Excerpt of an emailed response this author received from one of the named factoring companies to my post The Great Tort Victim Snow Job of 2007:
"Wentworth offers double what I do (but don’t advertise that), Strategic Capital pays, Settlement Capital has offered 5% to one of my clients! All factoring companies pay a referral fee".
In my opinion, The Great Tort Victim Snow Job of 2007 is looking more like the Great Tort Victim Robbery. At a time of year when people are supposed to be season of giving, sadly the outlook appears to be that of the season of taking and "greed overules". Any money paid in commissions to structured settlement firms, settlement planners, personal injury lawyers, bankruptcy lawyers and financial planners comes right out of the tort victim's bottom line.
If this is not a wake up call to the members of the American Association For Justice, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, The Florida Justice Association, The Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles and other trial lawyer associations and consumer advocacy groups what is?
Think about it, an essentially unregulated industry is falling all over themselves to pay off sources of access to tort victims. The highest bidder wins. Think your client wins? Don't bet on it! Where does that put you?
Many of you are already backing a Presidential candidate who appears to have made a professional testimonial about a structured settlement firm that (1) he couldn't have done business with and (2) its President turns out to be a bundler (3) has given large amounts of money to AAJ and to various state TLAs.
Now how is it going to look after it is discovered that the structured settlement firm that YOU recommended to your client, or one of the sponsors of your association, is "on the take" from these factoring companies? One of my sources has told me that more than 85% of the referrals it receives from structured settlement brokers involves the payment of an undisclosed fee or commission (that comes right out of the tort victim's pocket). Some industry lemmings try to justify it by saying "everyone else is doing it".
This problem is an easy fix.
Work ONLY with structured settlement brokers and settlement planners who do NOT take a fee for these types of transactions. MAKE THEM SWEAR TO IT IN WRITING!
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