't pay their debts in full, what would make a creditor think that by suing they could collect it? (In the majority of cases, they can't). Statistics show about 80% of judgements NEVER GET PAID! So lets add that up, less than one percent of our accounts are legal, in the open public 80% of judgements that are received never get collected, SETTLEMENT MAKES SENSE FOR THE CREDITOR and for the CONSUMER!

See this article form the Maryland Gazette:

http://www.nationaljudgment.net/gazette.htm

There are many, many articles out there, this one isn't focused just on credit cards, however it confirms a few points in one article, and some of the feedback in the article is from an actual collection agency.

1. 80% of judgements are never collected. ("A judgement is just a piece of paper" according to the article).

2. There is a small chance a creditor will recover any debt that is delinquent.

3. Filing for a judgment is usually the least favored option.

4. Debt can be purchased for pennies on the dollar OR collection agencies on a contingency basis will keep a very substantial portion of the debt as fees.

I also gather that many courts prefer the idea of debt settlement. I have seen news articles and heard directly from attorneys that courts have been sick of creditors pushing people into bankruptcy and clogging up the court system. I am not an attorney myself, but I have in fact also been told that if a creditor doesn't accept a reasonable settlement, that even under the new bankruptcy laws, a debt could be discharged completely (not paid back at all) in a chapter 13 bankruptcy (repayment plan). Under the new bankruptcy law (enacted in 2005) ? a creditor HAS TO RESPOND TO A REASONABLE SETTLEMENT OFFER.

With that said, consumers who are struggling with the credit card debts or other unsecured debts should certainly consider the services of a reputable debt settlement company. Debt settlement is for people who WANT to pay their debts, but cannot afford to do so the way they currently are. Debt settlement can usually afford much lower payments than credit counseling and is usually completed in under 3 years, vs the high payments and much longer time needed for credit counseling- which leads to the high failure rate. Also people can avoid the risk of foreclosure (caused by higher mortgage payments, and adjustable rate mortgages) from transferring their unsecured debt (credit cards) into their home. It is amazing that 1000s of people across the country are in foreclosure on the homes- essentially because of CREDIT CARD DEBT!

Most importantly, I appreciate the dialogue, because we are here to help people that need help. It is not perfect, but we work very hard to help out Americans nationwide get debt free fast with a monthly payment that meets their budget and help them to avoid bankruptcy.

We're happy to have a free and honest consultation with anyone who wants to discuss this option. Call anytime: 888-710-3328 {888-710-DEBT}

There are no reputable debt settlement companies. Let's just say...Many other extremely large banks are following Citibank's lead taking different routes to deal with these debt settlement companies. I work for one of these very large banks and we are taking a couple different approaches to these debt settlement companies. First off, we will not deal with any of these debt settlement companies.

Depending on the product and balance, we take two different routes. Some we send to our collections department to collect the debt. The other route is sending it to legal to go after these debtors. We've even advised our outside agencies and lawyers not to deal with these companies after we've written the debt off and decided to pursue them by other means.

My suggestion to anyone thinking about going with one of these companies, think again, you can do this yourself. I can see the train coming, I have associates at other large national banks who are also saying that they are looking into going in the same direction as Citi and putting their foot down when it comes to dealing with these debt settlement companies. If you are in that business, you might want to look for a career change in the next couple of years.

You appear to be a client of Freedom Debt Management, NOT freedomdebt.com. Their correct website is www.freedomdebt.org. Please correct your information.

freedomdebt.com is part of the most reputable debt settlement companies in the USA and offers a completely different service than the one you recieved (or were supposed to recieve from freedomdebt.org).

As it might be worth noting, I have heard other complaints about freedomdebt.org (or Freedom Debt Management).

This is a typical case proving how important it is to research a company before doing business with them. Good luck to you in the future.

Sincerely,

Jeremiah Martin
www.freedomdebt.com