Freedom Debt Relief is the largest debt settlement company in the United States. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit against Freedom Debt Relief. Freedom Debt, the agency alleges, has engaged in deceptive or unethical acts that have damaged consumers. CFPB wants monetary relief and civil sanctions against the company.
According to the CFPB Freedom Debt Relief failed to inform customers about their rights to withdraw from the program or receive a refund. It claims that customers were misled about the savings they would receive from their debts. It claims that the company failed to notify customers that their money was being held in an account that was theirs.
Freedom Debt Relief was accused of violating several consumer protection laws, including the Telemarketing Sales Rule as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Act. In addition to these charges, the company is accused of committing fraudulent activities and engaging in high-pressure sales tactics. The CFPB is seeking monetary or injunctive relief.
New York State Attorney General's Office is also sueing Freedom Debt Relief. They claim that Freedom Debt Relief failed to give clients adequate notice about their rights to withdraw from its program, and that this led to consumer harm. Freedom has been accused of making misleading statements about the company’s ability and willingness to negotiate with creditors.
Freedom is not transparent regarding the billing or payment process. Freedom did not have access or control over the consumer's accounts. They negotiate with the creditors to reduce the customer's debt when they are part of the program. Freedom can collect the full fee if a creditor refuses negotiate. This is not always possible.
Freedom Debt Relief was criticized for charging clients upfront fees, even though they had not paid the debt. It claimed that it wasn't allowed to charge customers until the debt was paid. Many of the clients who signed up for the program ended losing the money they had saved. It might have been possible to prevent fraud if the company had informed clients that they could withdraw from the program and receive a refund.
Freedom Debt Relief's operating model is also problematic. Andrew Housser was the co-founder and chief executive officer of the company. He still oversees the company's operation, including the approval of its policies. He was also reported to have known that Freedom's creditors weren't willing negotiate with him. He may also have known that Freedom took payments from consumers, but not with the creditor.
Regardless of the reason for the lawsuit, consumers should be aware of Freedom's deceptive and unethical practices. People who have had similar problems with Freedom are encouraged to consult a lawyer about their rights. A lawyer can help you create a strategy and gather evidence to support your case.
FAQ
How can a beginner generate passive income?
Learn the basics and how to create value yourself. Then, find ways to make money with that value.
You may even have a few ideas already. If you do, great! If you do, great!
Finding a job that matches your interests and skills is the best way to make money online.
If you are passionate about creating apps and websites, you can find many opportunities to generate revenue while you're sleeping.
But if you're more interested in writing, you might enjoy reviewing products. Or if you're creative, you might consider designing logos or artwork for clients.
Whatever topic you choose to focus on, ensure that it's something you enjoy. If you enjoy it, you will stick with the decision for the long-term.
Once you have found a product/service that you enjoy selling, you will need to find a way to make it monetizable.
You have two options. You can either charge a flat fee (like a freelancer) or you can charge per project (like an agent).
In each case, once your rates have been set, you will need to promote them. This can be done via social media, emailing, flyers, or posting them to your list.
These three tips will help you increase your chances for success when marketing your business.
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When marketing, be a professional. You never know who may be reading your content.
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Be knowledgeable about the topic you are discussing. A fake expert is not a good idea.
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Avoid spamming - unless someone specifically requests information, don't email everyone in your contact list. You can send a recommendation to someone who has asked for it.
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Use a good email service provider. Yahoo Mail or Gmail are both free.
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Monitor your results. Track who opens your messages, clicks on links, and signs up for your mailing lists.
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You can measure your ROI by measuring the number of leads generated for each campaign and determining which campaigns are most successful in converting them.
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Get feedback - Ask your friends and family if they are interested in your services and get their honest feedback.
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Different strategies can be tested - test them all to determine which one works best.
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You must continue learning and remain relevant in marketing.
What is personal finance?
Personal finance involves managing your money to meet your goals at work or home. It involves understanding where your money goes, knowing what you can afford, and balancing your needs against your wants.
Learning these skills will make you financially independent. You won't need to rely on anyone else for your needs. You don't need to worry about monthly rent and utility bills.
And learning how to manage your money doesn't just help you get ahead. You'll be happier all around. Positive financial health can make it easier to feel less stressed, be promoted more quickly, and live a happier life.
So, who cares about personal financial matters? Everyone does! Personal finance is a very popular topic today. Google Trends shows that searches for "personal finances" have increased by 1,600% in the past four years.
Today, people use their smartphones to track budgets, compare prices, and build wealth. You can find blogs about investing here, as well as videos and podcasts about personal finance.
Bankrate.com estimates that Americans spend on average 4 hours per day viewing TV, listening to music and playing video games, as well reading books and talking with friends. There are only two hours each day that can be used to do all the important things.
Personal finance is something you can master.
What is the fastest way you can make money in a side job?
To make money quickly, you must do more than just create a product/service that solves a problem.
It is also important to establish yourself as an authority in the niches you choose. It is important to establish a good reputation online as well offline.
Helping others solve their problems is a great way to build a name. Consider how you can bring value to the community.
After answering that question, it's easy to identify the areas in which you are most qualified to work. Online earning money is possible in many ways. However, these opportunities are often highly competitive.
If you are careful, there are two main side hustles. The first involves selling products or services directly to customers. The second involves consulting services.
Each approach has its pros and cons. Selling products and services provides instant gratification because once you ship your product or deliver your service, you receive payment right away.
But, on the other hand, you might not have the success you desire if you do not spend the time to build relationships with potential clientele. You will also find fierce competition for these gigs.
Consulting helps you grow your company without worrying about shipping goods or providing service. However, it can take longer to be recognized as an expert in your area.
It is essential to know how to identify the right clientele in order to succeed in each of these options. This takes some trial and errors. But, in the end, it pays big.
What is the easiest passive source of income?
There are many different ways to make online money. Most of them take more time and effort than what you might expect. How can you make extra cash easily?
The answer is to find something you love, whether blogging, writing, designing, selling, marketing, etc. It is possible to make money from your passion.
For example, let's say you enjoy creating blog posts. Make a blog and share information on subjects that are relevant to your niche. When readers click on those links, sign them up to your email list or follow you on social networks.
This is affiliate marketing. There are lots of resources that will help you get started. For example, here's a list of 101 Affiliate Marketing Tools, Tips & Resources.
Another option is to start a blog. This time, you'll need a topic to teach about. You can also make your site monetizable by creating ebooks, courses and videos.
Although there are many ways to make money online you can choose the easiest. If you really want to make money online, focus on building websites or blogs that provide useful information.
Once you've created your website promote it through social media like Facebook, Twitter LinkedIn, Pinterest Instagram, YouTube, and many other sites. This is known content marketing.
How do you build passive income streams?
To generate consistent earnings from one source, you have to understand why people buy what they buy.
It is important to understand people's needs and wants. It is important to learn how to communicate with people and to sell to them.
You must then figure out how you can convert leads into customers. To retain happy customers, you need to be able to provide excellent customer service.
Every product or service has a buyer, even though you may not be aware of it. You can even design your entire business around that buyer if you know what they are.
To become a millionaire it takes a lot. A billionaire requires even more work. Why? Because to become a millionaire, you first have to become a thousandaire.
And then you have to become a millionaire. Finally, you must become a billionaire. You can also become a billionaire.
How does one become a billionaire, you ask? Well, it starts with being a thousandaire. All you have to do in order achieve this is to make money.
You must first get started before you can make money. So let's talk about how to get started.
What side hustles are most lucrative in 2022?
You can make money by creating value for someone else. This will bring you the most money if done well.
It may seem strange, but your creations of value have been going on since the day you were born. When you were a baby, you sucked your mommy's breast milk and she gave you life. When you learned how to walk, you gave yourself a better place to live.
Giving value to your friends and family will help you make more. You'll actually get more if you give more.
Value creation is a powerful force that everyone uses every day without even knowing it. You create value every day, whether you are cooking for your family, driving your children to school, emptying the trash or just paying the bills.
In actuality, Earth is home to nearly 7 billion people right now. Each person is creating an amazing amount of value every day. Even if your hourly value is $1, you could create $7 million annually.
You could add $100 per week to someone's daily life if you found ten more. That would make you an additional $700,000 annually. That's a huge increase in your earning potential than what you get from working full-time.
Let's imagine you wanted to make that number double. Let's assume you discovered 20 ways to make $200 more per month for someone. Not only would this increase your annual income by $14.4 million, but it also makes you extremely rich.
Every day, there are millions upon millions of opportunities to create wealth. This includes selling ideas, products, or information.
Although many of us spend our time thinking about careers and income streams, these tools are only tools that enable us to reach our goals. The real goal is to help other people achieve their goals.
Focus on creating value if you want to be successful. You can start by using my free guide: How To Create Value And Get Paid For It.
Statistics
- As mortgage rates dip below 7%, ‘millennials should jump at a 6% mortgage like bears grabbing for honey' New homeowners and renters bear the brunt of October inflation — they're cutting back on eating out, entertainment and vacations to beat rising costs (marketwatch.com)
- Shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corp. dove 4.7% in premarket trading Thursday, after the theme park operator reported third-quarter profit and r... (marketwatch.com)
- Mortgage rates hit 7.08%, Freddie Mac says Most Popular (marketwatch.com)
- According to the company's website, people often earn $25 to $45 daily. (nerdwallet.com)
- These websites say they will pay you up to 92% of the card's value. (nerdwallet.com)
External Links
How To
How to make money at home
No matter how much money you make online, there's always room for improvement. Even the most successful entrepreneurs can struggle to grow and increase profits.
The problem is that when you're starting, it's easy to get stuck in a rut--to focus solely on making revenue rather than growing your business. You may spend more time on marketing rather than product development. Or you may neglect customer service altogether.
It's important to regularly evaluate your progress and determine if you're improving or maintaining the status-quo. These are five ways to increase your income.
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Increase Your Productivity
Productivity is not just about output. It's also about being able to do tasks well. Delegate the tasks that require the most energy and effort in your job to others.
If you are an eCommerce entrepreneur, virtual assistants could be hired to manage social media, email management and customer support.
Another option is to assign one person to write blog posts and another to manage lead-generation campaigns. If you are delegating, make sure to choose people who will help your achieve your goals more quickly and better.
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Marketing should be a secondary focus.
Marketing doesn't have to be expensive. Many of the most successful marketers aren’t employees. They're self-employed consultants who earn commissions based on the value of their services.
Instead of advertising on TV, radio, or print ads, you can look into affiliate programs, which allow you promote other companies' products and/or services. For sales to be generated, you don’t need to buy expensive inventory.
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Hire An Expert To Do What You Can't
If you lack expertise in certain areas, hire freelancers to fill the gaps. For example, if you're unfamiliar with graphic design, you could hire a freelance designer to develop graphics for your site.
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Get Paid Faster By Using Invoice Apps
When you work as a contractor, invoicing can take hours. It can be particularly tedious if you have multiple customers who want different things.
But apps like Xero and FreshBooks allow you to invoice customers quickly and easily. You can easily enter all the client information and send them invoices through the app.
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You can sell more products with affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are great because you can sell products without stock. And you don't need to worry about shipping costs either. To create a link to your vendor's website, all you have to do is setup a URL. Once someone buys from you, you get a commission. Affiliate programs can help build a reputation and increase your income. It doesn't matter how good your content or services are, as long as they help you attract people.