Overview

If you find yourself struggling to pay back your debts and are searching for a way out, using a service that negotiates your debt can help formulate a plan to relieve your burden. Freedom Debt Relief is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating.

For over 20 years, Freedom Debt has built a reputation as a reliable debt solution, helping customers pay off their debt quickly compared to making minimum monthly payments. Their service works with unsecured debt, and is ideal for those with credit card debt or individuals facing bankruptcy. While their program is not for everyone, using a service that negotiates your debt can be helpful for those struggling with upwards of $20,000 in debt who are committed to sticking with a plan and living within their means. The service can have a negative impact on your credit score and should only be used as a last resort.

Eligibility Process

Checking eligibility with Freedom is easy and requires no commitment. To get started, prospective customers simply input basic details such as debt amount and what state they are located in, and are then contacted by a Freedom Debt consultant. The entire eligibility process is completely free – users should be extremely wary of services that require payment upfront. Once enrolled, FDR charges fees for settling debt, but the ultimate goal is to use the service to help you become debt-free. Freedom is committed to ensuring that its customers succeed. That means customers are not charged a fee until results are delivered and a settlement is authorized, and the first payment is made.

Debt Sevices

Freedom's services can be used for those struggling with unsecured debt such as credit card debt and personal loan debt. They cannot help with secured debt such as mortgages and auto loans and in most cases do not work with student loan debt. If you are seeking to reduce your mortgage payments or your student loan payments, we offer comprehensive reviews of mortgage refinance lenders and student loan refinance services.

Freedom will usually only work with individuals whose unsecured debt is about $20,000. In some cases, they may work with lower debt amounts but if your debt amount is lower than $10,000 you'd be best served by an alternate debt service.

Finally, Freedom can only help when you are committed to sticking with their plan and seeing it through to the end. This means budgeting appropriately and being able to make the monthly program payment so that your debts are reduced gradually and you can get on the path to becoming debt-free. If you are unable to commit to the plan then Freedom won't be able to help you reach your financial goals.

How it Works

As mentioned, the initial consultation is completely free and very easy to fill out. After this first step, a Freedom representative will reach out by phone to learn more about you and your situation. Once Freedom has enough information and you decide to enroll in their program, you will voluntarily stop making payments to your creditors and instead, you'll open a separate account where you'll deposit your monthly program payments. Freedom will work with you to determine how much you deposit into this account and the account is fully owned and controlled by you.

When there is enough money in the account to work with, Freedom will start negotiating with your creditors to try and get them to settle for less than the full amount you owe. Since you have voluntarily stopped paying these creditors, the accounts have become delinquent and Freedom will try to use this to accept a lower settlement amount as opposed to continued non-payment.

Once a creditor agrees to a settlement amount, you will then be asked to authorize the settlement and it will be paid with the funds in your dedicated account. In addition, you'll pay Freedom a fee for their service once the first settlement payment has been made. This fee ranges from 18% to 25% of the enrolled balance. This number varies based on the state you live in.

Can I do it Myself?

Just like you can pull your own tooth or repair your own engine, you can certainly negotiate your own debt. However, much like the other cases mentioned, it would be wise to utilize a professional and not attempt to negotiate with creditors yourself. While you may get lucky and find a creditor who is willing to accept a lower sum, you can also put yourself in danger of accruing even more fees if your account becomes delinquent and they don't accept a settlement. Furthermore, it's almost a certainty that the rate which you will get on your own will not be as attractive as the rate Freedom can offer you. Even when you factor in the 18% to 25% you'll owe Freedom, we strongly recommend using a pro in sensitive matters such as these.

Customer Support

One of our favorite things about Freedom is that customers enjoy reliable support services throughout the entire debt process. If at any time you have questions about your debts, settlements, or the negotiation process, you can easily reach a Freedom representative by phone or email. The phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 11 PM ET and Saturday to Sunday from 9 AM to 9 PM ET. There are separate phone numbers for Freedom clients and non-clients and both lines have friendly staff able to either assist you immediately or get back to you in a timely manner.