Overview
- Over $10 billion in debts settled
- No fees until results are obtained
- Free, personalized evaluation from certified debt specialists
- 90% positive ratings with the BBB
- Settle your debts for significantly less than you owe
Founded in 2002, Freedom Debt Relief has worked over the last 15 years to resolve more than $10 billion in debt and has enrolled over 600,000 clients.
Freedom Debt Relief, LLC works with you individually to evaluate your current debt scenario and determine whether their debt settlement services can help you.
Freedom Debt Relief could help alleviate your credit card debt burden while avoiding bankruptcy, depending on your financial situation. Learn more about this California-based debt settlement company to find out how they work and if you qualify.
Freedom Debt Relief Process
Before you enroll with Freedom Debt Relief, you’ll participate in a free debt evaluation. During this phone call, you and a Certified Debt Consultant review your debt situation and discuss potential solutions to make sure their program is the best option for you. Then, once you enroll, you’ll jointly design a payment program.
The goal is to save you money over time compared to making minimum monthly payments on your balances by eliminating unsecured debt in a much shorter time frame. You’ll contribute funds to a monthly deposit program, but only an amount you’re comfortable with. This replaces your monthly payments to creditors.
The account is in your control but separate from your other accounts so that the money is reserved solely for your debt relief program. It’s FDIC-insured, and you can track your progress 24/7 with your online Client Dashboard.
Negotiations
In the meantime, Freedom Debt Relief’s team begins to craft a negotiation strategy, including leveraging deals with multiple creditors. Then, once your account has reached its target amount, the negotiations team gets to work in reaching settlements. But, of course, no settlement is executed without your direct approval.
Once finalized, each debt is reported to the credit bureaus as settled in full, settled, paid, paid by settlement, or settled for less than the full amount. Each of these has a different impact on your credit so pay attention to these phrases throughout the negotiation process.
Freedom Debt Relief claims to hold each creditor accountable to ensure that they accurately report your settlement to the credit bureaus. If you stick to the plan, you can have your unsecured debts settled in as little as two to four years.
Customer Profile
Freedom Debt Relief doesn’t typically focus on small debts. For example, clients usually have $15,000 or more in credit card debt and are having difficulty meeting their minimum payments each month. In addition, only unsecured debts are eligible for debt settlement with Freedom Debt Relief, such as credit cards and personal loans. They do not help with secured debt like federal student loans.
You should be willing and able to make small deposits each month and commit yourself to take anywhere between two and four years to complete the program. You can certainly attempt debt settlement on your own, but their clients prefer using a professional debt settlement company with years of experience to work on their behalf.
Freedom Debt Relief Application Process
The application process starts with a free debt consultation. To schedule one, you can visit their website and fill out the form.
At that point, you’ll find out if Freedom’s debt settlement services are appropriate for your financial situation. If they are, you can agree upon a monthly deposit amount and get enrolled in the program.
Once the Process Starts
When working with Freedom Debt Relief, you enroll all of your credit cards with a $500 or more balance. This helps in the negotiation process because creditors see that you’re trying to settle all of your accounts, not just theirs.
Like other debt relief companies, Freedom Debt Relief then recommends that you stop paying on the enrolled accounts and instead contribute to your settlement fund. While this is a standard part of the process, it does come with some risks. You’ll likely start to receive calls from debt collectors attempting to get you to start making payments again.
Impact on Your Credit Score
Another consequence is that each of your late payments and delinquent accounts will be reported to the credit bureaus and listed on your credit report. Depending on your current credit history, this could substantially lower your credit score and make future access to credit more difficult. Still, you may already be having these issues because of your high burden of credit card debt.
During the process, you’ll also likely accrue interest and late fees on your unpaid accounts. However, Freedom Debt Relief works to negotiate with your creditors to reduce the amount you owe so that you ideally still save money after the settlement.
Once your account has reached an appropriate amount, they actively begin the negotiation process. Freedom Debt Relief uses your account as proof of funds for making a lump sum payment — often an attractive offer in the eyes of a creditor.
Some clients achieve the first settlement in as little as six months. When you receive a settlement, the discharged amount counts as taxable income for the year, so talk to a tax expert to fully understand the implications.
Freedom Debt Relief Special Features
Freedom Debt Relief is a founding member of the American Fair Credit Council, working hard to promote transparency and industry regulations. Their track record speaks for itself, and creditors are familiar with this industry giant. In fact, they regularly resolve nearly 44,000 accounts on average each month.
Additionally, you don’t have to pay fees until you see results. Freedom Debt Relief’s fees typically range from 15% to 25% of the settled debt. While you’re by no means required to use a debt consolidation loan, Freedom Debt Relief allows them and partners with a lender if you choose that route. Most people, however, rely on their own monthly contributions for the debt settlement fund.
Because your creditors can still try to collect on your debt while enrolled in the program, there’s a possibility they could file a lawsuit against you. In the unlikely event this happens to you, Freedom Debt Relief offers access to a third-party law firm to help negotiate a settlement. You may not save as much, but it’s nice to know all the potential solutions you have to any possible legal issue.
Freedom Debt Relief has an online dashboard that makes it easy to track your progress at any time. They also have excellent customer service that you can reach via phone or email, available seven days a week.
Freedom Debt Relief Reviews
One of the best ways to research debt settlement companies is by reading third-party reviews. You can discover what actual customers are saying about them before you choose to do business with them.
Freedom Debt Relief’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating is currently B, an indicator of good customer service. They also have very few complaints. You can find more Freedom Debt Relief reviews at other review sites as well.
Lawsuit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued freedom Debt Relief in 2017. The lawsuit alleged that Freedom charged people without settling their debts as promised, made them negotiate their own settlements, and misled consumers about its fees.
Freedom settled the CFPB lawsuit by agreeing to pay $20 million in restitution to affected consumers and a $5 million civil penalty in July 2019.
What to Do After Debt Settlement
When you’ve completed the Freedom Debt Relief program, you’ll ideally walk away with most, if not all, of your unsecured debt completely taken care of. Even if you have some remaining balances, you should feel a much lighter load on your shoulders.
Consider this an opportunity to approach your future finances with a clean slate. Of course, to start fresh, you’ll have a bit of work to do, but it’s entirely achievable by following these steps.
#1: Start to Repair Your Credit
Working with a reputable debt settlement company like Freedom Debt Relief helps take care of your debt, but they don’t claim to fix your credit. In reality, your debt and credit are related but not interchangeable; fixing one doesn’t automatically fix the other.
Since you’ve attended to your debt problem, it’s now time to set your sights on your credit. Start by ordering all three copies of your credit report. You may see a lot of late payments listed. Make sure each one is accurate and confirm that your settlements are listed correctly.
If not, you can file a dispute directly with the credit bureau. While still in the debt settlement process, be sure to keep accurate and detailed records so you can reference these if needed.
#2: Create a Financial Plan
You might have gotten in over your head with debt for any number of reasons. You may have suffered from an injury, faced long-term unemployment, or simply may have lived outside your means. Since it takes a couple of years to complete, use that time and beyond to think about how to fix your income and spending.
Perhaps you could apply for disability if you’re still injured or brush up on a new skill set to make your resume stand out. If you have trouble sticking to a budget, check out this page to learn some practical strategies.
It’s important to think of long-term solutions beyond the debt management period to avoid getting yourself back in the same situation.
#3: Make Good Habits a Routine
While you likely won’t be making payments on credit cards during your settlement program with Freedom Debt Relief, you can still keep other accounts in good standing. Help prevent more damage to your credit score by paying your other bills on time each month, like your mortgage, cell phone, and utilities.
If you keep a low balance credit card open, be sure to pay it off as soon as possible and avoid making new charges. Start these habits early so that you can continue modeling good financial behavior by the time you’ve completed your debt settlement program.
Again, consistency is crucial, and just a few simple changes, along with the right debt settlement program, can set you up for a much brighter financial future.