How to sue “Freedom”?
Freedom Financial contracted with me to reduce my credit card debt (about $17K in 2017). The email on 04/17/2017 states "Welcome to Your Debt Relief Program!" After settling my debt with credit card companies and adding its own costs (fees and interest), the Freedom Financial program ended up at over $24K plus other consequences to me, such as a very poor credit score afterwards and tax obligation. The total amount comprised of the sum of payments I made in escrow for several months and the subsequent "Consolidation Plus Loan" provided by Freedom Financial including fees and interest. Through monthly payments of $430.25 I paid the principal amount provided by the Consolidated Plus Loan and stopped making payments to Freedom Financial for its fees and interest for two reasons:
First, it did not deliver on the contractual obligation of “debt relief.” Quite the contrary, it slapped me
with its fees and interest to the point where my total cost was about 40% more than the balance owed on
credit cards in the first place. Second, the pandemic of Covid-19 forced me to prioritize my expenses as I struggled to survive. There was no justification to continue paying the fees of a service that did not deliver on its contractual promise. The promised relief program made me worse off financially and less credit worthy. Since Freedom Financial eventually wrote off the outstanding amount, I left it alone. But now, in 2024, CKS Prime Investments brought this account back from the dead in the amount of $7,124.71. And Cawley-Bergmann, a New Jersey collection firm, emailed me to acknowledge the debt and pay it. I’ll fight this collection off by all means available. It’s clear that Freedom Financial did not have the right to charge me fees for a service it did not deliver, i.e., "debt
relief” through “debt reduction." Instead, the practices of the Freedom Financial program on one hand reduces the payment to the credit card companies, and on the other hand it slaps fees and interest that far surpass the original debt. And what to say of the aggravation of seeing my credit history damaged
beyond description acting on their advice? I repeat: Freedom Financial (Freedom Debt Relief, LLC) increased my overall indebtedness, and further damaged my credit history, which their marketing rep had assured all would be
taken care of. Thus, what rights has CKS Prime Investments to collect a sum of money that was never dully earned by Freedom Financial. Therefore, I’m letting CKS Prime Investments know that Freedom Financial wronged me greatly and this debt should be written off again and have the collection remark removed from the credit bureaus. If my request is not granted, the options are:
1) The collection firm of Cawley-Bergmann will press on collecting and possibly file a lawsuit, which will provide me the opportunity to respond to the practices of Freedom Financial.
2) I’ll sue Freedom Financial at a California small claims court to be held reliable for the collection amount being claimed by a third party.
1 August 2024
Unprompted review