Credit Secrets & Tips

While credit bureaus keep track of how you handle credit, there are other companies that monitor and report how you manage or mismanage your checking account.
 
And, as some of you may have learned, even a single bounced check reported by one of these services may be enough to make it difficult for you to get a credit or get a merchant to accept your check as payment.
 
Check reporting protects financial institutions and merchants (such as retailers and grocery stores) from losses associated with bounced or fraudulent checks.
 
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a bounced check or other wrongdoing reported to a check reporting service may stay on your record for as many as seven years!

What should you do if a banking institution turns you away because of an unfavorable report about your banking account?

Ask the bank for the name, address and phone number of the company that furnished the report, so you can request a copy and look for incorrect or missing information.

Under certain circumstances, such as if you’re denied a new account at a financial institution, you are entitled to a free report. 
 
If your financial institution was the source of an error in your check report, it is required by the FCRA to contact the check reporting service and have the record corrected.
 
Also be wary of services on the Internet or elsewhere that offer to help you find a bank or “fix” your check history.  These services usually involve a fee, and some may make
false or misleading representations.
 
Frequently balance and monitor your checking account to avoid bounced checks. Don’t close one checking account before you have established another one.
 
And before closing your account, make sure any outstanding checks have cleared and account fees have been paid.

 

Most of you use credit or debit cards to pay for online purchases.  I encourages you to take steps to make sure your transactions are secure and your personal information is
protected.

Although you can’t control fraud or deception on the Internet, you can take action to recognize it, avoid it and report it. 

Here’s a few tips:

1. Use a secure browser software that encrypts or scrambles the purchase information you send over the Internet to help guard the security of your information as it is transmitted to a web site. 

Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from the manufacturer.  You also can download some browsers for free
over the Internet.

When submitting your purchase information, look for the lock icon on the browser’s status bar, and the phrase “https” in the URL address for a web site, to be sure your information is secure during transmission.

2.  Check the site’s privacy policy before you provide any personal financial information to a web site. 

In particular, determine how the information will be used or shared with others. Also check the site’s statements about the security provided for your information. 

The statements may includes “Privacy Statement”, “Acceptable Term of Use”(AUP), “Anti-Spam Policy”, and “Disclaimer”.

Some web sites.  Disclosures are easier to find than others. Look at the bottom of the home page, on order forms or in the About or FAQs section of a site.  If you’re not comfortable with the policy, consider doing business elsewhere.

3. Read and understand the refund and shipping policies of a web site you visit, before you make your purchase.  Look closely at disclosures about the Webster’s refund and shipping policies.

Again, search through the web site for these disclosures.

4. Keep your personal information private. Don’t disclose your personal information your address, telephone number, Social Security number, bank account number or e-mail address unless you know who’s collecting the information, why they’re collecting it and how they’ll use it.

5. Give payment information only to businesses you know and trust, and only when and where it is appropriate like an order form. 

Never give your password to anyone online, even your Internet service provider.  Do not download files sent to you by strangers or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t know.
Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a program that could hijack your computer.

6.  Keep records of your online transactions and check your e-mail for contacts by merchants with whom you’re doing business.  Merchants may send you important information about your purchases.

7. Review your monthly credit card and bank statements for any errors or unauthorized purchases promptly and thoroughly.

Notify your credit or debit card issuer immediately if your credit or debit card or checkbook is lost or stolen, or if you suspect someone is using your accounts without your permission.