Catch You Coming and Going

Credit Card 

Games

Another great article courtesy of Al Clarks' HomeAction Newsletter.   Darn credit card companies are doing a "bait and switch"(my thoughts....not noted here) on supposedly credit cards with "no interest charges" for the initial period. 

As you know these periods can be 4 months to 12 months.  Can you imagine seeing additional charges on your credit card statement during the "no interest charge" time frame?   

Would it make your blood boil?

Best read and be aware!!!!!!!!!

Sneaky Costs Hidden In 0% Credit Card Offers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says some credit card companies are luring consumers with 0 percent or low-interest offers for specific purchases or balance transfers, then hitting them with surprise interest charges.

When you get offers for balance transfers, deferred-interest offers or convenience checks, read the fine print carefully.

You may find that while you don’t pay a fee for the balance transfer or purchase, you could accrue other charges. 

If you accept a special offer, some credit card companies will start charging you interest on all your new purchases. That means you lose the interest-free “grace period” you enjoy when you pay off your balance by the due date each month.

“The only way for these consumers to avoid interest charges on new purchases made with this credit card is to pay off their whole statement balance, including the promotional balance and the new purchases, by their monthly billing due date,” CFPB officials explained.

More Credit Card Tips From CFPB

Avoid The Interest

If you carry a balance, you can still take advantage of promotional rates and avoid unexpected interest by not making new purchases with the card until you pay off the entire balance.

Make Payments On Time

If you make payments late, your interest rate may rise.

Shop For The Best Rate

Carrying a balance on all your credit cards? Compare the interest rates among your cards to find the best deal for new purchases.

Need help getting your credit in order? Let me know and I'll refer you to a loan officer who can take a look at where you are and make recommendations for improving your credit score.

Buyer Beware: Hidden Costs

It never stops!!  Information on "illegal fees added to our accoungs" due to "unscrupulous billing practices".           Will the Madness ever STOP!!!! CONSUMER WATCH: ARE YOU AWARE OF GREY CHARGES? YOU BETTER BE!

Topic Summary: Grey Charges-Not Black and White Grey Charges are the deceptive and sometimes illegal fees that added to our accounts, resulting from unscrupulous billing practices. You may notice these grey charges as automatic renewals of subscriptions you thought were free. Or you may just see a charge for $2.95 and not refute it with your card company. There is an excellent Info Graphic concerning these charges HERE and what follows is a free crowd-sourcing service that can help you fight back. Bill Guard (www.billguard.com) is a free consumer service and "app" that aggregates experiences of its online users and those who post online complaints.(see media coverage)  So in essence users of the service share their stories of overcharges, hidden fees and outright fraud. Many fraudulent operators try to slide small charges on our bills and Credit cards thinking that we will not haggle or research the charges. When this happens the Bill Guard service will alert you of scams they have seen and the members have seen.  Bill Guard alerts you whenever a charge on your bill is flagged by anyone else, that had a unwanted charge on theirs. Click on the video that explains the entire process in under two minutes The process works once you register your creditor debit cards into the service. Today. debit carduse is growing and we use our debit cards for small purchases on a regular basis. Its easy to have 100 debit card transactions every month and making sure they are all valid is a tough job. Bill Guard scans your card activity daily for hidden charges, billing errors, forgotten subscriptions, scams and fraud, The system alerts you via email when your attention is required. So if a consumer in California got a mysterious charge for a magazine subscription, that ripoff is then submitted to the system and all Bill Guard users benefit from this "shared experience". Each new transaction is analyzed by over 100 automated tests. Bill Guard also scours the web for complaints posted by others about similar charges and merchants that may appear on your bills. The service has garnered a lot of venture capital and has won several awards A scan report is emailed  monthly, providing a quick overview of Bill Guard's findings and an indication of how clean your cards are. Alerts are emailed immediately giving you an early warning sign of potential fraud. Bill Guard was designed by financial security experts. They are very proactive about  their data security  and their Privacy Policy To learn more, visit www.billguard.com Courtesy:  Al Clark Newsletter

Credit Score Counts

Something to always be on top of!!   Don't ever lose track of your credit score as it impact your insurance costs, job applications as well as loans and more than we ever think about.

This article on a bill winding way through Congress to ensure a total credit report.   You may have heard about the over 40% of credit reports that have issues noted that many people may not even be aware are on their credit report. The borrower usually finds out when looking to buy furniture, house or car.

Read and be aware!

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: WHAT'S THE SCORE?

Topic Summary: Consumer Groups and Congress are advocating for consumers to receive a free credit scoreonce per year. Also we review a popular credit checking site that we feel is worthy and gets "two thumbs up". On March 6, Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Representative Steve Cohen (TN) introduced legislation in theHouse and Senate, called the  Fair Access to Credit Scores Act. If passed the Act would that require credit reporting bureaus provide consumers with a free credit score. There are several companies out there that will provide you a credit score for a fee or with some sort of annual membership. There is much confusion in the credit reporting industry due to the different types of credit scores that are available for credit grantors to use. So if given a credit score, a consumer could not be 100% assured that it is the same one that a credit card company would have or a mortgage company would use. Recently, the Consumer Finance Protection Board released a study HERE that indicated major discrepancies are possible when consumers are given one score and a credit grantor has another they use to determine credit worthiness.  In up to 24% of the cases, the agency found, a consumer might see a score that was one tier off from what a lender would see. That means a consumer could see a score in the "excellent" range of 740-plus, while a lender saw only a "good" score in the 680-740 range, or vice versa. In as many as 3% of cases, the scores varied wildly. Be aware of this confusion when seeking credit. Let's hope Congress clears up this mess.  Web Site Review: Credit Reporting and Monitoring.  WWW.creditkarma.com.   This site is getting rave reviews for being easy to use and free. There are some ads that come with the service but generally they are not intrusive. Once you register, CreditKarma goes to work monitoring your balances, payments and any warnings are given to you by email. Highlights Get Your Free Credit Score Credit Karma believes that every consumer has a right to access their scores. You'll get four credit scores along with free credit tools to help you better understand what a good credit score is. Even better, you'll receive your free credit score without a credit card. Get Your Free Credit Report Card The totally free Credit Report Card is an easy-to-understand summary ofyour credit report details. Use the Credit Report Card to gain a better understanding of your credit history and how it impacts your credit health. Enroll in Free Credit Monitoring Credit monitoring can help prevent identity theft and inaccurate information from appearing on your credit report. You'll receive an email when something important changes in your credit report. Gain Insight into Your Credit Report Along with your free score, you'll see important details of your credit report for free. In addition to your free Credit Report Card, you can view the details on your individual credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and personal loans. You can use this section to spot any fraudulent or mistaken accounts on your credit report, maintain a record of your reported balance history, keep tabs on your credit card utilization rate, and receive recommendations for new loans and credit cards.

Credit Ready???

          Being Credit Ready is key when looking to purchase a home.   But did you know that it will keep insurance costs and loan costs low through out the time you own your home??

As you can see in Larry's letter below, there are key elements that impact your credit score.  And there are actions not to be taken without considerable thought so that you don't adversely affect your credit score.

As you look over the pie chart, two categories stick out like a sore thumb:  Payment History and Amounted Owed.

At 35% and 30% of your credit score respectively, you can see regular, on-time bill payment over time and a low debt level will provide a big part of a positive score.  Just as the opposite behavior(missed payment and high debt) will drag the a credit score into the gutter.

Really pay attention to these two and you can really improve your credit.

YET DON'T IGNORE AND OF THE OTHER THREE!!!

A 10% or 15% swing can take a great 700 credit score to mediocre to poor 630/595 scores by not paying any attention to the other details of your credit score.

If your credit needs improving, start with improving on time payments and reducing your debt!!  Be ready for that

next purchase!!!  Or to lower your insurance costs!!

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Finances Matter When Buying a Home

Okay...you had a "duh...no kidding" response to the title.  I'm not surprised!!


Yet I find many people unaware that a simple thing as credit card fees can wreck havoc on their finances.  Along with the recent legislation designed to protect consumer from credit card fees and tactics, individuals believe all is well and that any credit card servicing company can't impact their finances any longer.


Please read the following article from Rismedia.  The discussion of current credit card tactics, fee avoidance and other tactics will help keep your finances in order.


You don't want your plans to buy a new home sidetracked when mortgages rates are so low, do you?


Pass on to your friends!


RISMEDIA, December 20, 2010—The credit card fee changes of a few several months ago are designed, like previous changes, to protect consumers by adding clarity and transparency to interactions between card issuers and holders.

However, as these new rules take away revenue opportunities for card companies, issuers are raising other fees or creating new ones to compensate. Money resource Bills.com cautions consumers to be aware of the new rules and also learn how to avoid new fees.

In order to avoid these fees, personal money resource Bills.com shares the following strategies consumers can employ to better avoid additional charges that have arisen because of changes outlined in the Credit CARD Act.

1. Monitor your communications from your credit card issuer. One of the best ways to stay abreast of changes specific to your cards or situation is to closely monitor information sent from your issuer. New regulations require much greater disclosure on all changes, so any update will be sent to your attention. Be alert for all mailings and read them carefully before throwing away or destroying.

2. Maintain prompt payment status with your credit card company.Despite all these changes, the simplest way to avoid fees is to pay your credit card bills on time. By missing or being late on a payment you will incur fees, potentially increase your interest rate and lower your overall credit score.

3. Pay down high balances to improve credit card utilization. This will show that you can responsibly manage your credit limit, minimizing the chance of higher tiers of interest rates or reductions in credit limit. Additionally, better credit utilization will help boost your credit score.

4. Maintain activity on your credit card accounts. By using the revolving credit lines that you need or want to keep and promptly paying on them, you can help avoid cancellation of those credit card accounts. This will also help avoid faux inactivity fees and help boost your credit score, while having a long existing credit line closed could lower your score.

5. Avoid over-limit fees through responsible spending habits. Credit card issuers have begun to charge fees for opt-in over-limit coverage. By remaining aware of credit limits and balances, consumers can avoid a need for this service and these fees altogether.

6. New regulations do not apply to corporate or small business cards. This means some small business owners might consider using personal cards for business expenses because of fee and rate limitations. However, these owners should remain cautious because their personal credit scores could suffer in the event of missed payments or defaults. Conversely, be aware of companies that are increasing solicitations for corporate card members to avoid new regulations.

For more information, visit www.bills.com.