What do structured settlement buyers say when you ask, “Should I sell my structured settlement?” Perhaps not what you think.

So you think, I want to sell my structured settlement. But can you? The American economy works off of supply and demand. When it comes to structured settlement sales this means that there are people, probably like you, who are receiving settlement payments but would prefer a lump sum. This demand leads to the development of companies who purchase these payments, often called “factoring” companies. These factoring companies are in business to make money, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t satisfy a real need. And it doesn’t mean that they can’t satisfy that need in a way that is positive and beneficial to both parties.

That being said, most factoring companies in the structured settlement secondary market, those who want to buy payments, will, on average, suggest that you sell your payments. What you want is a company that doesn’t just beg you for your payments so that they can take their cut; you want a company whose business model is about making money and helping people make the best financial decisions they can.

You can sell your structured settlements tax free, but you have to find the right company.

But is this possible?

To help you decide we hired someone to do a little research, contacting more than ten such factoring companies and asking them questions about selling a potential settlement and attempting to find the best structured settlement buyers. What we found is that most companies are eager to get you on the phone and give you the hard sell. That is, other than Strategic Capital, none of the other companies was willing to answer questions over email. A couple companies were willing to answer some basic questions over online chat, but all of them other than Strategic Capital pushed to get our researchers on the phone.

None of the other companies that we contacted mentioned this in any of our conversations or correspondence, though when directly asked they all agreed that selling only partial payments was possible.

The Scenario

When our researchers contacted these structured settlement secondary market companies they presented them all with a very basic scenario of a person who was working now and receiving structured settlement payments, and who wanted to sell some of them to pay off some credit card bills and buy a car.

All of the companies who responded with any information said that this was generally considered an acceptable reason to sell payments.

When we asked, “Can I sell my structured settlement”, all companies were very positive and encouraging about how we could sell our structured settlements tax free.

Making Money at All Costs

Unlike Strategic Capital, some structured settlement purchasers seem in business to make money at all costs. However, each that our researchers talked to did agree that a vacation was not usually considered a good reason to sell settlement payments, so some of the companies out there do seem to have some common sense, knowing that the court would be unlikely to accept such a sale.

Then again, a review of court hearings shows that some companies try to charge far too much for buying payments, drawing their ethics into question. A look through more than a dozen court cases on the topic, and reading of some newspaper articles, reveals that the above mentioned J.G. Wentworth is one of the most often denied companies, frequently denied based on too high of fees. Add in the often heard slogan of “It’s your money” (J.G. Wentworth) and other slogans such as

But some of the best structured settlement buyers seem to do well without advertising, thriving on word of mouth. Such companies, like our company, Strategic Capital, might prove a better bet. If they don’t have to solicit new customers because they get enough through referrals then they are probably doing something right. For the record, Strategic Capital will call you just once and email just once after you submit an online quote – no pressure; but other companies usually call and email more than twice as much, with Peachtree and Imperial proving to be the most aggressive; we hear they often call and email at least once a day for a week, trying to push you to sell.

So what does this all mean? Can I sell my structured settlement? Should I? It comes down to this: don’t buy into the hype and don’t let yourself be pressured. Ask questions. Get good information. Compare quotes. Consider customer service. Then, call Strategic Capital and see why we are the best choice for your situation.