Tackling Fines,Tickets & Fees With Your Structured Settlement Lump Sum is a Bum Steer

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Selling your structured settlement payments is an absolute money loser for anyone who does it. That does not stop structured settlement cash now companies from herding the steer into the stockyards for financial slaughter with new questionable approaches.

A Texas structured settlement factoring company's solicitation says "Court fees are a beast. Even if you’re cleared of a crime, your state might keep you on

Avoid a bum steer

the hook for court fees that you didn’t anticipate. A state-by-state survey conducted by National Public Radio found that defendants are charged for many government services that were once free, including those that are constitutionally required". The solicitation prominently features a large photo of a black man. The Texas structured settlement factoring company cites the following statistics in an attempt to validate its solicitation:

• In at least 43 states and the District of Columbia, defendants can be billed for a public defender (as of 2019).
• In at least 41 states, inmates can be charged room and board for jail and prison stays (as of 2019).
• In at least 44 states, offenders can get billed for their own probation and parole supervision (as of 2019).
• In all states except Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, there’s a fee for the electronic monitoring devices defendants and offenders are ordered to wear" [ They cite sources "(as of 2019). (Sources: NPR.org, Huffpost.com, Propublica.org, Law360.org"}

I don't know who does the social media for RSL Funding, but here are some examples of pure secondary market targeted BS.

• "Everyone’s got skeletons in their closets…annoying little buggers* that remind us of our past mistakes, the good advice we ignored, and the consequences that we dodged. Specifically speaking, fines, tickets, and fees that we haven’t paid yet can keep cropping up in pretty awful ways. We’re talkin’ arrest warrants for unpaid fines, licenses being revoked because of unpaid tickets, and let’s not forget the mountain of debt that can accumulate because of failure to pay court fees. The good news is, if you have a structured settlement or annuity in place, you can redeem yourself and finally rid yourself of those skeletons once and for all".
• "Riding ‘dirty,’ aka, livin’ on the edge, shouldn’t be part of anyone’s bucket list…but clearing up a bad driving record, well, that’s something to strive for".  [is it that or is simply targeting and attempting to capitalize on the impulsiveness behind the expression. Selling your structured settlement isn't the cure for impulsive behavior!]
  
• "Trying to get a job in jail is no picnic either. Typically, inmates earn about 40 cents an hour. Try paying off a $300 fine from your court judgement on those wages. It’s impossible! And it’s all bad news".  [but selling your future payments for pennies on the dollar is the cure?]
  
• "you can sell your future structured settlement payments for a huge lump sum"  [ where huge is pennies on the present value of your dollar]
  

Bad Optics

Whether or not the structured settlement cash now company intended to stereotype the black man as a criminal, one who runs up legal fees with public defenders, has served jail time, patronizes the prison commissary,  listens to Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone - Ridin' Dirty,  at best the optics are bad.  Surely in the under regulated, unlicensed, no rules of the advertising world of world of structured settlement factoring,  companies don't have to resort to this.

Many of the worst cases of structured settlement factoring abuse involve minorities.

4 Things to Think About

1. If you are coming out of prison and have a structured settlement, keeping your tax free stable payments should be the main option.
   
2. Don't let anyone hustle you to sell your payments while you're in prison either. If you're receiving such payments it is because you were hurt or lost someone close to you.  Consider what that means before making an impulsive decision.
   
3. Seek financial advice from someone who has more solutions than picking your pocket for pennies on the dollar.
4. Patience is a virtue.