Consumer complaint received 2024-08-01
Product: Debt or credit management — Debt settlement
Issue: Didn't provide services promised — 
Company: FREEDOM FINANCIAL NETWORK (TX)

Please note that this will be better explained in the attached document which has images and highlights to demonstrate the errors made. 

My husband became XXXX in XXXX and could no longer work. My own income also significantly decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with these financial challenges, I entered a debt relief program with Freedom Debt Relief that I completed. This program included two accounts with XXXX. 
Account XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with original balance of {$2500.00} Account XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX with original balance of {$1900.00} I began noticing derogatory reports to my credit in XX/XX/XXXX stating that I had failed to make payments and that I had a balance of {$1900.00}. I was confused because I made all payments on time and paid the program off early. 

After making multiple phone calls, I was finally able to locate that the problem is a transactional misapplication due to a wrong account number entered by Freedom Debt Relief. The error occurred with Account 2, where Freedom Debt Relief mistakenly entered the wrong account number for payments. Specifically, the last four digits of Account 1 ( XXXX ) were incorrectly entered as the last four digits of Account 2. This resulted in the following erroneous account number : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Also see image below from Freedom Debt Relief Dashboard.

The checks were sent out according to the settlement agreement ( please refer to second attached document ) for both accounts. However, it appears that someone scratched out the incorrect account number next to post to account ( please refer to the images of the checks below on pages 3 - 5 ). Rather than applying the payment to the intended account which shared the first 12 numbers ( account 2 ), they mistakenly applied it to the wrong account with the same last 4 numbers ( account 1 ), apparently without making an effort to clarify the intended account.

Three checks were mailed for account 2, in the amount of {$330.00} on the following dates but were misappropriated to account XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX According to XXXX, the misapplication of payments led to an overpayment on Account XXXX ( ending in XXXX ). As a result, XXXX, as indicated by one representative I spoke with, issued a check for the overpayment to XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX. I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX on three separate occasions to inquire about the status of any returned check or to reach XXXX XXXX. However, I was informed by the representative on my last phone call to XXXX, that they only become involved when a lawsuit has been filed and would not have received a returned check. I also reached out to XXXX ( formerly XXXX ) and was advised that they do not have information related to the debt settlement. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain any information from them about a possible returned check. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with a young man from Freedom Debt Relief who was very helpful and elevated my case. XXXX XXXX, reached out to me on XX/XX/XXXX, as evidenced by a voicemail from her on that date. Prior to leaving for a week-long vacation, XXXX XXXX informed me that Freedom Debt Relief would likely cover the {$990.00} settlement. Upon speaking with her today after her return, XXXX XXXX indicated that Freedom Debt Relief would instead reach out to XXXX XXXX Firm to investigate receipt of the checks. Additionally, I inquired about addressing the monthly late payments reported to my credit report due to the error, and XXXX XXXX Mentioned that the case might be escalated further to the higher ups to address that issue. I request that this case be escalated immediately.

Errors were made by both Freedom Debt Relief and XXXX XXXX XXXX in processing these payments, and neither company seems particularly motivated to resolve the issue. Despite my efforts over the past few months, I have not made significant progress despite spending countless hours on the phone re-explaining the situation to each new person I spoke with. I am also frequently informed that the resolution may take up to 45 days ; however, it has been well beyond this timeframe, and I continue to face difficulties in getting a clear resolution.