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October 18, 2022

Structured Settlement "Client Relations Dept" "Unclaimed Funds" | Silly "Fortune Cookie" Letter

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

The "Unclaimed Funds" Structured Settlement Silly "Fortune Cookie" Letter

888=556-1740 Mailer
Don't be fooled by silly emails with attachments like this one sent to structured settlement annuitants by Fortune

I've learned that some structured settlement payees have received a mailer from Settlement "Client Relations Dept"  "Immediate Verification Required", and bears the toll-free telephone number of 888-556-2740?   

Here's what I've discovered:

The mailing department of Fortune Settlement Solutions has been blitzing people with structured settlements to generate leads with the teaser of "unclaimed funds" using the mailer displayed below  [Disclaimer: the green nail is not mine :-)].  

FACT: THERE ARE NO UNCLAIMED FUNDS.  You could call any structured settlement factoring company and get an offer to buy your payments (for pennies on the dollar),  

What Happened When I Called 888-556-2740?

I called 888-556-2740 yesterday after receiving  a call from Pennsylavania concerning a similarly worded letter.

With the targeted addressee listening in on the phone I dialed  888-556-2740. The person who answered the phone at 888-556-2740 was really cagey, claimed to be from New York and said the name of the business was Structured Settlements and that it was registered to do business in New York and that they were based in Manhattan. I looked up the name and there was no such company. It would have been much simpler to simply say who they really are, like the person who answered the follow up call today, at Fortune Settlement Solutions from Miami Lakes, Florida and located in Miami Dade County.

I called the same number today and spoke to Will from Fortune Settlement Solutions and he was far more professional and straightforward from the start of the conversation.

Silly "fortune cookie" letters like the one displayed have plagued the structured settlement factoring industry for years. 

Why Are Structured Settlement Factoring Company "Fortune Cookie" Letters Misleading?

"Fortune Cookie" letters are misleading in that:

  • the target is receiving payments from a structured settlement, 
  • the target's information has possibly been acquired through court scraping or other means.
  • the sender factoring company or its agent knows that the target has previously sold some payments, has more payments that can be sold for a nice profit to the sender factioring company.
  • the sender or its agent knows that the structured settlement payments that the target has not sold ARE NOT unclaimed funds
  • the sending factoring company vounts on the gullibility of the targeted structured settlement payee.

Why do some structured settlement factoring companies send these "Fortune Cookie" letters?

Why do people open fortune cookies?   

8 Facts About Fortune Cookies (mentalfloss.com)

Fortune Cookie Sayings, Messages & Quotes – Fortune & Frame (fortuneandframe.com)

Are "Fortune Cookie" letters a legal way to solicit structured settlement payees?

With few exceptions, due to the strategic failure of state legislatures over two decades, the structured Structured settlement factoring company licensing NC HB845 settlement factoring industry has survived for more than two decades with no regulation of sales practices of participants and no licensing. It is pretty uqnique for a segment of the financial services industry.

There is no question that Structured Settlement Factoring "Fortune Cookie" letters are misleading for the reasons bullet pointed above.

The tide may be changing, if other states follow the example of North Carolina. North Carolina HB845 was introduced in April 2023 and implemented historic changes to its structured settlement protection act from 2024. In addition to delegating oversight to its Department of Insurance, among a long list of umpteen prohibited sales practices introduced is a misleading advertising prohibition:

"Intentionally advertise materially false or misleading information regarding its products or services"

Last updated August 18, 2024

 

Posted at 11:49 PM in Broward County Structured Settlements, Dade County Structured Settlements, False Advertising Re Creating, Buying or Selling Structured Settlements, Florida SSPA Reform Needed, Fortune Cookie Letters, Fortune Settlements Commnetary, Is This Unclaimed Funds Mailer For Real?, Miami Lakes Structured Settlements, Misinformation About Settlement Planning, National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP), North Carolina HB845, Philadelphia PA Structured Settlements, Pittsburgh Structured Settlement Cash Now, Structured Settlement Factoring News, Structured Settlement Watchdog®, Structured Settlements in Miami Florida area |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2024

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    Structured settlements and what you need to know about them including a helpful introductory video featuring 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 Work
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in on the spectrum of settlement planning solutions.
  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
    Rated Ages for Structured Settlement Annuities present advantages to all parties. Shift the mortality risk to a life insurance company whose business it it is to assess mortality risk to price its life insurance and annuities. Rated ages boost your structured settlement annuity benefit per premium dollar, or your yield on lifetime payments. Rated ages help to reduce the cost of funding a Medicare Set Aside arrangement where a Structured MSA, is being used { WCMSA LMSA or NFMSA].
  • Top Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2024
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities in 2024? 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. Last updated June 14, 2024
  • 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.
  • Compare Structured Settlement IRR to Other Settlement Alternatives
    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 2024
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments in 2024. 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 Attorney 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 capped or uncapped index linked structured settlement annuities where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 or another index, 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 in 2024.
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Company Customer Service Phone Numbers
    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click the title for a link to a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life), oran annuity issuer has changed its name and you're trying to track them down. Here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated May 20, 2024.
  • 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.
  • iStructure |Uncapped Fixed Index Structured Settlement Annuity
    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon
  • Structured Settlements and Longevity Risk| What Are the Odds?
    Do your financial resources give you enough road, or will the road run out before you do? A structured settlement annuity helps mitigate the risk of outliving your savings, no matter how long you live. A structured settlement can include one or more customized payment streams and types.

Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

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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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Why Take a Structured Settlement?

  • A structured settlement offers guaranteed financial security to personal injury victims, wrongful death survivors and their families. A structured settlement involves a customized stream of payments, provides long-term stable tax-free income, for a period of years or a lifetime. Unlike other income annuities. a structured settlement annuity can have multiple payment streams to address multiple needs in a single contract.

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