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Getting
Credit Getting Credit How you manage your finances and borrow money can affect your future decisions. There are companies that track whether you pay your debts and make your payments on time. This information is scored and made available in a credit report. A bad credit history can cause your problems for a long time - as much as seven years. A good credit rating means that you are financially trustworthy. It means that those who lend money or provide financial services (lenders and creditors) are going to be more willing to work with you. This publication by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called Getting Credit provides information about credit and debit cards as well as credit reports. The FTC is the nation's consumer protection champion. The FTC works to prevent fraud, deception and unfair business practices in the market place. The FTC web sites is www.ftc.gov and the toll-free number is 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Getting Credit link is www.ftc.gov/gettingcredit Getting
a Copy of Your Credit Report
There
are three major credit-reporting agencies. Creditors evaluate the
information about you when determining if you are financially responsible.
There are several factors that are used to develop your credit score.
These include your bill-paying history, how many accounts you have and
what kind they are, late payments, how long you have had accounts, the
unused portions of lines of credits, collections actions and outstanding
debt. You should know what each agency has about you. There may be a
charge for your credit report. The agencies are:
Equifax:
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian:
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
TransUnion:
1800-888-4213
www.transunion.com
Free
Annual Credit Reports.
Eligibility for an annual free credit report is
determined by your state of residence based on the rollout schedule set by
federal law. This will be available in Virginia on September 1, 2005.
Visit the website below to see when a free credit report become available
in your
state.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
This central site allows you to
request a free credit file disclosure,
commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the
nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and
TransUnion. You can also request your report by phone
or mail. Reviewing your credit report
is an effective tool in fighting identity theft. Credit
Smarts
Go Back
to Top Page
Credit
Smarts is an initiative by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to educate
college students on how to choose and use credit wisely. You can learn
more at this website http://www.ftc.gov/creditsmarts Download
an annual calendar developed by the Jump$tart Coalition which
provides practical, everyday ideas on the principles for improving your
financial health at
http://www.jumpstartcoalition.org/05calendar.pdf Budgeting
and Saving Tips The
Choose to Save Education Program provides paycheck planning
calculators. The web site is: http://www.choosetosave.org/tools/fincalcs.htm The
Institute of Consumer Financial Education
offers a quiz to help you
find out if you might be spending too much http://www.icfe.info/spenders_quiz/quiz_02.asp
and also provides some guidance on how to develop a better spending and
saving plan at http://www.icfe.info/mending_spending/index.asp The
Jump$tart Coalition provide a quiz to help you determine how much you will
need to earn based on your spending patterns. Take the Reality Check today
at
http://www.jumpstart.org/madmoney/pgv_money_rc_main.html
Careers
The
Bureau of Labor Statistics Information on occupations, including nature of
the work, job outlook and earnings.
http://www.stats.bls.gov/oco/ocoiab.htm
Identity
Theft
Identity
theft means that someone, other than you, is using your personal
information to create fraudulent accounts. They may be charging items to
another person's existing account or even using your information to get a
job. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends that use these below
steps if you believe that your identify has been stolen. The web site is www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
The FTC publishes a brochure called, ID Theft: What Its' All About.
You can down load this brochure from
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheftmini.htm
or obtain a copy from your campus Student Services Center.
The
FTC recommends the following actions if you believe your identity has been
stolen.
Contact
the fraud departments of any one of the three major
credit bureaus. To place a fraud alert on your credit file.
The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before open any new
accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as
the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit
bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts. Once the
alert is placed, you may order a free copy of your credit report from
all three major credit bureaus. Close
the accounts you know or believe have been tampered with or opened
fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when
disputing new unauthorized accounts. File
a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors
and others that may require proof of the crime. File
your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database
of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for
investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about
identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can
better assist you.
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