Consumer complaint received 2022-08-23
Company: FREEDOM FINANCIAL NETWORK
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit repair services
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
XXXX Re : XXXX XXXXXXXX VS Freedom Debt Relief  My name is XXXX XXXX and I am XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
I live at : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX CA XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX ss # XXXX I am writing to the CFPB and filing this complaint against Freedom Debt Relief because of what they did XX/XX/XXXX. 

In XX/XX/XXXX in XXXX XXXX the pandemic was still very much alive and we were in lockdown still. 

I receive {$2000.00} every month for social security and unfortunately I have to work full time to pay my overhead which consists of rent, bills, groceries, utilities and I usually pay Freedom Debt Relief {$330.00} a month for them to settle past debts and pay them. 

During XXXX / XXXX pandemic my business was greatly affected and unemployment was inconsistent. 

I was always in touch with Freedom Debt and would call them every month if I had to skip a payment or make a partial payment of {$50.00} or {$75.00} and this XX/XX/XXXX I made a payment of {$120.00}. 
The man that I spoke to in XX/XX/XXXX was very rude and unprofessional. 

He said my payment of {$120.00} wasnt enough and I would be in danger of losing my settlement with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I asked him why? 

My monthly payment amount to XXXX XXXX XXXX was {$35.00} And that XX/XX/XXXX I had confirmed a new settlement for a different account ( that has since been paid in full ) and that XXXX the payment for that account was {$68.00}. 

I did the math, {$35.00} + {$68.00} is {$100.00} Again., I was paying {$120.00} which covered those payments. 

I told him that XXXX XXXX was still in XXXX lockdown and was effecting my work and my ability to pay the full {$330.00}, which, up until this month Freedom had been very understanding and helpful. 

But this guy didnt care and kept saying it wasnt enough and that I might lose the settlement with XXXX XXXX 

I asked him if there were other fees and he said no that they didnt take fees until the settlement had been paid in full. 

But the truth is they do charge fees ( see screenshot ) They charge a monthly service fee of {$9.00} Still within the {$120.00} I paid for XXXX. 

And they charge another service fee of {$12.00} for XXXX Fee that may have to do with their legal dept. 

At any rate, I told this guy look, Im doing the best that I can. Im not working yet, Im not getting unemployment right now, I called in to do a {$50.00} payment and Im paying you {$120.00} which covers the {$35.00} payment to XXXX XXXX XXXX and the {$68.00} on this new settlement. 
In fact if this is really going to be an issue then I ask that you cancel the new settlement that I just authorized and then the {$68.00} payment will no longer be needed and youll have more then enough for the {$35.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX payment. 

He didnt like this at all and became incredibly rude and hostile. He went into full bully tactics. 
It was like speaking to a nasty debt collector. 

That was unacceptable to me. 

I wasnt going to be bullied by some rude and unprofessional jerk from a company that was supposed to be looking out for my best interest. 

I told this jerk that I had only {$350.00} left to pay on the XXXX / XXXX settlement, that I was paying {$120.00} which was more then enough to cover the {$35.00} payment and I did NOT want anything to interfere with losing this settlement. 

XX/XX/XXXX I learned that Freedom had cancelled the settlement with XXXX XXXX XXXX and now Freedom started a new settlement that now will cost {$620.00} instead of {$350.00}. 

So. They just added on more money to the new settlement. 

Im not sure what you call this is the finance industry but weve always called this bait and switch. 

At first I called Freedom several times and spoke to several customer service reps. none could figure out why the settlement with XXXX XXXX XXXX was cancelled and lost. They all said they would ask their supervisor and have them get back to me. No one ever did. 

Occasionally I would get another rude customer service rep. that would say that it was because I didnt make my whole payment of {$330.00} and thats why the settlement was lost. 

I would then remind them that the payment for XXXX XXXX  XXXX was only {$35.00} AND this was still very much during COVID and I was limited in what I could do. 

To which I never got an answer from anyone about that. Ever. 

They have ignored the whole situation and they just keep sending me this new settlement. 

When I dont accept, they mark the account as in escalation for possible litigation probably so they can charge me the monthly {$12.00} for XXXX and then they come back with the same settlement offer of {$620.00} So theyre ignoring me. 

I did resume my full payments to Freedom for {$330.00} and have been paying them on an automatic payment, every month. 

I want the money from these payments to pay the {$350.00} from the original settlement for XXXX / XXXX and then I have one last settlement to pay and Im finished. 

I do not trust Freedom since this situation happened and I stopped trying to work it out with them since I could never get any answers or action. 

They continue to call me constantly several times a day about the new settlement ( see screenshot ) for XXXX / XXXX for {$620.00} and they still keep charging me these monthly fees. 

Again, the solution I want is to pay the {$350.00} that was owed originally on the first settlement with XXXX / XXXX that should have never been cancelled. 

I have enough money in my client account with Freedom to pay the {$350.00} in full right now and the account be classified as settled and paid. 

Im XXXX XXXX XXXX. I dont know how much time I have left. Im trying to do the right thing and pay off these debt settlements. 

I have one more account / settlement left to pay off with Freedom and thats it I can move on from this horrible experience and excessive fees etc. 

Its become apparent that Freedom does not have my best interest in mind and I greatly appreciate your help in this matter. 

Thank you. 

XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief