Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and John Darer Reviews

Slow As Structured Mol-Asset Funding, LLC

"Oh Wherefore art thou?" sayeth Romeo.

Act 2 Scene 2 from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet you say?

Hardly! Dripping in irony, instead of star crossed lovers we have a star crossed "blubber" The opening scene sees the plaintiff bleating in despair for the lump sum she expected, from the same balcony from whence a year earlier, she was shouting "it's my money and I want it now". She'd then bought the "cash now" seduction from Structured Asset Funding, LLC. to ultimately realize she'd been dealt the unrequited love card in the form of a "cash cow" patty.

Gaby Romeo is quoted on the Settlement Quotes, LLC blog November 30, 2009:

"I am so disappointed with the way Structured Asset Funding, LLC does business. They are a poor example of a good business. Not only do they have very poor customer service, but they lie to their clients. They should be able to provide truth and facts to their clients… not make (sic) giving  false sense of hope. I have been waiting for my lump sum for way over a year now! They do not even attempt to call me as a courtesy. I have requested to “rescind” the contract… but they are not doing that either!!!! SOME OF US CANNOT AFFORD A LAYWER (sic).. it is not fair! This company does not deserve to be in business".

Kudos to my "pet" *,  Andrew Cravenho of Settlement Quotes. LLC for "fetching" this meaty "scoop bone" for the structured settlement watchdog. Good boy!

Ms. Romeo should know that we too are disappointed with the way Structured Asset Funding does business and we would feel hard pressed to recommend that anyone do business with them. We add her complaint to the 2 complaints (registered with the Better Business Bureau and found on TrustLink.org) where transactions that have since been funded, took over 9 months to complete. The tenor of the above complaint is similar to the others we have published including the infamous CT Woman story.

*  a jealous competitor of Cravenho's refers to him as "my pet".

" Cash Cow Dropped The Poo Again" Says Reader Sold Bill of Goods on "Cash Now"

Reader Edward Ellis writes

"Oops Cash Cow dropped the poo again. I was solicited to buy my structured settlement.

These brokers called me sometimes 3 times a day and on the weekends to get a decision.

Finally I chose them on the promise they would have my cash in 3 weeks 4 weeks at the latest assuring me they did this "All The Time" I needed the money to pay some immediate bills and start a business for my wife. I am on chemo so you can imagine the money I go through. Well they called me and told me a "Boss" had made a mistake in an addendum and there would be a delay until the next month. I told them I had 3 grand in immediate bills to pay. I was told I would get that money in 2 days to hold me over. All I got was 1 Grand and them explaining it was standard for advances. THAT was after a week. here we are at 7 weeks and I still have not gotten my money even though it went through the courts 2 weeks ago. I am due to have my utilities cut off this week and will lose my truck to the finance company....Thank you cash cow for the money NOT NOW"

"CASH NOW"

The vulgar image above befits the promises of "cash now" made by nation's cash now pushers that refuse to stop false advertising.

Hey Stone Street Capital! Wipe that silly smile off your Teletubby like "cash cow" spokes creature and start delivering what your advertising says. Or, stop advertising what you cannot deliver.

Selling Structured Settlements "Tempting But Not Smart" -Suze Orman

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC

Selling Structured Settlement Payments " Tempting but Not Smart" says Suze Orman

Financial guru Suze Orman responds to a woman who along with her husband is thinking about selling of her husband's remaining structured settlement payments, with the the advice that such transactions are "tempting but not smart".  O, the Oprah magazine

Some of the relevant facts

• Husband sold ten years of (periodic payments from) that (structured) settlement in 2004, but in 2014
  

  Selling structured setttlement payments is tempting but not smart. You only get pennies for every dollar
  
  he'll start receiving monthly payments of $400.
• The couple has $30,000 in debt,  a 7-month-old son and hope to buy a house within the next few years.
• The wife is thinking that by selling the rest of the settlement to pay off bills will allow them to save for the home of their dreams. There's about $110,000 left; by selling it, they'd net $17,500 in cash now, rather in 60-90 days, or 6 months, or who knows).

Some choose to simply focus on the sound bite " tempting. but not smart", when actually the most important sound bite from Suze Orman, from a financial literacy standpoint,  is "DO THE MATH!"

Orman's practical advice includes a mathematical analysis which helps the consumer come to their own conclusion that the sale of the structured settlement would not erase the debt

Here is Suze'spowerhouse advice frin the article:

• "I want you to dig out of debt without touching the settlement money. Your dream should be to get out of debt, not to buy a home that you have no way of affording right now".
• Orman also refers the couple to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a nonprofit organization (Tel. 800-388-2227 ) whose counselors will assess your situation and help negotiate payment plans with creditors when feasible
• Orman also shows the couple another perspective by demonstrating that  if they were to invest the entire $400 every month in a Roth IRA for 20 years and earn a conservative 5 percent annual return, they would have about $165,000 in 2034. If you were to keep that sum growing for another 15 years—without investing another penny—you could have more than $340,000 by the time they retire. Orman emphasizes "that's a dream that can be yours if you use the structured payouts wisely".

Orman's advice offers a sound counterpoint to the predatory "minimax solution" offered by certain cash now pushers. "Minimax solution" is where the advertiser uses the inducement to trade these "teensy weensy payments" for a "huge lump sum". You've all seen it!

Settlement planners and structured settlement consultants should look beyond the sound bite and offer practical advice when faced with similar questions.

Last updated February 16, 2024

Have You Sold Your Structured Settlement and Later Regretted It?

Have you sold, or do you have a loved one who has sold, all or a portion of a structured settlement and later regretted it? If you have, would you like to help others not make the same mistake?

Structured Settlements 4Real is interested in your story for "Regrets Only" a new study on consumer behavior and market practice.

1. Why did you sell your structured settlement payment rights?
2. Why do you now regret selling your payment rights?
3. How has your life changed as a result of selling the payment rights?
4. What would you do differently if you could wind the clock back?
5. What company did you sell your structured settlement payment rights to? If more than once please name them all.
6. Thinking back how did you come to find the company who bought your structured settlement payment rights? e.g. TV ad, radio ad, website, print ad, referral from structured settlement broker.
7. Was there a hard sell? If yes, please give details
8. How long did it take from the initial point of contact with the buyer to the time you received your money. Was it the same day? the same week or months later?
9. Did you seek independent advice before selling your structured settlement payment rights?
10. Was a judge involved in approving the sale of your payment rights? If so, was he or she helpful in your opinion?
11. Age when your structured settlement was set up
12. Age when you first sold structured settlement payment rights
13. Age now
14. What state do you reside in?
15. Male or female?
16. Name (optional) or Initials

Please email your answers to [email protected]. Answers will be compiled and selections will published at a later date. Thank you in advance for your help in the "Regrets Only" Project

Ignorant 18 Year Old Treats Structured Settlement Like American Express Points

Ignorant tort victims are treating their structured settlements like American Express points that they can trade in for goodies,thanks to Bob Shapiro and Woodbridge Investments, LLC and their predation catalog of consumer goods.

According to our sources Woodbridge Investments recently offered an 18 year old tort victim a European Bang and Olufsen Plasma TV,  which the 18 year old was convinced retails for $30,000, as an inducement to sell them ALL of his structured settlement payment rights to a lump sum of $180,000 in 10 years for $30,000 and the TV. The tort victim only needed $30,000 but was induced to sell rights to the entire payment due to the "give the kid a candy bar" predation tactics of Woodbridge.

Was the 18 year old trying to impress his girlfriend? The clueless 18 year old would have been better served by putting the $30,000 toward business school and learned that trading long term financial security for a depreciating asset that has a high risk of theft is probably not a wise move.

Foxwoods Decision | Too Much Cash Now Doesn't Pay

by Structured Settlement Watchdog®

It's certainly not a good idea to take too much "cash now". But some folks just discovered that taking too much "cash now" isn't a party under Native American law.

In a recent decision in at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Court (near Ledyard CT) captioned Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise v Chagnon (CV-DC-2006-141) Dec. 31, 2007, Foxwoods Casino customers who refused to return extra money from an automated ticket redemption machine were found to have converted the money and been unjustly enriched. Apparently the ATM was dispensing $100s instead of $20s and $20s instead of $10s. A number of casino customers, perhaps haunted by the monotonous chant recalled from late night JG Wentworth commercials,  took advantage of the "cash now" situation and bled the machine dry. Casino officials were able to track down the too much "cash now" perps through surveillance cameras and wampum accounts.

A number of the too much "cash now" takers gambled with their ill gotten gains and lost. The Court did not show mercy on the too much "cash now" takers and did not permit them to take an offset for the amount that they gambled and lost. The Court entered judgment in the amount of $21,050, the amount of extra "cash now" they took.

Message: TOO MUCH "CASH NOW" DOESN'T PAY