We'd like to share a few facts that the CFPB hasn't mentioned: Freedom Debt Relief's business practices are legally compliant, highly ethical and serve the needs of our customers, saving them millions of dollars over what they would otherwise be required to pay. Perhaps most important, we are not aware of any complaints to the CFPB from our customers over this (or any other) issue - zero complaints. Sadly, the CFPB paid no attention to the enormous benefits our clients realized from our active assistance in their settlement process. In fact, since 2010, Freedom Debt Relief has settled $1.2 billion in debt (nearly 200,000 accounts) for clients who came to us with accounts from the credit card issuers mentioned in the complaint. The overarching assertion that we cannot and do not settle client accounts with key creditors is simply not true. It's surprising, and very unfortunate, that the CFPB chose to act without taking the time to focus either on the facts or the utility and purpose of "coached settlements," both of which were thoroughly and completely disclosed to consumers at various points in their debt settlement programs. It's no accident that we've become the nation's largest debt settlement provider. Throughout our 15-year history, we've stayed centered on our clients and worked hard to earn our reputation as a business that serves our customers effectively, efficiently and ethically. To date, we've achieved over $7 billion in debt settlements for over 450,000 clients. That's over $88 million of savings in the month for American families in financial hardship. In October 2017, for example, FDR settled $175 million of debts for 43,000 consumers at an average settlement of less than 50 cents on the dollar. We want to set the record straight and share our perspective.įreedom Debt Relief helps financially challenged consumers achieve financial security by securing for them settlements of their outstanding debts, often at a substantial discount to what they owed. We firmly believe that the CFPB fundamentally misunderstands how debt settlement works and has acted without proper regard for the consumers it is charged with protecting. Yesterday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint against Freedom Debt Relief (FDR), alleging, among other things, that FDR deceived consumers, first, by not informing them that there are certain "difficult creditors" who will not negotiate and, second, by forcing consumers to negotiate their own settlements with such creditors (so-called "coached settlements"). This afternoon, the company today issued the following statement to its family of clients, employees, and communities it serves. Collections & Recovery Newsletter (for Lenders)Įarlier today insideARM published this story about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filing a formal complaint against Freedom Debt Relief.6/28 – Work Smarter, Not Harder - Client RFIs: Tell Your Story, Streamline, Manage, and Avoid Repetition Free WebinarĦ/29 – How the Call Center Has to Evolve Free Webinarġ1/8 – Fall Consumer Relations Consortium Meeting (Members Only) Regional Peer Meetingġ2/11 – Women in Consumer Finance 2023 Conference
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