Previous posts have gone in-depth into the means that some companies use to go after annuitants, but scant attention has been paid to what the annuitants themselves have to say.  As you can imagine, few have many nice things to contribute given the lengths that are taken to try and extract money out of them.  They generally feel angry, bitter, and helpless.

Frequently, annuitants who have provided testimonials ask: “Why don’t they stop contacting me?” especially since every single one of them has demanded contact stop.  Some know that the harassment is illegal and approach it in this way: “Why do they break the law?” they ask; just for potential profit?  “Do they not know what we/I have gone through?”  Others aren’t aware of the illegality of it, but still get the feeling that something’s wrong.  They know they shouldn’t feel harassed and want contact to cease – they just aren’t aware of how to do it or why it started to begin with.  We in the industry do know why; we know it simply comes down to money, and we know it started because they aren’t perceived as victims who are being further victimized by constant and unwanted contact, but clients who contribute to the bottom line.  In other words, these people have been reduced to profit margins.  But why does this matter?  Businesses must turn a profit – and of course, no one disagrees with this, not even the annuitants.  One annuitant who provided a testimonial, a salesman himself, commented (at length) that the tactics are – using a creative use of expletives – ultimately amateurish.  He dealt with the harassment by threatening, consistently, to sue the offending companies.  Thankfully, he was left alone after resorting to this tactic, though it is unfortunate that he had to resort to it in the first place.  Anyone who must resort to illegitimate means for their profits clearly isn’t secure enough in their legitimate business to play fair.

Listed below are a variety select quotes from annuitants that raise important issues in and of themselves.  Beyond the singular quote listed, please note that these experiences are far from unique.  Nearly all of the annuitants that spoke echoed similar feelings.

These stories go on and on, but for sake of brevity, we’ll cut them off there.  There are a few other stories that aren’t quotable due to the highly emotional – and therefore somewhat difficult to transcribe – nature of the conversations, but here are summaries of two:

An annuitant’s father, the primary caregiver for an otherwise troubled son, and the annuitant’s sister, both receive contact on the annuitant’s behalf.  On two occasions this went above and beyond the typical means.  For the father, an entire packet of information was taped to the front door of his home when he wouldn’t answer the door.  For the sister, a medical professional, a representative went to her place of business to get a hold of her, and through her, the annuitant.  The family’s response to this unwanted contact was unanimous dismay and disbelief; they didn’t anticipate that level of harassment.

Another annuitant, partially disabled in mind and body as a result of the incident which resulted in her structured settlement, receives calls around each meal of the day.  Answering every phone call is difficult due to her disabilities, and having to go and answer the phone so frequently, dreading that it may just be another unwanted call, is overwhelming.  It’s a constant stress and source of anxiety which negatively affects her more than the average person as a result of the existing neurological disabilities.  Each phone call and subsequent argument to stop causes stress that she not only shouldn’t have to deal with, but can’t.  She, like so many others, desperately try to screen calls to try and prevent the endless stream of contact.  There is no good reason why this annuitant, her family, or any others should have to be subjected to this torment.

So what can we, as an industry, do about it?  What should we do about it?  This will be examined in detail in the next post.

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