"We understand that there may be legitimate instances where a structured settlement recipient has experienced life altering circumstances resulting in a hardship situation that must be addressed. As a company, we have concerns over the ethics and professionalism of unauthorized factoring referrals. EPS and its predecessor companies have devoted decades to providing structured settlement services to tens of thousands of injured people and their families. In doing so we have provided claimants and their families with safety of principal, long term security and competitive tax free income streams for as long as a lifetime. Providing personal claimant information to a factoring company without authorization will nearly always be financially detrimental to the future of the annuitant, and the management of EPS regards such an action as a violation not only of the interests of the injured party, but a violation of the principles and ethical and professional standards of the Company"-EPS website July 7, 2009
Like 4structures.com LLC, the EPS statement represents the minority of structured settlement companies who have made a published statement on factoring business practices. I commend them for doing so.
Surprisingly EPS is silent on whether or not it condones the receipt of kickbacks or referral fees from "cash now pushers" which have been proven to reduce the bottom line that the desperate tort victim receives in a structured settlement factoring transaction. I know the principals of the company are aware of the issue because I have spoken with them in the past. Several EPS associates individually participated in The Structured Settlement Transparency Initiative which make it clear that those individuals DO NOT participate financially in such transactions. The silence simply begs the unnecessary question "Why does EPS stop short?" Why doesn't EPS simply make it perfectly clear?
How about the rest of the IFS Companies? How about the rest of the industry? Less than 1 1/2 years ago the dominant factoring broker stated that 90% of the the brokers in the industry that dealt with her took kickbacks from referring structured settlement factoring transactions.
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