Freedom Debt Relief is a debt settlement
company based in San Mateo, California, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Freedom Financial Network, LLC a financial service company headquartered in
San Mateo California. The company has served more than 40,000[clients
since its inception in 2002. Freedom employs more than 600 employees across
the U.S.
History
The company was founded in 2002 by Andrew
Housser and Brad Stroh, two Stanford Business School graduates."One thing
that was clear was that consumer debt was a problem, and had been for
decades," said co-founder Housser in a 2007 interview. "We looked long and
hard at the collection industry ... you have the biggest companies in the
world -- banks, collectors, law firms -- all ganging up on the consumer, who
has no advocate. We saw an opportunity," Housser said.
The company negotiates on behalf of
indebted consumers who are experiencing a financial hardship with the goal
of avoiding bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or Chapter 13) by settling their unsecured
debt at a discount to the principal owed. The company primarily serves
consumers for whom debt consolidation or home refinancing is undesirable or
an unavailable option, and those who cannot afford either the credit card
minimum payments or the payments required in a credit counseling or a debt
management plan.
With the passage of Bankruptcy Abuse
Prevention and Consumer Protection Act and the financial crisis of
2007-2009, debt relief options for consumers significantly decreased (with
both bankruptcy and mortgage refinance becoming much harder to qualify for),
increasing the demand for debt settlement.
On November 4, 2009, Andrew Housser,
co-founder and co-CEO, and Robert Linderman, general counsel, participated
as panelists at the Federal Trade Commission's public forum on "Debt Relief
Amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule." The forum discussed proposed
fee regulation, and rules to eliminate deceptive and abusive telemarketing
of debt relief services.
In a letter to the FTC, Linderman stated in
the first nine months of 2009 alone, Freedom Debt Relief successfully
settled approximately 40,000 accounts aggregating more than $206 million of
unsecured debt with savings to consumers in excess of $120 million. On
November 11, 2009, the company announced it had settled more than $500
million dollars in consumer debt since its founding.
Accreditations/Certifications
- Accredited member of The Association of
Settlement Companies (TASC).
- One of five companies in the United
States with over 100 of it's Account Executives certified by International
Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators.
- The first in the industry to obtain debt
settlement licenses in Delaware, Iowa and Minnesota.
Awards
- Winners of 2008 Ernst & Young
Entrepreneurs of the Year for the Northern California region.
- Recognized as one of the Best Places to
work in 2008 by both the San Francisco Business Times and the Phoenix
Business Journal[
- Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh, named to
the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's "40 Under 40" list.
Freedom Debt Relief supports the following
organizations in the community. It does this in equal parts through
volunteering employee time and through direct donations.
- Child Advocates
- Glow Foundation
- Second Harvest Food Bank
- Samaritan House
- Best Buddies
- Family Giving Tree
- Give Something Back
|
