Freedom Group is a company who, according to their business card, is “dedicated to a debt-free America.”
Freedom Group approached me by telephone in the summer of 2007 and after some initial questions, they assured me that they could help me become debt free in approximately 3-4 years.
I entered into a contract with them in August and this contract was terminated by me on December 1.
My complaint is that this company provided very poor customer service, did not do what they claimed they would do, and, most importantly, that they are now holding a large sum of money which is mine.
Freedom Group worked under the premise that if I made monthly payments to them, they would handle all negotiations with creditors and that they would make settlement payments when there was a satisfactory settlement offer and there were sufficient funds in my account.
My monthy payment to Freedom Group was $800.
The total amount I paid in to my account during 2009 and up to December was $32000.
They paid off four of my credit cards for a total amount deducted from my account of $17,321.00 With monthly administrative fees, settlement fees for two cards I settled on my own, plus a “set up fee” there was an additional $6863.00 deducted from my account.
To my understanding&I paid in $32000 and they paid out or withdrew $24,184.
This should have left $7816.00 in my account as of December 1.
Freedom Group acknowledged my withdrawal from the program and said that after an audit, which could take up to 60 days, I would receive a refund of any remaining funds in my account.
It has now been 76 days and I have received no check or correspondence from Freedom Group. When I call, there is no one available to help me.
No one returns a call despite a request for an update on the status of this account.
They do not reply to email or fax correspondence either.
When I did manage to speak to a woman one time, I became upset when she told me no one there could help me—and then she accused me of becoming hostile.
My complaint is that I gave them money under contract and in good faith to pay off my debt.
They have acted unprofessionally in many ways, but the most important is that they have not returned to me what is mine.
I now firmly believe that I have been "ripped off".in my time of vulnerability, I believed that they could really help me, when, in fact, I probably could have taken care of all of this on my own in the same length of time.
In conversation with two different collection agents, who also attempted to call and negotiate with Freedom Group, they had never attempted to work with a group as unprofessional and even rude as those at Freedom Group.
I fear that my funds are gone&and if this is the case, the least I can do is shut down the company so that they do not take money from anyone else.
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