Freedom Debt Relief is one of the largest debt resolution companies in America, providing services for clients struggling with unsecured debt that does not tie back to assets like their home or car.
Debt relief companies provide free consultations and can negotiate settlement of debts for less than you owe. Their programs may have an adverse effect on your credit score; however, you could potentially reduce interest rates and pay off debt faster through them.
What is Freedom Debt Relief?
Freedom Debt Relief offers debt settlement services that help people settle their unsecured debts, such as credit card debt. They specialize in supporting households experiencing financial difficulty due to job loss or reduction of income, medical bills, bankruptcy proceedings or major life events such as divorce.
Freedom Debt Relief claims it helps clients save money and reduce debt faster than other options would allow. Their program involves stopping credit card payments altogether and depositing them instead in an FDIC-insured dedicated account you control; then Freedom Debt Relief negotiates with creditors on your behalf to settle them for less than you owe – then once settled you pay your balance from this dedicated account; Freedom Debt Relief charges an 18-25% fee of your total enrolled debt for its services.
Freedom Debt Relief’s representatives will ask about your financial circumstances during your consultation to assess if debt settlement is the appropriate solution. They’ll also verify if you meet eligibility requirements – such as having enough unsecured debt for their program, being able to make at least the minimum monthly payment and not being in bankruptcy.
Once enrolled in Freedom Debt Relief’s program, monthly deposits will be made into an FDIC-insured dedicated account for you. After reviewing your debt and creating a negotiation strategy to negotiate with creditors – typically four months post enrollment but potentially up to six – negotiations with your creditors should start taking place quickly.
As you progress online and in your dashboard, you’ll receive updates from both your account manager and legal documents as well as informational resources from them. In addition, there’s always someone available seven days a week who will provide support via telephone callback service or live representative on-demand.
The company boasts of having a high customer satisfaction rate, boasting an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and 4.5 star reviews on Trustpilot. However, some clients have complained of poor service or high fees.
How does Freedom Debt Relief work?
Freedom Debt Relief is a debt settlement company that assists consumers in settling their unsecured debts for less than they owe. Freedom does not charge upfront fees and instead makes its money off of how much debt it settles on your behalf.
Beginning the process involves receiving a complimentary debt evaluation. If eligible, they then ask you to set aside a set amount each month in an FDIC-insured savings account until negotiations with creditors begin – this helps establish leverage and demonstrate that you mean business.
Once sufficient funds are in your account, Freedom Debt Relief will negotiate with each of your creditors to settle debts for less than they owe – typically between 15%-25% less. They will notify you as soon as they have negotiated a debt settlement offer and allow you to approve or decline it before withdrawing it from your dedicated account and making payments directly on your behalf.
Freedom Debt Relief may cause your credit score to take an initial hit; however, taking such steps to resolve debt and start rebuilding it can often prove better than continuing paying high interest rates on existing balances. Furthermore, remember that forgiven debt counts as taxable income.
Freedom Debt Relief’s services go far beyond simply settling debt for less than you owe; they offer free consultation and phone support 7 days a week, plus an online client dashboard so that you can track progress real-time.
Freedom Debt Relief works with people with at least $7,500 of unsecured debt they are struggling to repay on their own, such as credit card or medical bills. Although they specialize in non-collateralized loans such as credit card debt and medical bills, they do not address mortgage or car loans or federal student loan debt.
Does Freedom Debt Relief work with unsecured debt?
Freedom Debt Relief can provide a solution if you find yourself overwhelmed by debt. They offer a debt settlement program that helps clients escape it by negotiating with creditors to settle accounts at less than what’s owed; typically working with individuals with at least $7,500 of unsecured debt experiencing financial difficulty.
Starting the process off right, clients meet with a certified debt consultant to review their finances and discuss whether Freedom’s debt settlement program would benefit them. Once approved, clients deposit money into an FDIC-insured dedicated account they control that can be used to pay off enrolled debts over 24 to 48 months – typically.
Once the client has sufficient money in their escrow account, the company will negotiate with creditors to settle their debt for less than it’s owed. Creditors sometimes employ various tactics in an attempt to collect more than what a consumer can pay, so having an experienced debt negotiation specialist on your side is invaluable.
One drawback to debt settlement programs like Freedom is their potential detrimental effect on your credit score. When you stop making payments directly to creditors and instead invest them into your dedicated account with Freedom, any missed payments will show up as missed payments on your credit report, potentially leading to significant drops in score over seven years.
Although debt settlement may have negative repercussions for your credit, there can be numerous advantages to using Freedom Debt Relief’s debt settlement services. Debt settlement could save thousands in interest charges while helping avoid bankruptcy; additionally it makes managing finances simpler when only dealing with one monthly bill instead of multiple ones each month.
Is Freedom Debt Relief a scam?
Freedom Debt Relief has helped over $10 billion of debt be cleared away, providing many people with relief from overwhelming unsecured debt. Their four-step program begins with a free debt consultation over phone or internet where you share details about your debt and budget with an accredited debt consultant who then assesses and provides recommendations.
Once enrolled, when you make deposits to Freedom Debt Relief you will stop making monthly credit card payments and instead deposit them into an FDIC-insured account. As soon as enough money has accumulated in this account, they’ll start negotiating with creditors on your behalf in an effort to reach an acceptable settlement deal for less than what is owed on each debt.
As part of the debt negotiation process, your credit will take a hit as payments go unpaid and late fees pile up. Your overall score may drop as well, creating issues when trying to buy items with credit or apply for loans in the future. After Freedom Debt Relief has negotiated a debt settlement offer on your behalf and asked you for approval, funds from your dedicated account will be sent directly to payoff your creditors – saving time and hassle in future negotiations!
Freedom Debt Relief stands out among other options by having an impressive success rate in settling debt. They boast an A rating from the Better Business Bureau and have only received less than 350 complaints over three years; however, no guarantee can be given that they’ll settle it for what was initially promised.
Due to your inability to make monthly payments as you normally would, creditors may attempt collection actions or even file lawsuits against you while in the program. While this can be frustrating and undesirable, these complications are sometimes necessary in order to reach successful debt resolution.
