9.6
Overall Score
Author: Kaitlyn Short
Freedom Debt Relief, a subsidiary of Freedom Financial Network, has resolved billions in consumer debt since its founding in 2002.
The company has considerable industry experience and high client satisfaction ratings.
With all the major industry accreditations, Freedom Debt Relief (FDR) is a great option for many consumers. Its minimum debt requirement is $7,500. Freedom Debt Relief accepts clients dealing with financial hardship that meet this threshold and clients that can make regular program payments to an account to fund settlements. Freedom Debt Relief employs professional debt experts to negotiate and settle debt for those suffering financial hardship.
FDR offers a debt settlement program that involves negotiating with creditors to lower total debt owed and is available in 32 states. It does not, however, offer debt management plans or credit counseling for those not interested in debt settlement, as Freedom Debt Relief is a debt settlement company.
On average, Freedom Debt Relief charges 24 percent of your total enrolled debt, which means the cost varies depending on your financial situation. To settle an account enrolled at $5,000, it will cost around $1,200.
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As a leading debt settlement company, Freedom Debt Relief has several great advantages to its debt settlement services, including
Freedom Debt Relief offers a free consultation with a highly trained, IAPDA-certified debt consultant when a consumer decides to enlist the company's debt settlement services.
As an accredited debt relief company, Freedom Debt Relief has over 20 years of experience in the debt settlement industry. It has settled over four million accounts since its founding and settles $16 billion in debt.
Freedom Debt Relief has years of experience working with creditors on behalf of the client, the creditor, and the client. FDR will work to obtain settlements that resolve credit card debt (or any type of unsecured debt, such as personal loan debt or medical debt).
FDR will walk clients through the debt settlement process: first, customers will voluntarily choose to stop making monthly payments to lenders. Instead, clients will elect to make a monthly deposit into a separate special purpose account to save money to pay for the settlements once negotiated. Freedom Debt Relief will then work to negotiate a settlement on behalf of its clients.
Unfortunately, this settlement process will affect your credit score. If you miss any minimum payments on your credit card or other debt, this will decrease your credit score. It's smart to have a plan for boosting your credit score before you start the debt settlement process.
Most Freedom Debt reviews on Best Company are positive. People commend FDR for having good customer service, explaining debt settlement, and keeping them updated on where they are at in the debt settlement program.
Clients drowning in high amounts of unsecured debt (credit card debt, personal loans, medical debt, student loan debt) usually find that the company can save them from paying a large percentage of what they owe.
Despite the debt settlement program's tendency to negatively affect credit scores in the first six months, clients with mountains of credit card debt find it extremely helpful for debt reduction. It's also important for people to know that forgiven debt is considered taxable income, so you may owe more in taxes when using debt settlement services.
One feature that sets FDR apart from the rest is a unique and intuitive online dashboard to track clients' pace throughout the program. This helps people to actually see their progress while settling their debts. It also offers education to help clients improve their financial knowledge.
Not many debt settlement companies in the industry offer this tool as part of their packages.
As opposed to a debt consolidation company which consolidates all of a customer's debt into one consolidation loan and one monthly payment, debtors approach Freedom Debt Relief as a last resort in order to negotiate their debt and relieve their burden.
Freedom Debt Relief doesn't charge an upfront fee or any other fees until after debt is settled with creditors, the settlement has been authorized with the client, and the first payment has been made. This practice is standard for the industry. Debt relief companies, like National Debt Relief and Pacific Debt, also do not have upfront fees.
Upon enrollment, customers will open an FDIC-insured bank account that the client controls. Clients will put the monthly deposit that was agreed upon into this bank account instead. This is the main reason why this program hurts your credit score more than debt consolidation.
Next, FDR's representatives will negotiate with your creditors to settle your debt.
Freedom Debt Relief makes money by charging fees on the enrolled debt amount. Its average fees are a bit high (around 24 percent fees on enrolled debt), but its services are thorough.
The company's ability to help clients find an easier road to financial freedom and paying off debt is highly valuable.
To settle an account enrolled at $5,000, it will cost around $1,200 (or about 24 percent of the enrolled debt).
Users are charged an average of 24 percent of their total enrolled debt to use FDR. While this number is in line with their competitors, it is only an average. Customers could end up paying more or less than this to use FDR. FDR’s prices range between 18.25 and 25 percent. The rates vary depending on the state the client lives in.
Current national debt relief trends indicate that debt settlement companies tend to charge a percentage of enrolled debt as opposed to saved debt. This means that the more total debt you have, the more debt settlement companies will charge you.
Although working with a debt settlement firm still could save you from paying thousands of dollars to creditors, it's better to work with companies that charge a percentage of saved debt rather than enrolled debt.
So exactly how much will Freedom Debt Relief cost you? It will cost you around 23 percent of your total enrolled debt, but you will have to have a consultation to get an accurate estimate. The fee is competitive for the industry. The fee is assessed when a successful settlement has been authorized and the first payment has been made.
However, Freedom Debt Relief’s services are high quality and could make it easier to make your way to living debt-free.
Freedom Debt Relief offers debt settlement programs in only 32 states. If Freedom Debt Relief does not offer its debt relief program in your state, you'll have to consider other debt settlement companies.
Most debt settlement companies have a minimum debt requirement to ensure a payout. A debt settlement company that charges by saved debt will not run into this problem as much.
Freedom Debt Relief requires a minimum debt amount of $7,500 (the amount of which is charged fees between 18.25 and 25 percent). While this threshold is low compared to other debt settlement companies, it does rule out people struggling with lower debt amounts.
An additional limitation with Freedom Debt Relief is that the company only works with debtors with unsecured debt. Freedom Debt Relief is not an option for those struggling with secured debt. The difference between unsecured and secured debt is that unsecured debt is not backed by assets or collateral, while secured debt is.
Some debt relief agencies provide services outside of debt settlement, such as credit counseling, advocating for a lower interest rate on your debt, or debt management plans. However, Freedom Debt Relief does not offer these services.
As such, if you choose to go with Freedom Debt Relief to help you work toward resolving your debt, be aware that you will be signing up for a debt settlement program, and may still receive calls from a debt collector or face the risk of a negative impact on your credit score.
In 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Freedom Debt Relief reached an agreement that FDR would do the following:
It's a good idea for potential clients to do some research on the process, consumers' rights, and industry standards for settlement companies before setting up a free consultation with a debt settlement service. It's also recommended to read recent customer reviews to get a better sense of Freedom Debt Relief's commitment to clients and how good its settlement services are.
Freedom Debt Relief offers several outstanding features for anyone looking to settle their debts: all major industry accreditations, ample debt settlement experience, thoughtful and experienced debt consultants, negotiation with each creditor, and more. The company's 18.25 to 25 percent fees are pretty standard in comparison to other debt settlement companies (like National Debt Relief).
If you choose a debt settlement plan to resolve your debts, the debts you settle are marked as "settled" on your credit report. While there are some risks to debt settlement, this process allows you to settle debts. It's not bankruptcy and it could get you on the path to becoming debt free.
While people interested in other debt resolution methods, like credit counseling, a debt management plan, or debt consolidation loan will need to consider other companies, Freedom Debt Relief is a good option for those seeking a debt settlement program.
FDR's debt negotiation experience is worth the money. Freedom Debt Relief customer reviews relate that the company has saved them thousands of dollars by negotiating with their creditors. If you're looking to settle your debt through debt negotiation and a reliable debt relief program, we highly recommend using Freedom Debt Relief if you receive a reasonable quote from the company during your free consultation.
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