Consumer complaint received 2025-10-14 00:00:00
Product: Debt or credit management — Debt settlement
Issue: Confusing or misleading advertising or marketing — 
Company: NATIONAL DEBT RELIEF LLC
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint to report deceptive and abusive fee practices by National Debt Relief ( NDR ). Despite repeated communications and recorded promises from NDR representatives, the company continues to collect excessive front-loaded fees while failing to deliver meaningful debt resolution.

My program began under the Debt Negotiation Agreement dated XX/XX/year>, and documentation demonstrates a clear pattern of misrepresentation, negligence, and financial harm. 

1. Front-Loaded and Unlawful Fee Collection NDR has withdrawn {$1800.00} in fees, while only {$550.00} has gone toward creditor settlements.

This means NDR has collected over three times more in fees than has been applied toward actual debt relief, in violation of the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule ( 16 CFR 310.4 ( a ) ( 5 ) ( i ) ), which prohibits charging settlement fees before debts are resolved.

The company drained my escrow account repeatedly, leaving no funds available for negotiations and resulting in ongoing delinquencies and credit damage. 

XXXX. Misrepresentation and Breach of Promise On multiple recorded calls between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/year>, NDR supervisor XXXX promised to move and restructure fee withdrawals to prevent further escrow depletion. He specifically stated that the {$240.00} fee would be delayed and future fees would be spread evenly over time. 
However, within days of that promise, NDR charged even more fees, totaling {$510.00}, directly contradicting those assurances. ( transcripts attached ) When I raised the issue in a follow-up call on XX/XX/XXXX, another supervisor ( XXXX ) confirmed that XXXX had promised to move the fee, but that the withdrawal occurred anyway. 
This demonstrates intentional misrepresentation and failure to act in good faith. 


3. Financial and Credit Harm After 8 months in the program : - Only 2 of 7 accounts have been settled. 
- Five accounts remain delinquent, and XXXX has been sold to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( letters attached ). 
- My credit score dropped to XXXX, resulting in rental application denials and higher housing costs. My rent is $ XXXX. Comparable apartments in XXXX are currently available for {$1800.00} $ XXXX. Due to my credit score of XXXX, I can not qualify for these lower-cost rentals. Landlords either deny my application or require unaffordable security deposits. 
- I was forced to obtain a XXXX XXXX loan and pay for third-party rent reporting services just to raise my credit score above XXXX, spending additional money each month to offset the damage caused by NDRs program. 
These outcomes contradict NDRs advertised benefits and constitute unfair and deceptive trade practices under Florida Statute 501.204. 
- I am financially worse off than before I enrolled. 

4. Program Unsuitability and Predatory Enrollment According to my signed Debt Negotiation Agreement, my total enrolled debt was only {$14000.00}. 
Despite my stable income, I was aggressively persuaded by NDRs sales team to join a program clearly not suited to my financial situation. 
This represents a deceptive and unethical enrollment practice, where sales representatives preyed on my temporary financial anxiety and sold a product not designed for my circumstances. 

XXXX. Misleading Advice to Stop Payments NDRs representatives instructed me to stop paying my creditors, claiming it was a necessary part of the program and would improve settlement outcomes. 
However, in later conversations, the other representatives accused me of having made a conscious decision to stop paying attempting to shift responsibility for the resulting credit damage back onto me. 
This contradiction demonstrates deceptive program communication and lack of accountability, violating FTC rules prohibiting misleading statements about program risks and effects. 

6. Documentation Ignored and No Resolution I sent a formal complaint to NDR on XX/XX/year>, demanding a refund and fee adjustment. The company ignored my email entirely and continued to withdraw fees. 
I possess ten call recordings ( XXXXXXXX XXXX  ) that prove promises made and broken by NDR staff, as well as transaction statements and screenshots verifying the fee activity.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation