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Freedom Debt Relief did nothing, now being sued

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LindaP777

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? OHIO

I apologize in advance for the length of this post.

My daughter-in-law, Erin, got in over her head with a credit card. Being young and not knowing what to do, she looked to Freedom Debt Relief; http://www.freedomdebtrelief.com to help her out. They promised her the moon, set her up with payment ($368 per month withdrawn directly from her account for the last 18 months = $6624) and told her to have her three credit card statements sent to them. They told her to stop making the payments to her charge card companies and that they would negotiate a payoff amount and then make payments for her. They were her savior, so she thought.

After a year of payments, Freedom Debt Relief had negotiated and paid off the two smaller charge cards (a few hundred dollars each), but Erin has recieved no proof that they are paid off, other than Freedom Debt Relief's word. (So I am skeptical.)

The larger charge card, Chase Manhattan ($5000) was not paid off, nor had a settlement for a "reduced amount" been negotiated as promised. Last November, Erin recieved notice from Chase. She contacted Freedom Debt Relief and they told her to just sign the papers and send it to them. She did, not knowing what it was. (I'm assuming it was an Arbitration Award for $15,597.57 from what I've been reading, but I'm not for sure.) The $5000 that she owed ballooned to $15,597.57 because Freedom Debt Relief made no payments so Chase has tacked on late fees and interest charges for the last year.

Now Chase is taking her to court for MOTION AND APPLICATION TO CONFIRM AND ENFORCE ARBITRATION AWARD. When she calls Freedom Debt Relief, they just tell her to fax the papers to her. That's all she's been doing and getting no where! They do not return her phone calls.

The court has sent her a NOTICE OF HEARING TO CONFIRM ARBITRATION AWARD and a SUMMONS BY CERTIFIED MAIL. Hearing is April 24th.

She has no idea what to do. Freedom Debt Relief is of no help. They dropped the ball but have taken over $6600 in payments from her in the last 18 months. Her credit is shot, showing 18 months of no payments to Chase.

Should she go to court with all her paperwork and tell them Freedom Debt Relief was supposed to be taking care of this?

Should she get an attorney?

Is it too late to settle with Chase for the original $5000?

Can she get back the money that Freedom Debt Relief is holding in her "account"?

So many questions, we are just sick. She contacted me this evening and told me the whole story. She is coming over tomorrow evening with all her papers so we can sort it all out. What can I do to help her?
 


virgosuperstar

Junior Member
get an attorney now!

I myself have gotten into trouble with the credit cards, i tried the debt consolidation but to no avail two creditors refused to work with it. they wanted me to use their's. my mother in law found a debt settlement attorney who is power of attorney over my accounts, yes it hurts your credit but not like bankruptcy and the creditor cannot sue you. you put a small amount into a trust account that NOONE can touch and once there is enough in the account the negotiators will start negotiating to pay it off, they do reduce your debt by up to 75%...you still have to deal with the phone calls, but you cannot talk to the creditors at all, tell them to call your attorney. now for your daughter in laws problem my mother in law had a similar issue where she paid the cc in full and there was a late fee applied even though she paid it on time they refused to take it off now they are suing her b/c she did not pay it and it accumulated enough that they are suing her, she now has an actual attorney handling this. i know her situation, i hope it works out, but as long as she has everything in writing and shows proof she did what she was supposed to she cannot be sued. now if this debt consolidation company says they advised her that chase would not be apart of the program she needs proof that she did not get notified. one thing you have to realize that i was not aware of was these consolidation companies work for credit card companies. they get paid to do this by the credit card companies as well as your "fee" in turn i would recommend suing this company for this if there is no proof of them ever making the payment to the creditor! but yes i believe she can get her money back and if he can call Chase's settlement dept and work it out directly with them to see if she can pay the $5K but if they do not then get an attorney... GOOD LUCK!!
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Q: Should she go to court with all her paperwork and tell them Freedom Debt Relief was supposed to be taking care of this?

A: No; the court will not be interested in what a non-party may or may not have done in the case. (Anyone who tells you not to make payments should be shunned.)


Q: Should she get an attorney?

A: Yes; for the Chase lawsuit. Perhaps he can negotiate a settlement.


Q: Is it too late to settle with Chase for the original $5000?

A: See answer above.


Q: Can she get back the money that Freedom Debt Relief is holding in her "account"?

A: I would certainly try!



Ask more questions if you need to.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Virgo - do NOT give patently false information on this site.
Of COURSE our OP can be sued for the debts. And, YOU could be too!
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
I myself have gotten into trouble with the credit cards, i tried the debt consolidation but to no avail two creditors refused to work with it. they wanted me to use their's. my mother in law found a debt settlement attorney who is power of attorney over my accounts, yes it hurts your credit but not like bankruptcy and the creditor cannot sue you. you put a small amount into a trust account that NOONE can touch and once there is enough in the account the negotiators will start negotiating to pay it off, they do reduce your debt by up to 75%...you still have to deal with the phone calls, but you cannot talk to the creditors at all, tell them to call your attorney. now for your daughter in laws problem my mother in law had a similar issue where she paid the cc in full and there was a late fee applied even though she paid it on time they refused to take it off now they are suing her b/c she did not pay it and it accumulated enough that they are suing her, she now has an actual attorney handling this. i know her situation, i hope it works out, but as long as she has everything in writing and shows proof she did what she was supposed to she cannot be sued. now if this debt consolidation company says they advised her that chase would not be apart of the program she needs proof that she did not get notified. one thing you have to realize that i was not aware of was these consolidation companies work for credit card companies. they get paid to do this by the credit card companies as well as your "fee" in turn i would recommend suing this company for this if there is no proof of them ever making the payment to the creditor! but yes i believe she can get her money back and if he can call Chase's settlement dept and work it out directly with them to see if she can pay the $5K but if they do not then get an attorney... GOOD LUCK!!
I can't find one thing in here that is correct.

Oh...except for this: ...I myself have gotten into trouble with the credit cards...
 
Sounds like Freedom Debt Relief needs to be sued, as well. Be sure and look at any agreements with FDR to see if mediation/arbitration was specified, or if there was any limitation on liability ... hopefully neither, since they certainly sound liable for the damages which were sustained.
 

LindaP777

Senior Member
Sounds like Freedom Debt Relief needs to be sued, as well.
I thought of that as well. The problem is, they don't seem to be registered in the state of Ohio, at least not under "Freedom Debt Relief ". Take a look; http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/pls/portal/PORTAL_BS.BS_QRY_BUS_INFORMATION1.SHOW_PARMS

Freedom Debt Relief's website, says they are affiliated with "Freedom Financial". But just like the credit card companies, they hide under different names when they registered to do baseness in your state, making it nearly impossible to find out who to list (and their address) when you sue.
 
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LindaP777,

Yes, they are quite tricky, but don't get discouraged. Failure to register doesn't mean they can't be sued - it does effect how they get served with notice of the lawsuit. There are technical rules that allow service on companies that have failed to register with the Secretary of State, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

The important thing is not to conclude that it can't be done. When you get a lawyer, they'll be able to figure it out.
 

MeFuture

Junior Member
Freedom Debt Relief

I’ve worked with FDR in the past and was sued by one of my creditors. FDR was really helpful in resolving the account even after the lawsuit was filed—they helped me set up a payment plan with the creditor that kept me out of court.

I would encourage your daughter-in-law to continue communicating with FDR, as I think that she will find that they may still be able to help her solve this situation. Certainly, she should explore her other options in the meantime, but from my experience, FDR was pretty helpful.
 
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