Did you happen to receive a mailer from Liberty1 Financial mentioning that you’re eligible for a debt consolidation loan? They claim that their loan will help you greatly reduce the interest payments on your debts and help you pay back your debts much quicker. 

On the front page of their website, they list certain benefits of their loans that you might expect to receive. For example, they show that you could be eligible for a loan of up to $110k at a 5.99% interest rate, get approved the same day, and receive funding within 48 hours.

My name is Ben, and I have spent the last five years helping people understand the differences in options to help them eliminate debt cheaper, easier, and faster. I have also uncovered debt consolidation scams. I was also one of the first to write an article covering the unfortunate Litigation Practice Group bankruptcy and have spoken with countless people negatively affected by it.

Therefore, to investigate, we’ve researched the company and its business practices to determine whether Liberty1 Financial might be a legitimate company to work with. If you’d like to learn more, continue reading. 

What is Liberty1 Financial?

Liberty1 Financial History

After checking online, we discovered that the company was first started on 12/19/2008; however, it was only incorporated as a separate legal entity with the state of Wyoming on 12/20/2019. This would make sense as their website was registered a few months prior to their date of incorporation, 9/15/2019. We also found that their physical office is located at 1 Corporate Park Ste 200, Irvine, CA 92606-5152 and that the company is headed by someone by the name of Jeannette Preston. 

On the BBB’s website, we saw that the company operates under an alternate business name of “Clear Vision Financial LLC”. This was the name that we used to search in California Secretary of State Business Search, which gave us the following result:

As you can see, the initial filing date matches the information we mentioned above. However, to confirm the connection between Liberty1 Financial and Clear Vision Financial LLC, we looked to two other places. 

The first was Liberty1 Financial’s privacy policy, where they have the following information:

In this paragraph, they state that the company’s name is Clear Vision Financial, LLC, and that they are using “Liberty1 Financial” simply as the name they’re doing business under. This is denoted by the acronym “dba,” which stands for “doing business as.”

We received the second confirmation from Florida’s Division of Corporations website, where Clear Vision Financial LLC’s address is identical to Liberty1 Financial’s.

Now that we have identified that the two companies are connected, we wanted to see what type of involvement Clear Vision Financial might’ve had in the past that is not connected with Liberty1 Financial due to the difference in name.   

What we found is that the company was/is recently involved in 2 lawsuits, both acting as a claimant and a defendant. What especially caught our attention is the more recent lawsuit of Clear Vision Financial Vs. Consumer Legal Group, P.C. We found this to be especially interesting because Consumer Legal Group is known to be an untrustworthy company with a history of deceiving consumers. This sentiment can be summed up in a warning written on the company’s BBB page. 

That said, I am wondering if Clear Vision Financial potentially sold leads to Consumer Legal Group.

With that being said, we wanted to turn our attention back toward Liberty1 Financial’s website (Clear Vision Financial) and examine deeper into their fine text. 

The first thing we notice is that they mention “Eligibility is not guaranteed, and requires that you meet credit and other conditions including: (a) your continuing to meet the criteria for this prescreened offer; (b) your credit report, application and credit history meet our pre-established credit criteria; (c) your monthly debt-to-income ratio (i.e.… total monthly debt payments divided by monthly gross income) cannot exceed 50%; and (d) you have been employed for at least one (1) year”. Immediately, we can see that there are long and arduous stipulations for actually being eligible for a good debt consolidation loan. This is definitely not the image the company initially presents to its potential customers, making it seem like everyone is eligible for a loan. 

Furthermore, they also write, “Clear Vision Financial, LLC, dba Liberty1 Financial is a Marketing Lead Generator,” prompting us to believe that the company doesn’t actually act as a debt loan consolidation company but as a marketing company that redirects customers to other firms for a fee. This notion of ours was strengthened when we couldn’t find the company on the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, meaning they most likely do not have an active lender license and cannot issue/underwrite loans themselves. 

Check Your Rate and Compare Options!

You may be looking for a debt consolidation loan, but do you qualify? Is your credit score good enough? Is your debt-to-income ratio or credit utilization good enough?

I helped build this free consolidation loan and other options calculator to help you compare your rates across multiple debt consolidation lenders and your options to other options if you cannot qualify for a loan. It’s specific to your financial information, so if you have $10,000 in debt, it will estimate your situation.

You can then check your rate, which will NOT affect your credit score.

Liberty1 Financial Reviews

After seeing the company’s history, connections with questionable debt relief companies, and the fine text on its website, we wanted to bring your attention to its reviews. These reviews are a great way to gauge other people’s experiences and how the company treats its customers. 

BBB

First, we started on their BBB page where they are BBB accredited, rated A+, and have a rating of 4.76/5 with 4 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Below, we’ll highlight some reviews we found to be representative of both positive and negative feedback.

First, we can see that some individuals seem to have had an extremely negative experience with the company. Reviews like these mention that the company did not follow through on their end of the process and delivered fake promises by claiming that individuals were “pre-qualified” for loans when they indeed were not.

Other reviews, however, were more positive, stating that the company’s employees were “genuine, knowledgeable, and awesome to work with!” Someone else also mentioned that everything was set up and ready to go within a few hours, praising the company for its speediness and efficiency. 

Google

The other place we checked for reviews was Google. The company’s Google Business page had a rating of 4.6/5 stars with a total of 158 reviews. Here are some things people had to say:

These two individuals who recently worked with the company also seemed to have bad experiences, stating that the company is acting as a “bait and switch” and attempting to refer customers to attorney representation. This aligns with what we read earlier when Liberty1 Financial disclosed that they work as a “Marketing Lead Generator.” This in and of itself is not bad, but it may be if it is misleading to raise customers’ hopes of getting a loan only to refer them to another company that may not be helpful. 

On the contrary, we also read good reviews, which mentioned that the company was “quick to approve us and gave us fair terms.” If this is true, then it seems like the company is fulfilling its mission of offering good debt consolidation loans to help people get out of debt faster. 

Important Distinction: Debt Consolidation Loans vs Debt Consolidation Programs

It is crucial to differentiate between this service and a debt consolidation loan. While they may appear alike, they actually have distinct meanings.

First, we will discuss debt consolidation loans. These loans come with a lower interest rate than your other existing debt. This enables you to combine your debt into a single payment and decreases the interest you are paying, which assists in reducing the overall amount you owe on your debts. Alternatively, when participating in a debt consolidation program, you must allow your debts to accumulate to gain negotiating power. Next, a debt consolidation firm will contact your creditors to negotiate the settlement of your debts for approximately half of their original amount. The consolidation company will also charge a fee of approximately 25% of your total debt. This could enable you to reduce your debt by approximately 25%. Nevertheless, it is crucial to remember that there could be undisclosed origination fees, balance transfer fees, closing costs, and annual fees associated with this approach. Furthermore, even though your monthly payment might go down, the longer term of the loan could lead to higher total interest payments.

Having grasped these two ideas, it is crucial to distinguish between the two choices when they are offered to you. It is essential to thoroughly investigate a debt consolidation program to understand all potential hidden expenses or charges.

Closing Thoughts

Now that you’ve read about Liberty1 Financial’s background, business practices, reviews of the company, and the difference between debt consolidation loans and programs, hopefully, you are more informed and can make the best decision for yourself. 

Understanding a company’s true intentions is important, especially when you feel that they may not be transparent from the get-go. This definitely applies to the case of Liberty1 Financial, as we have an inkling they may not be giving out that many loans but are more likely to refer customers to debt consolidation companies and law practices to collect on a referral fee.