by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Structured settlement factoring is a guaranteed way to lose money. There's no way around that. But if you have no choice and it's the only way to raise cash that you need, it is critical to shop around and not take the first offer. Avoid the rot.
Methods of shopping around
- Call around yourself.
- Get referrals from a settlement planner or an attorney. You must still shop around.
- Online bidding platforms, if they really are legitimate and independently run.
- Use a negotiator not employed by a structured settlement buyer.
Note that while a judge may determine that the structured settlement buyer's offer is fair or reasonable, the judge is not your personal shopper and is neither responsible, nor should be relied upon, to assure that someone selling structured settlement payments receives the best offer.
Case study
28 year old Connecticut resident whose structured settlement originated from a 2003 New York lead paint settlement with an insured of Nationwide Insurance Company. According to our source, "Joel was almost duped into working with Anthony, a now former representative from Olympic Financial LLC (same Florida address as Highpoint Funding) who, in an apparent massive conflict of interest, apparently solicited an investment to the seller and claimed he was going to invest his money for him in a company he was building and offered quick return for more than double his money. Anyone with a securities license would be censured and possibly lose their license over that. But it's the structured settlement factoring industry and for some highly suspicious undisclosed reasons, structured settlement payment buyers have escaped licensing and regulation of sales practices to the detriment of consumers across the land.
Joel was encouraged to move from New York to Connecticut to circumvent the tougher New York judges. - Anthony purportedly told Joel that he was personally giving Joel money to establish residency, pay rent, get ID’s, travel expenses, help with bills, etc. BUT, Joel came to find out the credit card he was given was also being used by Anthony's cousin for nights out on the town, which Anthony and Olympic/Highpoint would later try to charge Joel for.
Enter the Negotiator
One phone call brought almost $47,000 in additional money from Olympic Financial LLC (Highpoint Funding) without changing the funding date or the funding company.
County/State: Milford, Connecticut
Case Number: DBD-CV-18-6026991-S
Structured Settlement Buyer: Olympic Financial LLC (aka Highpoint Funding LLC) Boca Raton, FL
Petition Date: 05/22/2018 Amended: 06/07/2018 Second Amended 06/25/2018
Payments to be transferred:
From10/6/2019 $587.61/month through and including 9/6/2048 (348 payments), increasing 3% compounded annually; and
$30,000.00 due 10/6/2019
$40,000.00 due 10/6/2024
$50,000.00 due 10/6/2029
Aggregate of Payments to be Sold: $438,852.84
Annuity Issuer: United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York
Owner: American Home Assurance Company
Olympic (Highpoint) Original Effective Annual Rate: 9.4%
Original Olympic (Highpont) Offer: $150,501.77
New Offer: $197,500.00
New Effective Annual Rate: 6.5%
Additional funds negotiated by our source: $46,998.23
Case Result: Approved 6/27/2018
The Negotiator charges a fee of modest percentage of any increase that is negotiated, not from what is already on the table
"No Sense Crying Over Spilt Ill Wilk"
When the deal was re-negotiated, 3 days before court, the representative Anthony purportedly wept on the telephone for an hour, and stated he was “so screwed” and that he can’t believe Joel did this to him etc etc.
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