What are you really saving by signing up with these services? Probably not as much as you would think. The Wal-Mart credit card offers standard rates (11-17% APR) and Costco’s discounts on auto loans and insurance are difficult to calculate. If you are shopping for a financial service, it is possible that you could save a bit by going through Costco or Wal-Mart. In any case, you should still shop and compare rates at a variety of places before deciding who has the best deal.
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As many as 60-85% of identity theft cases cited by police officers had meth ties. If convicted, these double criminals may only have to serve one year in jail for their crimes. Currently, this connection is most prevalent in the west but is expanding across the country.
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The new higher minimum payments going into effect this January are a great fist step. And the things that Consumers Union and Boston Legal’s producers are fighting for are great for consumers and reasonable for the industry. A few new limits on the way that credit card companies do business will probably benefit us all.
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All good things must come to an end, right? As we approach what looks like the end of the housing bubble, new fraudsters have moved in to take advantage of the housing price surges. According to the FBI, mortgage fraud reports filed by lenders alone have increased 600% since 1999. These con artists take advantage of lending loopholes to take money from unsuspecting consumers and lead them to foreclosure.
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There are still ten shopping days left until Christmas…plenty of time to do some last minute purchasing online. Shopping online is safer than ever but there is always a slight risk of identity theft or other fraud. In order to combat this problem, more and more companies are starting to offer secure credit card numbers just for online shopping.
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Did you catch Boston Legal last night? The show featured a lengthy criticism of the credit card industry that was fascinating. One of the show’s writers must have had a bad experience with their credit card company.
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Banking regulators are recommending that credit card companies increase their minimum payments from 2% to 4% of the debt starting in January 2006. This change is designed to make consumers who only pay the minimums each month reduce their interest costs and pay off their debts faster. Borrowers who have a lot of credit card debt and are only paying the minimum each month may feel the pinch when this new policy goes into effect next year and should start rearranging their budget now.
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According to a recent survey, 58 million people are planning to make a financial resolution this New Year’s Eve. For most people, this resolution is probably to reduce their credit card debt (still precariously high at an average $8,400 per person). But some people may be making more creative financial resolutions for 2006.
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Military personnel deployed for active duty now have the added security of being able to place a special fraud alert on their credit reports. Simply contact one of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) to request that an active duty alert be placed on all three credit reports for one year. This alert notifies creditors that you are on active duty and that they should contact you before opening new accounts.
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ust like you should contact your mortgage lender at the first sign of trouble, you should also contact your credit card company when you are facing a financial crisis. Most of the big creditors have special departments set up that can offer reduced payments, lower interest rates and fee removal for customers who are experiencing a temporary problem such as a job loss, natural disaster, divorce or illness.
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