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Wednesday, February 19th
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, RSL Funding goes a long way towards bad mouthing their competitors and does little to assure us of their quality. While we don't recommend RSL Funding, we'll show you what they offer and what led us to assign their lower rating.
Poor information offered
Across all companies we ask two important questions: how well do they inform their customers as to the severity and finality of structured settlement sale, and do they direct their customers to seek independent legal advice or counsel? Unfortunately, RSL Funding receives a failing grade on both accounts. In addition to missing these marks, their "information” page is populated with exploitative blog posts opining on whatever financial difficulty or crisis is currently in the news - from small pandemic stimulus checks to inflation - followed by an irresponsible and misleading celebration of the ease and wisdom of selling your structured settlement. We find this disingenuous and dangerous, and reveals a company more concerned with garnishing the income of the most vulnerable with fluff pieces, as opposed to working with well-informed and well-represented individuals.
Is it really a guarantee?
RSL Funding offers a $1,000 guarantee of the best price you'll receive for your structured settlement. However, as with similar offers from other companies, this $1,000 is contingent on you actually accepting their terms of the sale of your settlement. If you've already found a buyer with a better offer, then it's unlikely that RSL's $1,000 guarantee is going to make any kind of meaningful difference.
Keep your friends close
They also offer a $500 refer a friend bonus. For this to work, if you refer a friend who sells all or part of their structured settlement to RSL Funding, you'll receive $500. However, keep in mind that selling a structured settlement means you're accepting a lower value of the settlement in exchange for getting your money upfront. If a friend of ours were receiving tax-free payments that helped sustain or supplement their income, we would be a very poor friend if we pressured them to sell that income for a mere $500 referral fee. Especially to a company that doesn't even let their customers know they should seek independent legal counsel.
Poor policies
RSL Funding has an "A+” Rating with the Better Business Bureau. However when it comes to structured settlement buyers, that is a poor indication of how they will treat you, and whether they will offer you a good deal. RSL Funding has few reviews overall, but their overall poor sales practices are testament to how they will treat you: they do not inform their customers as to best practices of structured settlement sales, the site is rife with misleading information as to the value of selling a structured settlement, and additionally they offer a strange and potentially exploitative $500 referral for the sale of structured settlements.
Not a good resource for structured settlement sales
The sale of a structured settlement is a serious and potentially life-changing financial decision, one that can both aid in short-term crises and significantly hamper your future financial security. As such, you and your independent financial or legal advisor should choose to make that decision with a company that treats you fairly. All of that means that we suggest you look to higher rated structured settlement buyers for your business.
Well, it's a critical question, and one that should be explored with care. Many receive a structured settlement as an annuity paid over a long period of time in compensation for injury or malpractice. While the stable income of a structured settlement can be a necessary key to financial security, many people are often left in a bind when they need money for a sudden expense or emergency, and are unable to procure the collateral for a loan.
That's where structured settlement buyers come in. These companies offer a single lump sum of cash in exchange for your monthly payments, giving you the up-front capital you need to manage a crisis, or make a needed purchase/investment.
It almost goes without saying that you should take care when you sell your structured settlement. While there are reputable buyers out there, many companies appear out of nowhere, or engage in less-than-reputable business practices. As the sale of a structured settlement is a major decision, a bit of careful investigation to determine the quality of the buyer can go a long way towards a transaction you'll be happy with.
Typically the sale of a structured settlement requires that you appear in court to talk to a judge in order to determine that you understand the particulars of the sale of your structured settlement, and that the sale is in your best interest. While potentially annoying, your court appearance is a critical step in the process, and something that directly protects you as a consumer.
Before this step, companies are required to advise you in writing that you can hire independent legal counsel to review your sale in court with you. This is strongly recommended, as legal counsel and financial advice can give you power and leverage in your structured settlement sale, making it so you get a better deal, and potentially earning multiple-thousands more from the sale of your settlement. If you sign this away to another person or a company, they may represent their own best interests, rather than yours.
So, which structured settlement buyers are worth your time? As you investigate the options, here are some tips for you to keep in mind:
At Top Consumer Reviews, we want to make sure that our readers are well-equipped to navigate the sometimes murky waters of the structured settlement industry. We've gathered the best companies we could find, and ranked them based on their overall reputation and business practices. As you shop around for the best deal in the sale of your structured settlement, you should feel comfortable using our curated list as a starting point for finding a fair and honest buyer.
Select any 2 Structured Settlement Buyers to compare them head to head