by Structured Settlement Watchdog
How are companies engaging in the factoring or transfer of structured settlement payment rights monitoring their affiliates? Are they doing anything?
Any licensed insurance agent or securities broker has strict advertising guidelines and managers, general agents and branch managers have upstream responsibility and potential liability for the actions of employees, agents, brokers or others supervised. Yet it appears that very little is being done by some factoring firms who voluntarily or, in my opinion, negligently skirt these rules and it could lead to some scalding hot water very soon.
A state regulator was informed today about one such company that was making specious advertising claims implying it was
(1) A Structured Settlement Professional
(2) A provider of structured settlement payments
Neither the entity nor its owner are licensed in the state involved. Further investigation by this writer found another website where the entity advertised that it was a search engine optimization company. This is fairly typical in my experience.
So I promise you this. If you are a search engine optimizer and think you will make a few bucks being an affiliate of a factoring or transfer company, but you do not possess structured settlement credentials, you do not possess an insurance license (or securities license if you use securities terms), you are not registered to do business in a particular state and come up in a search engine result that would lead a consumer to believe that you are licensed and/ or registered to do business in a particular state, and you hold yourself out as one or more of the following:
structured settlement broker, structured settlement consultant, structured settlement agent, structured settlement professional, settlement professional, cash settlement consultant, structured settlement seller,
AND/OR that you provide or are a provider of structured settlements, structured settlement payments, structured annuities, structured settlement annuities
YOU CAN EXPECT that a brief will go to regulatory authorities including the state insurance department, the department of consumer affairs. If you make a statement that falsely implies that you give investment advice or sell investment products a letter will go to the appropriate regulatory organization.
AND, if you are a factoring or transfer company engaging in the purchase of structured settlement payment rights, and we discover that the offending person or entity is connected to your affiliate program, your connection will be cited in these letters for regulatory consideration. If you have an affiliate program you have to take responsibility.
This is a national problem and a matter of consumer interest. Be warned!
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