When it come to structured settlements the old saying " Go Bama!" definitely doesn’t apply. Fairlane Financial Group’s web site, run by Alabaman Shane Faire, is as the headline states "Far Flung Financial Poop". I discovered the site when doing a Yahoo search for "structured settlement broker" and "structured settlement quotes". Neither Shane Faire nor Fairlane Financial group were listed as being licensed by the Alabama department of insurance as of July 3, 2006. Fairfund Financial Group is a factoring company which pays a discounted amount of "cash now" (6-8 weeks with Court approval by its own admission) in exchange for all or a portion of your structured settlement payments.
Fairfund Financial Group’s moniker is "It’s your money so keep more of it", which is a fallacy. The fact is that you will actually have less of your money as a result of doing business with them.
Among the reasons that "Far Flung" solicits you to sell your structured settlement payments:
- Buy a New Home You’re better off saving up the down payment. Then use the structured settlement annuity to help assure you have enough to pay your mortgage each month
- Buy a New Car, Van or Truck When you can usually get no interest or low single digit rate car financing, directly from the auto manufacturer, why go for double digit through "Far Flung"?
- Set up a retirement nest egg Shane it ain’t Faire! A lifetime structured settlement annuity provides a secure payment stream that you cannot outlive. No other financial vehicle provides a contractual guarantee for your lifetime, however long that may be.
- Make a Dream Come True There’s the "dreams advertising" again that embodies the irresposible behavior of many factoring companies. I also submit that the pictures on the website are not representative of the typical person who decides to sell their structured settlement payment rights. Portrayed are perfectly shaped white parents and kids on white sandy beaches; a white kid with a toy on his head to symbolize an angel and a white girl playing with a starfish. Far Flung is not alone in the "dreams advertising" game. In my prior post "123 Lump Dumb" I previously critiqued the advertising of 123Lump.sum for the same play. From what I understand the average amount of proceeds of a structured settlement factoring transaction would not be enough to buy a yacht loaded with bags of cash and perfectly proportioned bikini clad hotties, so why does this remain a constant theme among many factoring companies?
Leave a Reply