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Your One Stop Property
Management Company
Guardian Asset Management is your one source
for property management, inspection and repair
services. We believe in providing consistent, high
quality services at an affordable price.
PROPERTY INSPECTION
PROPERTY PRESERVATION
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE
REPAIR & REHAB
REGISTRATION & UTILITY PROCESSING
2021 HARTEL STREET, LEVITTOWN, PA 19057
888-872-9094 | VENDORMANAGEMENT@GUARDIANASSETMGT.COM
WWW.GUARDIANASSETMGT.COM
FREEDOM
DEBT RELIEF
SETTLES CFPB
LAWSUIT
e Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB) has settled its lawsuit
against Freedom Debt Relief (Freedom).
As part of the settlement, Freedom has
agreed to pay $20 million in restitution to
affected consumers and a $5 million civil
money penalty.
In a statement, the CFPB said that the
nation's largest debt relief service provider
has also agreed to a consent order with
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp
(FDIC). e CFPB said it would remit
$493,500 of the $5 million "civil penalty
it assessed in light of the penalty that the
company was ordered to pay the FDIC."
In November 2017, the CFPB had
filed a lawsuit against Freedom alleging
that the company had violated the
Telemarketing Sales Rule by charging
advance fees and failing to inform
consumers of their rights to the funds
they deposited with the company.
According to the amended complaint
shared by the CFPB, Freedom required
consumers enrolled in its debt-settlement
program to deposit funds into dedicated
accounts with an FDIC-insured bank.
"Freedom claimed that once there were
sufficient funds in those accounts to
make settlement offers to consumers'
creditors, Freedom would negotiate with
the creditors to persuade them to accept
less than the amounts actually owed," the
complaint alleged.
e lawsuit also alleged that Freedom
"violated the Consumer Financial
Protection Act of 2010 by charging
consumers without settling their debts
as promised, charging consumers
after having them negotiate their own
settlements with creditors, and misleading
consumers about the company's fees and
its ability to negotiate directly with all of
a consumer's creditors."
It alleged that Freedom's statements
concerning the circumstances when
consumers would be charged fees were
false or misleading, were material
to consumers' decisions to enroll in
Freedom's debt-settlement program, and
constituted "deceptive acts and practices,
in violation of §§ 1031(a) and 1036(a)(1)(B)
of the CFPA. 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531(a), 5536(a)
(1)(B)."
