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January 11, 2011

Cash Now Seekers, There's NO Gold in Them There Shills!

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

When it comes to your structured settlement, do you need to play hide and seek with your buyer?

If you need cash now, but have no other alternatives but to sell some or all of your structured settlement payment rights, then you may want to follow these simple common sense rules:

  1. Avoid any company which claims to be able to pay you "cash now", whose website does not list its full legal name and legal address on its home page, or at the very least on its contact page. There are alot of them and they grow like weeds. Without this information you cannot check with your Secretary of State to see if they are registered to do business in your state, or with your state's attorney general, to see if any complaints have been filed against them.
  2. Avoid any company where there is no pick up from a phone call after a reasonable number of rings
  3. Avoid any company whose voice mail states that no one is available, if you know which extension... push it,  and does not clearly state the name of the company, an individual's name, or even thank you for calling. It's amateur night!

That's just for starters. There is HUGE profit potential in the business yet there is little to no regulation of sales practices (particularly relating to manner in which you can be solicited). This is far different than the regulation of those who place injury victims into structured settlements in the first place. Those folks are heavily regulated.

Here are some examples of "companies" with red flags who on the basis of these sales practices in my opinion deserve a little Donkey_kicking_bucking_md_clr well...you get the picture!   (as of January 11, 2011 8pm EST)

1. 24K Capital , claims to be a Nationwide Purchaser of Annuities & Structured Settlements.

While Gold may be a hot investment these days, the trail on these guys is cold.  No live person during the middle of the day, no name of company in voice mail, no address. Especially comforting when you read "All information is kept for the private use of 24k Capital"  Who?

If they are truly a nationwide company can they afford to at least identify themselves so consumers can kick the tires?

Otherwise they're about as useful as Scott Rothstein's 24K commode.Bulldog_plunger_md_clr

 
<----The depths to which the structured settlement watchdog must "plunge" to get the "bottom" of the story

2. Boardwalk Funding suggests that all will be all rosy "under them". Yet its website lists no address, there was neither a live person to answer the phone at 877-891-3776, nor a voice mail after 30 rings and the domain registration shows that the owner wishes to remain anonymous. Makes you think they are a bunch of "drifters"!

 <

At least with THOSE "Drifters" the words "Stand By Me" might have actually meant something!

Seller beware!

Posted at 08:41 PM in 24K Capital, Boardwalk Funding, Cash Now Pushers | The "Cash Now Fix", Structured Settlement Watchdog® |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2022

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    What you need to know about structured settlements. General explanation of structured settlements, including the stable guaranteed income and favorable tax benefits that give structured settlements their "juice" and a helpful introductory video featuring 2022 A.M. Best Client Recommended structured settlement expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer® of 4structures.com® LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Worktured Settlement Diagram
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com® LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in with other settlement planning solutions.
  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
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  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2022
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities going into 2022? A list of current structured annuity issuers, the location of their home offices and their financial ratings from A.M. Best, Moodys, Fitch, Standard & Poors and/or other Tier1 NAIC ratings, with links to their websites and other useful information.
  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
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    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as the an index linked structured settlement where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 with no downside and a cap of 5%. Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team.
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  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
    What does a Structured Settlement Lock-In Mean? How do plaintiffs, defendants and insurers benefit from a structured settlement quote lock in when finalizing a settlement? How does the defendant/insurer/court benefit from using a structured settlement lock-in? Where to be careful when using structured settlement lock ins.
  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars. Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.
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    with a stable readership that seeks credible structured settlement information and/or opinion about topical issues related to settlement planning, targeted to lawyers, injured persons and their family members, guardians, survivors, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, insurance company executives and adjusters, financial advisers settlement professionals, financial professionals, insurance regulators, government leaders, federal and state law enforcement, buyers and sellers of structured settlement payment rights, the news media and other interested parties. 4structures.com LLC established the structured settlement blog in 2005 and for over 16 years it has been a leading source for critical commentary. The John Darer authored blog has been among the most prolific, regularly providing fresh structured settlement, settlement planning and litigation recovery management content and commentary . John Darer®, CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC, President of Stamford, CT based 4structures.com, LLC, is an experienced New York City area structured settlement expert, structured settlement broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner. WHAT YOU GET here is the straight stuff with a touch of irreverence and humor. We hope you enjoy and find the content to be helpful. Subscribe to the structured settlement blog feed, or a specific category feed through your blog reader, or through the Feedburner icon on this page. Followers of JDDarer™ on Twitter may also receive select content. Thank you for reading!

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Structured Settlement Best Practices Corner

  • New York Insurance Advertising law requires the full name of the Insurer to be listed along with the city and state of the principal office. Stating that you represent these fine companies using Insurance company logos without the preceding information are also illegal
  • When it comes to settlement documents it is the ultimate responsibility of the lawyers or claims adjusters who receive input concerning the structured settlement aspects of the documents to actually read the entire document, exercise independent thought and advise their clients properly
  • Be aware that financial advisors use of testimonials is prohibited or restricted
  • Most states require that Testimonials represent the CURRENT opinion of the person who made the testimonial. Be prepared to back it up.
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