Five red flags that an MCA debt relief company is a scamhow to check before you pay anyone in 2026
Five signals separate a real MCA firm from the secondary market feeding on it. A large retainer demanded before anyone reads your contracts. Stop paying and save instructed on the first call. A guaranteed settlement percentage quoted sight unseen. Refusal to say whether the firm is a law firm. And an offer of new funding. Any one of them ends the conversation.
- 01A retainer demanded before the contracts are read is not a retainer. It is a transfer of your remaining liquidity.
- 02Blanket stop-paying instructions on the first call trigger default, accelerate the balance and activate the confession of judgment.
- 03A settlement percentage quoted before anyone sees the agreement is a sales figure, not an assessment.
- 04One Trustpilot reviewer reports a prior company taking $13,000 and never contacting the creditors in two months.
UCC liens and merchant cash advances: what gets filed against your business, and when
In a hurry? Skip to the rankings ↓As a business owner seeking funding to cover payroll or other business needs, you have several options. Some choose a merchant cash advance to pay expenses. However, with every choice, you must be prepared for the potential consequences. With MCAs, one significant concern is that the MCA company may file a UCC lien on your assets. You need to understand what these filings entail.
If you have taken out a merchant cash advance or you are facing a potential lien on your business assets, seek the advice of a knowledgeable merchant cash advance attorney.
What Are UCC Liens and Why Are They Filed?
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a set of standardized laws adopted by states to govern commercial transactions. Article 9 provides guidelines for secured transactions involving business personal property, such as accounts receivable, inventory, or equipment. These filings give your MCA funder a security interest in specific assets you pledged as collateral in the contract.
The creditor may file one of these notices almost immediately after signing a contract. While UCC liens are legal, issues occur when the MCA company files multiple liens, restricting your ability to use those assets for future financing.
When Will an MCA Funder File a Lien?
Funders can file liens on your property almost immediately after your cash advance is funded. MCA companies want to make sure their investments are protected, so the funding source often files a lien as soon as the transaction has been completed.
UCC-1 filings establish the creditor's legal claim to specific collateral, providing transparency for other lenders and creditors. If your business seeks to borrow additional funds, potential creditors will likely perform a UCC search and find the existing liens. Those findings can make them less inclined to approve new financing.
When a lien is filed, it secures the MCA company's financial interest and ensures they will be first in line to be repaid if your business defaults. When it comes time to repay the debt, your assets will be distributed in order of the time of each lien's creation. The more liens filed on your business, the lower your chance of acquiring new financing or capital from outside investors.
Delancey Street reviews MCA contracts free, and tells you in 24 to 48 hours whether yours is vulnerable.
Who Is Responsible for Filing the Lien?
Merchant cash advance companies often delegate the filing of UCC liens to their attorney. Since every state has different rules regarding these filings, they must adhere to them to avoid potential problems. Remember that UCC liens can be filed without your explicit consent or signature. When a business owner takes an MCA, they usually sign an agreement that allows the funder to file liens against them without additional signatures.
MCA companies often fund businesses that have poor credit and limited access to capital, and take on a high level of risk with their advance programs. If you need further information about your business's situation, consult with a merchant cash advance attorney. You can also research the filings online through your Secretary of State website.
The Effects of Multiple Liens
In addition to filing a UCC lien, many funding companies have secondary legal rights that can hinder your ability to raise capital or access new funds. They can often freeze your business's accounts or force you into bankruptcy, leading to loss of assets. Multiple liens can lead to adverse financial outcomes for your business, including additional limitations in access to capital.
When taking out a merchant cash advance, you must be aware of the liens on your business. Often, you will only learn of their existence once it's too late, leading to unexpected restrictions on your financing options. If you have a cash advance and other outstanding debts, a lien can complicate efforts to resolve all your obligations. If your cash advance company filed liens on your business, contact an experienced merchant cash advance attorney. Your attorney can assist with finding the correct resolution and offer advice on how to resolve any outstanding debts.
Seek Legal Guidance for Your Merchant Cash Advance
If your business has liens placed on its assets, take prompt action to minimize their consequences. Your legal counsel can identify strategies for your specific situation and protect your business.
Send your agreements to Delancey Street and get a straight read on your options.
What can you realistically settle for?
Two questions. No email, no form. You get a range based on how funders have actually settled comparable positions.
What your advance actually costs per year
At this price the advance costs more per year than most states allow a lender to charge. Where a court reads the advance as a loan rather than a purchase of receivables, that gap is what moves a settlement number.
Call (888) 837-7053Simple annualization for comparison. Courts use their own math.
How the three ranked firms answer these questions
Delancey Street
Answers all four questions plainly, and charges nothing until a settlement actually closes.
Delancey Street is attorney-founded, works commercial debt only, and has settled more than $100 million. On the tests laid out above it answers cleanly: the fee is a percentage of enrolled debt, so nothing changes hands before results. Contract review comes back in 24 to 48 hours and produces a range with reasons, not a promise.
It is candid about being a debt relief company rather than a law firm, which is the answer this page asks you to demand. It offers no funding product of any kind, so the fifth red flag cannot arise. Not BBB accredited; the profile carries one customer review and no complaints. Trustpilot sits at 4.5 across 33 reviews, and one reviewer wrote about a prior company: "I had another settlement company take $13,000 from me and found out they didn't even reach out to my creditors after 2 months."
- Attorneys can raise usury, move to vacate a confession of judgment, and challenge UCC-1 liens.
- Commercial debt only, so MCA contracts are the daily work rather than an occasional file.
- Contract review returns an answer in 24 to 48 hours.
- Not BBB accredited, so there is no BBB letter grade to point at.
- No published minimum, which makes very small balances a judgment call.
Freedom Debt Relief
Discloses its fee structure and cost guarantee openly, and is candid that it is not a law firm.
Freedom Debt Relief publishes its costs in detail, which is the behavior this page is asking you to look for. Fees run 15 to 25 percent of enrolled debt plus $9.95 monthly, the minimum is $7,500, and there is a cost guarantee. More than $20 billion resolved, A+ BBB rating.
It employs no attorneys and says so. The 24 to 48 month timeline is a consequence of building escrow before negotiating, which is the legitimate cousin of the stall and save model, and on commercial debt with a live confession of judgment that pace is a real risk. Thirty-two CFPB complaints were logged in 2024, and many of its Trustpilot reviews are tagged Invited, meaning the company solicited them.
- More than $20 billion resolved, the largest track record in the category.
- A published cost guarantee, which few competitors offer.
- BBB accredited with an A+ rating, and a long operating history.
- No attorneys, so usury, COJ vacatur and lien challenges are unavailable.
- Fees are charged on enrolled debt rather than on what you actually pay.
- Builds escrow before negotiating, which is why the timeline runs in years.
Pacific Debt Relief
Publishes its fee basis clearly and carries the cleanest complaint record of the three.
Pacific Debt Relief charges 15 to 25 percent of the settled amount, disclosed up front, with a $10,000 minimum and no fee before results. A+ BBB with 4.91 across 1,252 customer reviews, no company record in the CFPB complaint database, more than $500 million settled.
Not a law firm, and the 24 to 48 month program is built for consumer accounts. Its critical reviews are worth reading before you sign, including one that says: "They are very aggressive in getting you to sign for the program but once your in, you Get pushed to the back burner."
- Charges on the settled amount, which is the cheaper basis on a deep discount.
- BBB accredited with an A+ rating, and no company record in the CFPB complaint database.
- No attorneys, so the contract itself cannot be tested.
- Consumer-oriented timelines of 24 to 48 months.
- $10,000 minimum excludes smaller balances.
What clients report, verified on the platforms
“I had another settlement company take $13,000 from me and found out they didn't even reach out to my creditors after 2 months.”
“I explained my situation and provided copies of our MCA contracts only to be told 15-20 minutes later that they don't service Washington State and referred to another company”
“This company uses predatory practices making a lot of promises and gives you false numbers and calculations. My credit score dropped from nearly 700 to less than 500 in no time.”
“They are very aggressive in getting you to sign for the program but once your in, you Get pushed to the back burner.”
Reviews describe other people's files. A free review describes yours.
Call (888) 837-7053Delancey Street vs. Freedom vs. Pacific, side by side
| Criterion | Delancey Street | Freedom Debt Relief | Pacific Debt Relief |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney-led | Yes | No | No |
| MCA specialist | Exclusively | Case-by-case | No |
| Fee basis | A percentage of enrolled debt | 15 to 25% enrolled + $9.95/mo | 15 to 25% of settled |
| Resolution speed | 2 to 8 weeks (single MCA) | 24 to 48 months | 24 to 48 months |
| Total resolved | $100M+ | $20B+ | $500M+ |
| Minimum debt | None published | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| UCC lien challenges | Yes | No | No |
| State usury defense | Yes | No | No |
| COJ vacatur | Yes | No | No |
| Cost guarantee | No | Yes | No |
| BBB rating | Not rated, not accredited | A+, accredited | A+, accredited |
| BBB review average | 5.0 (1 review) | 4.33 (1,383 reviews) | 4.91 (1,252 reviews) |
| CFPB complaints (all time) | 0 | 1,133 (parent company) | No company record |
Sources: company fee disclosures, BBB profiles, and the CFPB public complaint database, read 25 August 2026. BBB review averages and CFPB totals are all time, not single year. Ratings change; verify before relying on them.
The row that decides most files is the first one. Only an attorney-led firm can test the contract.
Call (888) 837-7053Is your contract vulnerable?
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Related guides
Primary sources: FTC, settling your debts · CFPB consumer complaint database
This page is editorial content about commercial debt relief providers. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes described are not a prediction about any individual file.
No company on this page paid for placement, and rankings are not compensated. Positions may change as verified data changes.
Delancey Street, Freedom Debt Relief and Pacific Debt Relief are debt relief companies, not law firms, and do not provide legal representation. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Updated 26 AUG 2026