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Freedom Debt Relief Complaints & Contacts

Freedom Debt Relief, described by the CFPB in 2019 as the nation's largest debt-settlement company, was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California, operating today as a subsidiary of Achieve (whose corporate structure traces back to Freedom Financial Network). The company has settled at least four government enforcement matters without admitting wrongdoing: Delaware (2009), New York (2011 and again in 2020, most recently for $3.6 million over exaggerated savings claims), and the CFPB (2019, $25 million over fee practices) -- and in March 2026 Georgia's Attorney General confirmed a pending investigation into the company. An affiliated lender, Freedom Financial Asset Management, separately settled with the FDIC in 2018, and FDR was a co-defendant (not the sole payer) in a $9.75 million TCPA class-action settlement over unsolicited telemarketing calls.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS2on USAComplaints · none in last 3 yrs · latest 2011
WEBSITEfreedomdebtrelief.com
HEADQUARTERSSan Mateo, CA
PROFILE CHECKED2026-11-06
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Official website ↗

Contacts

Customer service & general contact

Account & login

VERIFIED

Locations

  • Headquarters1875 S. Grant St., Suite 300 San Mateo CA 94402
EDITORIAL

Is Freedom Debt Relief Legitimate?

BBB

Legal name
Freedom Debt Relief, LLC (subsidiary of Achieve Company)
Founded
2002
Business type
Debt settlement services
Website
freedomdebtrelief.com
Headquarters
San Mateo, CASource: Freedom Debt Relief contact page, checked 2026-08-25
Subsidiary of
Achieve CompanySource: Freedom Debt Relief / Achieve relationship page, checked 2026-08-25

Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, a subsidiary of Achieve Company, was founded in 2002 and offers debt settlement services. The CFPB described Freedom Debt Relief as the nation's largest debt-settlement company in 2019; FDR's current materials more cautiously describe it as "one of the largest and longest-running." The company has settled at least four government matters without admitting wrongdoing: Delaware (2009, licensing), New York (2011 and 2020, advertised-savings claims), and the CFPB (2019, $25 million, over fee timing and negotiating-power claims); all resolved by consent settlement rather than a contested finding of liability. In March 2026, Georgia's Attorney General confirmed a pending (not yet resolved) investigation involving FDR and Turnbull Law Group. Separately, an affiliated lender, Freedom Financial Asset Management, settled with the FDIC in 2018 over loans offered to FDR customers. Beyond company-specific matters, debt settlement as an industry carries well-documented general risks: a federal GAO report has found the practice can involve fraudulent, abusive, or deceptive elements industry-wide, and it typically requires consumers to stop paying creditors directly, which can trigger creditor lawsuits and credit-score damage before any settlement is reached.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

BBBBBB (not USAComplaints)
260 complaints · BBB business grade A+
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Fee-timing and negotiating-power allegations (CFPB settlement)Exaggerated savings advertising claims (repeat NY AG settlements, 2011 and 2020)TCPA telemarketing settlementGeneral debt-settlement industry risk: credit-score damage and creditor lawsuits during enrollment

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 2 historical complaints about Freedom Debt Relief, published between 2008 and 2011. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources on this page.

  • Consumer Report · Historical consumer allegation
  • Lawsuit · Historical consumer allegation

Had an experience with Freedom Debt Relief? Tell other people what happened.

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PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Freedom Debt Relief, LLC and Andrew Housser

Settled

U.S. District Court, Northern District of CaliforniaDocket 3:17-cv-06484Source ↗

SettledThe CFPB alleged Freedom Debt Relief violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule by charging advance fees and failing to disclose consumers' rights to their deposited funds, and violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act by charging fees without settling debts as promised (including when consumers negotiated their own settlements) and misleading consumers about its ability to negotiate directly with major creditors. The parties entered a Stipulated Final Judgment and Order on July 9, 2019, without adjudication of any issue of fact or law and without FDR admitting or denying the allegations (except jurisdiction): $20 million in consumer restitution plus a $5 million civil penalty ($25 million total); co-founder Andrew Housser was named individually.

New York Attorney General v. Freedom Debt Relief, LLC (2020 consent judgment)

Settled

Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York CountySource ↗

SettledNew York's AG alleged Freedom Debt Relief violated a 2011 Assurance of Discontinuance by continuing to advertise exaggerated savings figures -- most enrolled clients realized less than half the advertised savings, and one comparison group hit the advertised level only about a third of the time. FDR entered a Consent Order and Judgment on June 23, 2020, without admitting or denying the allegations, agreeing to pay $3.6 million in restitution to over 8,000 New York consumers.

New York Attorney General v. Freedom Debt Relief, LLC (2011 Assurance of Discontinuance)

Settled

New York Attorney General consumer-protection settlementSource ↗

SettledAn earlier New York AG settlement, referenced in the 2020 action as the agreement FDR later violated, required consumer refunds and $100,000 in penalties over deceptive practices. Exact filing date not independently confirmed as of this writing.

Delaware Department of Justice v. Freedom Debt Relief, LLC

Settled

Delaware Department of Justice consumer-protection settlementSource ↗

SettledDelaware's DOJ settled with Freedom Debt Relief over operating without required licensing, resulting in $153,000 in restitution to 105 consumers plus $10,000 in enforcement costs.

In re Freedom Financial Asset Management, LLC and Cross River Bank (FDIC consent order)

Settled

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation administrative orderSource ↗

SettledNot a Freedom Debt Relief, LLC matter directly: the FDIC's March 28, 2018 consent order named Cross River Bank and an affiliated company, Freedom Financial Asset Management, LLC (FFAM), over loans offered to FDR customers. Cross River Bank paid a $641,750 penalty and FFAM paid $493,500, with roughly $20 million in additional restitution contemplated.

Georgia Attorney General investigation (pending)

Allegation

Georgia Attorney General Consumer Protection DivisionSource ↗

Allegation only — no filing confirmedGeorgia's Consumer Protection Division confirmed to a local news outlet on March 10, 2026 that Turnbull Law Group and Freedom Debt Relief are part of a pending investigation. FDR told the outlet it provides non-legal administrative services to Turnbull Law Group. No complaint, finding, or consent order had been published as of this writing -- this is a pending investigation, not an established violation.

Berman v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC, et al.

Settled

U.S. District Court, Northern District of CaliforniaDocket 4:18-cv-01060-YGRSource ↗

SettledTCPA class action against Freedom Financial Network, Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, Fluent Inc., and Lead Science LLC alleging prerecorded/autodialed telemarketing calls and Do-Not-Call Registry violations between May 2017 and April 2018. An amended settlement of $9.75 million (for legal fees and consumer redress) received final approval on February 23, 2024. Per co-defendant Fluent's own SEC filings, Fluent was responsible for $3.1 million of that total ($1.1 million cash plus a $2 million note payable to Freedom Debt Relief); FDR was a co-defendant in the settlement, not its sole funder.
EDITORIAL

Corporate background

Freedom Debt Relief traces its founding to 2002 (BBB records the LLC as starting business March 6, 2003 and incorporating March 10, 2003), founded by Bradford Stroh and Andrew Housser, Stanford MBA classmates. The company operates today as a subsidiary of Achieve, the brand its corporate family (structured under Freedom Financial Network Funding, LLC) launched on September 22, 2022; a sibling consumer-loan brand, formerly FreedomPlus, was renamed Achieve Personal Loans on December 2, 2022. Freedom Debt Relief's own most recent company-reported figures (February 2026) cite more than $22 billion in unsecured debt settled for over 2 million consumers across more than 5 million accounts since 2002, with typical program length of 24-48 months and fees of 15-25% of enrolled debt; the company states it charges no upfront fee, collecting its fee only after a settlement is negotiated, the consumer approves it, and the creditor is paid. FDR holds California DFPI registrations and NMLS #1248929.

VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Subsidiary ofAchieve Company
EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Freedom Debt Relief been fined by regulators?

Yes, at least four times, though always by consent settlement rather than a contested finding of liability: Delaware (2009), New York (2011 and 2020, the latter for $3.6 million over exaggerated savings claims), and the CFPB (2019, $25 million over fee-timing and negotiating-power claims). Georgia's Attorney General also confirmed a pending investigation in March 2026.

How does the Freedom Debt Relief program work?

Freedom Debt Relief says clients tell a debt specialist which debts to enroll, make a monthly deposit into a dedicated account they control, and the company negotiates with creditors. When a settlement is reached, the offer goes to the client for approval first; if approved, funds in the dedicated account pay the creditor and the program fee. The company states its fee is 15% to 25% of enrolled debt, set by state of residence, with no settlement fee until a debt is negotiated, the client approves, and at least one payment is made to the creditor. It lists $7,500 in unsecured debt as the minimum and says it cannot help with taxes, utility bills, federal student loans or secured debts such as a mortgage or car loan. It also says a $9.95 set-up fee and a $9.95 monthly fee are paid to the company holding the dedicated account, not to Freedom Debt Relief.

Does Freedom Debt Relief affect your credit score?

Freedom Debt Relief's own FAQ says that depending on the existing credit score, clients will likely see the score drop during debt settlement. The same FAQ says clients usually voluntarily stop paying their creditors while saving money in the dedicated account, and that as debts are settled the total debt should decrease.

What are the pros and cons of Freedom Debt Relief?

Freedom Debt Relief's own page lists three potential downsides: credit score impacts, ineligibility of some debts (secured debts such as a mortgage or car loan), and fees of 15% to 25% of enrolled debt. On the benefit side, the company says clients leave creditor negotiations to its team and could reach debt freedom faster than with minimum payments.

What is the Freedom Debt Relief customer service phone number?

The company's contact page lists (800) 910-0065 for prospective clients, open Monday to Friday 8 AM to 11 PM EST and Saturday and Sunday 9 AM to 9 PM EST. The same page lists (800) 655-6303 for current clients and says its chatbot is available 24/7.

Is Freedom Debt Relief the same company as Achieve?

No. Freedom Debt Relief, LLC is a subsidiary of Achieve Company, the rebranded umbrella that was formerly called Freedom Financial Network. The two brands are kept operationally distinct for customers, per Freedom Debt Relief's own description of the relationship.
Sources (2)

Freedom Debt Relief (own site)