by John Darer
On October 13, 2009 I received a written communcation purportedly from Imperial Structured Settlements customer MDatlntc a/k/a " Larry Zimmerman" which said:
"I have been waiting since March 2009 for my funding from Imperial Structured Settlement. To date I have lost the opportunity to purchase a residence"
This doesn't jive with the message of the sultry Deborah Benaim, Senior VP of Imperial Structured Settlement in Imperial's advertising where she states:
"When tragedy strikes, and life becomes unrelenting and emotionally draining, financial obligations tend to overwhelm us beyond our grief. Everything can change in a moment’s notice; however, you should never have to lose control of your finances. This is where Imperial Structured Settlements, LLC can help by getting you your money in a timely manner, by treating you with the utmost understanding and respect, and by being on your side till you reclaim your peace of mind".
After reading our initial post on this subject Imperial, who apparently are religious readers of this blog (Thanks Debs!) contacted Mr. Zimmerman who contacted me (using the same IP address and email) to inform me that his ex girlfiend Amanda 'co-opted his computer' and wrote the scathing communication about Imperial Structured settlements to get back at him. Apparently Amanda and Mr. Zimmerman were due to buy a place together while the factoring deal was pending and they broke up in the interim. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned huh?
Zimmerman said he wished he never had to sell his structured settlement payments but needed to because of the recession. imperial Structured Settlements apparently will be giving him approximately $22,500 for $45,000 of future payments. Zimmerman said that he was told the delay had to with the fact that he is selling life contingent payments, which require the purchase of life insurance by the factoring company as a hedge. The life insurance underwriting process can be lengthy and in this case it ceratainly has been. Zimmerman says Imperial explained this all to him.
Nevertheless what Zimmerman will eventually get from Imperial Structured Settllements IS NOT "cash now" in any sense of the word. I explained to Zimmerman the thrust of our advocacy aginst this deplorable factoring industry practice and he said he understood.
It is also worth noting that the Imperial Structured Settlements Glossary still does not contain the phrase "structured settlement factoring transaction' which is what they actually do. Zimmerman referred to companies of Imperial's ilk as "structured settlement companies". I wonder why. I explained to him our advocacy efforts in this area as well.
The crux of the post is undisputed. Imperial Structured Settlements did not pay 'cash now' despite what it advertises. Clearly someone was unhappy with Imperial Structured Settlements "for taking so long to get (the) settlement" (i.e. proceeds from structured settlement factoring deal).
When is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) going to conduct an investigatIon into those factoring companies that continue to advertise "cash now" and "money now" but cannot deliver on their advertising promises?
Leave a Reply