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What are my rights to credit?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:00:08 GMT

Credit is a major factor in almost everyone’s life in American society today. If you want to buy a house or car, you’ll need good credit. If you want a credit card, you’ll need good credit. In fact, even if you just want to rent an apartment or a DVD, your credit could be an issue. As a result, it is essential that you educate yourself about the different federal laws that protect your rights to credit.

Laws about credit include the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), which deals with information placed on your credit report, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”), which safeguards you from discrimination when seeking credit, the Fair Credit Billing Act (“FCBA”) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (“EFTA”), which help you resolve mistakes made in your financial accounts, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), which gives you rights against creditors attempting to collect debts that you might owe. By knowing all of your rights to credit, you can protect your rights to credit.

First, everyone knows that if you want to get a loan or credit of any kind, the lender or bank will first look at your credit report, which is governed in large part by the FCRA. You have several important rights regarding your credit report; for instance, you have the right to obtain a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three major credit reporting companies. This allows you to see the information on your credit report and make sure it’s correct. You also are entitled to know who has requested your credit report within the last year, and to receive a copy of your credit report if you are denied credit. Finally, you have certain rights to dispute information on your credit report that you believe to be inaccurate.

Next, if you are applying for a loan, the ECOA prevents the bank or lender from discriminating against you on account of your sex, race, religion, marital status, age, national origin, or receipt of public assistance. All companies have to follow this important law, and it helps to ensure that no one can be denied credit for an illegal discriminatory reason. The ECOA also gives you the right to know why you are being denied credit under any circumstances.

Likewise, the FCBA and EFTA exist solely to help you fix mistakes that might occur with respect to your credit. These laws help protect you from mathematical errors, unauthorized charges to your accounts, improperly posted payments, and many other problems that might occur with your credit accounts. After all, mistakes are made more often than you might realize, and these laws go a long way toward enabling you to solve any problems that can occur as a result of these mistakes.

Finally, the FDCPA gives you, as a consumer, important rights with regard to money that you owe. While you are ultimately responsible for your debts, you also have the right to be treated fairly by debt collectors. Knowing your rights under the FDCPA prevents debt collectors from making misrepresentations to you, harassing you, and otherwise acting in an abusive manner toward you.

What are

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:07:57 GMT

Traditionally, homeowner’s insurance policies have contained an exclusion clause for damages caused by “acts of God”, a catch-all term that covers any sort of act of nature that cannot be controlled, like earthquakes or hurricanes. “Acts of God” also typically include damages as a result of war, i.e. a nuclear war. In recent years, however, there has been a trend toward the removal of the “acts of God” exclusion clause in many homeowners’ insurance policies, at least with respect to some such events. In any case, it is essential when purchasing any homeowner’s insurance policy that you educate yourself regarding the damages caused by “acts of God” that your policy will – or will not – cover, as well as whether you need to purchase additional insurance coverage.

Many damages to homes are caused by acts of nature, such as high winds, tornadoes, hail, storms, and ice, which may or may not be classified as “acts of God”, depending on the terms of your homeowner’s insurance policy. If your home suffers damages as a result of an “act of God”, you should immediately contact your homeowner’s insurance company in order to determine whether the damages will be covered. There are some specific types of damages that your homeowner’s insurance policy might not cover, even if they result from an “act of God” for which your policy generally provides coverage. For instance, if there is a major ice storm that causes damage to your roof, your homeowner’s insurance policy is likely to provide you with coverage for the damages to your roof. However, there are some property damages that you also may have suffered as a result of the ice storm that your homeowner’s insurance policy may not cover. For instance, some homeowner’s insurance policies will not provide coverage for the costs of spoiled food resulting from an extended power outage caused by an ice storm, while other homeowner’s policies will cover such costs. Therefore, you must read your homeowner’s insurance policy carefully, and be aware of such exclusions in coverage.

Furthermore, common “acts of God”, such as flooding and earthquake damage, are generally still excluded from coverage by most homeowner’s insurance policies. Your only option for coverage for damages caused by these “acts of God” is to purchase an add-on policy, called a “rider”, that provides you with additional coverage in the event that your home receives damages from an excluded “act of God”. Particularly if you live in a flood-prone area, you must assess the likelihood and/or risk of damages that might occur to your home as a result of flooding with the costs of maintaining additional flood insurance coverage. If your home, or homes in your area, have sustained flood damages in the past, it is likely to be worth the costs of purchasing a flood insurance rider. If you live in a high-risk area in terms of flooding, you may be able to purchase flood insurance from the U.S. government through the National Flood Insurance Program.

What is the Fair Credit Billing Act?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:05:15 GMT

At one point or another, everyone has had problems with billing on an account. Maybe you bought a new dining room table for which your credit card company billed you twice. Or maybe you returned that new dress you bought that didn’t fit, but you still were billed for it. Sound familiar? If so, you can benefit from being aware of your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act, or the FCBA, which gives you the power to resolve these types of disputes with the credit card company or bank in question.

The FCBA applies only to open end or revolving credit accounts, like major credit cards and department store credit accounts. Keep in mind that the FCBA does not apply to loans paid in installments, like car loans or mortgages.

The FCBA also applies only to billing errors. These types of disputes include charges on your account that you did not authorize, charges on the wrong date or for the wrong amount, mathematical errors in calculating accounts, problems with credits or refunds for returned items or items that you didn’t receive, and bills that are sent to a wrong address.

You also have to take certain actions within a certain timeframe in order to use the FCBA. For example, you have to contact the creditor within sixty days of the date that you first received notice of the billing error. You also have to contact the creditor in writing, at its address for “inquiries” rather than its payment address, and provide specific information including your name, address, account number, and description of the problem. If you comply with all of these rules, then the FCBA requires the creditor to acknowledge your dispute within 30 days, and to resolve your dispute about the billing error within two billing cycles, or not more than 90 days, of the date that the creditor received notice of the problem.

While your creditor is in the process of resolving your dispute, you don’t have to pay for the charges resulting from the billing error. However, you do have to pay any other charges that are unrelated to the dispute. Similarly, during this time period, the creditor can’t take legal action against you for the billing dispute, and can’t report negative information about you on your credit report related to the dispute.

If you are right, and there really is a billing error, then the creditor has to fix it, and explain to you in writing how the problem will be fixed. If you are wrong, though, and there is no billing error, then the creditor must tell you, in writing, how much you owe and why. You are also entitled to documentation of the amount that the creditor says you owe. If you still disagree, then you need to contact the creditor within 10 days to further dispute the billing error; however, keep in mind that the creditor can start to take collection actions against you at this point if you still don’t pay the bill.

Finally, if a creditor doesn’t follow the FCBA with respect to a claimed billing error, then the creditor can be penalized by not being able to collect the amount in dispute, up to $50.00. Therefore, it is important to know your rights under the FCBA in order to properly deal with billing disputes.

What is the Equal Credit Opportunity Act?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:25:36 GMT

Getting and using credit seems to be an American pastime these days. You can use a credit card to pay for your meals at McDonald’s, and you can rarely make a hotel reservation without using a credit card. With skyrocketing prices, who pays cash for a car or a house? It is common for an average person to carry a 30-year mortgage, a car loan, and a few thousand dollars in credit card debt. Therefore, with the importance of credit in our society, it is essential that you are knowledgeable about your rights to obtaining credit.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) guarantees that all people and businesses have an equal chance to obtain credit. This law protects you when you are trying to get credit, whether you are dealing with a bank, a credit card agency, a mortgage company, a finance company, or a department store to get that credit. Plus, the ECOA applies to all kinds of credit, including mortgages, car loans, personal loans, and credit cards.

Basically, the ECOA makes sure that a bank doesn’t illegally discriminate against you in applying for or getting credit. A bank cannot discourage you from applying for credit, or even ask for, your sex, race, age, religion, or national origin, in your credit application. The ECOA also prohibits banks from asking whether you receive public assistance, or discouraging you from filling out a credit application because you receive public assistance.

Likewise, the ECOA prevents banks from asking you if you are widowed or divorced. If you are applying for credit in your name alone, then the bank cannot ask you if you are married, or for information about your spouse. The only exceptions to this rule are if you live in a community property state, such as Arizona or California, or if you are applying for credit jointly with your spouse. The bank is also not permitted to ask you about your children, or if you intend to have children. Furthermore, you don’t have to tell the bank about any child support, maintenance, or alimony payments that you receive, if you don’t want to use that income as a basis for getting credit.

Besides these rules for applying for credit, the ECOA also prohibits the bank from considering similar factors when deciding whether to give you credit. While a bank can deny you credit because it doesn’t think that you are a good credit risk, maybe because you have filed for bankruptcy in the past, or don’t have a strong credit history, a bank cannot deny you credit because of who you are. Thus, a bank cannot deny you credit based on your sex, race, age, religion, or national origin. A bank also cannot look at whether you have a telephone listing, or the racial composition of the neighborhood where you want to buy a home using credit. The bank cannot consider your age, either, unless you’re too young to a sign a contract (usually, under age 18), or if you will receive more favorable treatment because you are 62 years of age or older.

What rights do I have in planning a funeral?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:32:22 GMT

When a loved one passes away, you may find yourself confused by the many decisions to make in planning a funeral. In this situation, you should know your rights in terms of funeral planning, which will allow you to make the right decisions, even in a time of great emotional stress.

Under the Funeral Rule, you can choose only those goods and services that you want or need for the funeral, and you must pay for only those goods and services that you choose. While many funeral homes offer package deals that provide various goods and services for a fixed cost, the Rule gives you the right to pick and choose among the goods and services, so you aren’t stuck with more than what you really want or need.

The Rule also allows you to compare the costs of goods and services offered by various funeral homes, and to ultimately choose the home that you want to use, whether you are planning a funeral in advance, or if you are faced with the immediate decision of making arrangements for a loved one. Keep in mind, however, that the Rule does not apply to sellers of caskets or monuments, or to cemeteries that aren’t tied to a funeral home.

You also have a number of rights under the Rule to get information about the goods and services that funeral homes offer. A funeral director must give you pricing information over the phone, without first requiring that you provide identifying information about yourself. When you visit a funeral home, you are entitled to a detailed, itemized price list of all goods and services that a funeral home offers, including the prices of caskets and outer burial containers. Remember, you aren’t limited to the caskets that a funeral home has on display; rather, you may be able to choose a lower-cost casket from the price list, or even an alternate burial container, which a funeral home must offer you in the case of cremation. Plus, you can even purchase a casket or urn elsewhere, and use it at any funeral home; a funeral home cannot require that you purchase caskets or containers from it in order to use its services.

Furthermore, no states require that embalming occur. While some states may require embalming or refrigeration if the body is not cremated or buried within a certain period of time, others do not require it at all. Essentially, you have the right to determine if and when a body is embalmed, and may seek any practical low-cost alternatives such as immediate cremation or burial, or a private family viewing without embalming.

The bottom line is that the Funeral Rule entitles you to make the choices that are best suited to your wants and needs in this difficult and emotional situation. Once you have made those choices, then you have the right to see a written statement of the goods and services that you have chosen, as well as their prices, before you pay for them.

The Federal Trade Commission enforces the Funeral Rule. If you have a complaint about a funeral home or funeral services provider, you can contact the FTC at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

What are vehicle lease buyouts and returns? Can I terminate my vehicle lease early? Can I trade in a vehicle that I am currently leasing?

Fri, 29 May 2009 03:09:43 GMT

In recent years, it has become quite common for people to lease vehicles, rather than to take the more conventional path of financing a vehicle purchase through an installment loan. While there may be many good reasons for leasing rather than buying a vehicle, there may come a time when you want or need to terminate the lease early. Fortunately, you have a number of options available to you in order to terminate your lease early. The best option for you will depend on the facts of your situation, and your goals in wishing to terminate your lease early.

If you are leasing a vehicle, you do have the option of seeking alternative financing in order to buy the vehicle that you have been leasing through what is called a vehicle lease buyout. You can buyout a vehicle at the end of your lease term, and since a buyout is based on the current value of the vehicle, which is now a “used” vehicle, you may be able to negotiate a lower payment and better terms under this method of financing.

You also can opt to buyout a vehicle before your lease term has expired. This option is a bit more complicated, but it essentially permits you to convert your lease to a purchase contract. The potential downside to an early lease buyout is that the purchase agreement must take into account not only the current value of the vehicle, but also the amounts that you still owe under the lease term. Therefore, this may not be as attractive as an option for you as a buyout at the end of the lease term.

While it is possible to trade in a vehicle that you have been leasing, you need to be very cautious about fees and penalties that you might be liable for if you choose to do so. A dealer might offer you some sort of incentive or “deal” in order to trade in your leased vehicle. However, be sure that you consider the new lease terms completely and carefully, and compare them to your existing terms. If you don’t, you risk taking on a new lease that will end up costing you more than you expected in the long run.

For instance, you will need to look closely at your existing lease to see if you would be subject to any early payoff or termination penalties, as well as other fees related to mileage allowances or the condition of the vehicle. Even if the dealer offers to just roll such fees into your new lease, keep in mind that you will now be paying not only the extra fees, but interest on those fees, as well, which means that you will pay more. Likewise, if you owe more money on your current lease than what the vehicle is worth, then you may end up with a much higher lease payment, since you will have to not only pay the lease payment for the newly leased vehicle, but also the remaining amount owed under the old lease.