Woodbridge Investments (aka Woodbridge Structured Funding / BBB lists the owner as Robert Shapiro) agreed to buy my wife's structured settlement back in October. The Woodbridge representative guaranteed that my wife would receive the payment well in advance of Christmas.
It is January 26th and we are still waiting! Woodbridge will not even take our calls anymore and we are completely fed up.
This is a warning for anyone out there that this company will come across as your best friend but the moment that you sign the settlement agreement with them they will forget all about you and even more importantly they will forget all the promises that they made to you. These people will tell you whatever you want to hear so that you sign on the dotted line.
Checkout all the complaints about them with the Better Business Bureau (below). We should have done more research before going with them.
BBB complaints
07/23: I had spoke with Ronald Diez regarding this matter. Today, July 20, I spoke with him regarding cancellation and shredding the documents that apply to my annuity collection. He became rude after this and stated that he needed to speak with his bosses and see if they can cancel it. Also he ridiculed me stating that i would be back in 3-4 months requesting to restart process and i would not get the same amount. All i wanted to do was cancel the process and my only request was to shred all documents. I had signed papers for this and sent back to them. I inquired about the notary that would be needed and he stated that they would notarize it with signatures already in place. Then i was told they would need to send the papers back so i could get them notarized. Then stated since i already signed the document with lack of notary, that it was sufficient enough to continue.
05/14: I entered contract with this company early Dec. 2011 to sell 2 annuity for a total of $32,153. I was told that the process would take "no more than 3 weeks" by Alex, and later by Bibi. After several weeks I kept calling trying to figure out what was going on and consistently received the same answer, " We are waiting on Allianz (the original annuity company) to respond". Months went by and I continued to call woodbridge but nobody seemed to know what was going on they simply blamed the other company. Six months later I finally got angry when I called and was told that if I wanted to get the money I needed to call Allianz myself to see what the hold up was, so I did. Allianz told me that they had received NOTHING from any company called Woodbridge. I called Woodbridge and told them this info and the response I got from a woman named Kate was classic case of playing dumb. Amazingly my check showed up 2 days later except that due to the excessive long time to fund me the amount funded was more than $6,800 less than what I originally signed into contract for. I personally believe that they delayed the process on purpose in order to make more money and pay out less. I have tried to call them to resolve this myself but get no answer back. This is shady business practice and I would never use this company ever again or recommend them to anyone. Nothing short of funding me the difference of the original amount would satisfy me.
04/27: Per our agreement we were seeking an advance to help pay some bills as part of our agreement with Woodbridge. The person we worked with, Ms Lauren, stated everything was fine and that we could receive the advance of $750.00. Based on the information that she shared with us, we called debtors to let them know that payment will be there within 2 days. We filled out the promissory form and sent it in, then Ms Lauren had the unfortunate task to let us know that the advance could not be completed due to the chapter 13 even though we told her we were dissolving the chapter 13 and sent her a letter stating that, which she gave to her legal dept. We called Ms. Lauren for over 10 days to see what the outcome was. She could not give us an answer. I feel if the advance could not go through, why should the agreement be upheld. I found another company that said the chapter 13 was not an issue and beat the offer by 6,500.00. I reached out to Ms Lauren to see if the offer could be matched. She said they couldn’t. I decided to go with the other company as a level of uncertainty had developed and we had no more time to waste. Some comments were stated that the new company may not hold up to their commitment of purchase. I'll take that chance!!! They have held up to their end of the bargain, and I look poorly on a company that tries to "put down" another fellow business. Ms. Lauren is not at fault and was always very helpful as this is not her direct fault.
04/05: Well there is multiple issues. First is the $2500 I'm now not getting as promised. I was talking to a gentleman in the California office, his name is Robert. He promised me 2500 dollars from the company. He said that he talked to the owner or president of the company and that the owner or president said yes to giving me the 2500 dollars the day of court if it went OK. Robert also told me that it was for all the hassle that i have had to deal with throughout the over 6 months it has taken at that time. He also stated that it was not an advance. I then stated in a questioning manner, are you sure it is not an advance and he said it was not an advance. I said awesome. Robert told me that i would get the $2500 on top of the $500 gas card and the $250 gift card as well as what I was getting through court from them, which is $28,500 after advances of $1500. I called the day of court, after i walked out of the court house and he wasn't talking calls or something. I called again later and told him its all good. I then asked him about the $2500/$500/$250 being sent out. He told me yes it will all be sent out that day. The $2500 advance/$500 gas card/$250gift and i asked him, what? I then said, you told me that it wasn't an advance and i verified it with you. Hec said that is what it was. That's not what we had discussed. I wouldn't have gone through with it had i know that. He lied to me to get me to go through with the whole deal because i told him i wanted out right now.
04/24: From the beginning Alex was nothing but nice to me and my husband. He told us how the process would work and through our trust for him we begin to trust Woodbridge as well. Unfortunately as soon as I signed the paperwork things begin to change just a little. The promises that were made seem to not hold up quite the same. We jumped through ever hoop that they asked us to and even worked and got a court date in two weeks after they submitted the paperwork. We were told initially and frequently that as soon as the judge signs off on the order that we would be receiving funding in 72 hours. Low and behold 72 hours have and gone. I would not advise anyone to deal with a company that will simply feed you lies on top of lies. I would have much rather from the beginning if we were told it will take 6 months, at least then we would know exactly what we are dealing with. They stated how JG Wentworth would hold our money longer but in reality they were simply describing themselves. Woodbridge was truly a high disappointment.
12/07: I am seeking help to recover my money due to me by Woodbridge for the selling of an All State Ins annuity they brokered for me on Nov. 7.
12/15: From day one I was told the process would be simple and hassle free. I was told that this advance would be possible, and it was stressed that it would not take an extensive amount of time. Weeks of calling them with no answer or returned phone calls became frustrating. After calling about 5 times in a couple of hours I finally got an answer. I have been dealing with two different representatives who tell me different things. They both seem confused and jumbled. Working with them has been beyond stressful and unorganized. They claimed to produce speedy results and have fallen way short of their promises. I am upset that I signed a contract with them based on a promise they are not keeping. I was depending on this advance for Christmas for me and my children and now it is approaching the deadline and I am still hearing excuses.
08/04: I recently submitted an offer to your company regarding selling one of my annuity payments. I submitted the offer from J.G. Wentworth for a net payment of $19,500 and my policy from J.G. Wenworth. I was in contact with Mr. Woodard. He replied back to my emails the following "Hi Robert, I guess you have received the best offer. Again, I have only seen the offer and not your benefits Letter but it appears as though you have already worked with someone at Woodbridge correct? Good luck with JG Wentworth.
0 comments