by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Maryland had become a structured settlement transfer cess pit of sorts for structured settlement holders until the laws recently changed. Two Maryland structured settlement buyers or intermediaries that solicit annuitants who hold structured settlement payments rights at the time of posting, have some of the lowest ratings given by the Better Business Bureau.
The two poorly rated structured settlement buyer companies in question are:
- Annuity Sold D+ of Owings Mills, Maryland. Annuity Sold is 3 small notches above the worst!
- Reliance Funding D of Chevy Chase Maryland. 2 notches above the worst. The Reliance Funding BBB listing has the internet address of http://accessfunding.com. Access Funding and its successor Reliance Funding are at the center of lawsuits over the exploitation of Baltimore's black lead paint victims. The alleged wrongs by Access and its conspirators so bad that it was the subject of a front page award winning expose in the Washington Post. Mark Sumner opined on Reliance Funding and Access Funding in his May 12, 2016 article in the Daily Kos, 'there's scum, dirty rotten scum and there's these guys'
What is the Better Business Bureau ratings system?
The new BBB rating system relies on an A+ through F letter-grade scale. The grades represent BBB’s degree of confidence that the business is operating in a trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer concerns filed with the BBB.
Why did BBB change its ratings system?
BBB updated its BBB Reliability Reports™ to help consumers more easily and quickly identify and compare the reliability of businesses based on BBB’s unbiased evaluation. Previously, BBB awarded businesses either a “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” grade—which did not provide as much insight as a letter grade
What goes into a business’s letter-grade rating?
The ratings system relies on a proprietary formula that takes into account 17 factors based on objective information and actual incidences of a business’s behavior that have been verified and evaluated by BBB professionals
Why do you (how can you) rate non-accredited businesses?
The more information we can provide the public, the better informed they are to make a good choice when hiring or doing business with a company. Therefore, when BBB has sufficient information to evaluate a business based on its 17 factors, it will provide a report and subsequent letter grade. [ source: Better Business Bureau)
If you are heading to a financial barbecue, let's be frank, why bring it with D grade hamburger meat when you can get A or A+?