Are you starting to have problems managing your debt obligations? Are you now contemplating on filing for bankruptcy? However, before you do so, bankruptcy reform bill requires applicants to undergo credit counseling before they can file their bankruptcy application. One of the possible recommendations of a credit counselor is for you to seek an advice for debt consolidation services. Debt consolidation services from a reputable and respectable lending institution may help to take back and re-build your good credit standing. This may help avoid filing for bankruptcy.
One of the best offers in a debt consolidation services is that they will set up a one easy monthly payment of all your debts. You may also pay smaller monthly payments because part of the services that they offer will include negotiating for lower monthly payments. Even though, part of the debt consolidation services they offer will require you to pay more for finance charges because of the lengthened payment terms, the lower monthly payment may free up some cash for you.
You may benefit from debt consolidation services because they will help you avoid filing for the dreaded bankruptcy. Then, when you feel you may never need to file for bankruptcy, you will not feel inferior because you can still have a good credit standing after you diligently pay your newly designed loan program. This is a neat benefit of acquiring debt consolidation services.
Here you will find some basic information you may need to know in choosing a lending institution that offers debt consolidation services. Consider the charges the lending institution may change for the debt consolidation services, it has to be reasonable enough that will not make you suffer more severely than what you are experiencing right now. Debt consolidation services may also cause burden if you do not consider the amount of monthly payment that may be convenient and affordable for you. You may also need to consider how long you may need to pay the loan and what will happen when you miss payments even just once. Debt consolidation services that may be beneficial needs to have a little lenience as well, but you need to be aware of the rules that apply to your case. This is because it is bad practice for debt consolidation services representatives to tell you what to do without discussing what you will get as a benefit from their recommendations.
It is a recommendation that you diligently pay your loan on time when you
finally get an approval for your loan after acquiring the debt consolidation
services offered. Another recommendation from a reputable and respectable lending
institution is that you develop a strategy that will make regular and timely
payment for your newly structured loan. Firstly, you need to assess your financial
standing; you may need to consider how much you earn from all your income sources.
You may also inform the debt consolidation services representative how much
monthly payment you can conveniently set aside after considering all your income
sources. You may need to assess you regular and necessary expenses before you
decide on the amount you can conveniently pay as monthly payment. This may
help to ensure that the debt consolidation services work well for you when
you finally can afford your monthly payments.
The Fed Proposes a Rules to Limit Credit Card Fees
The Federal Reserve has proposed a rule that would limit penalty credit card fees - those fees that are imposed when you default on your credit card, e.g. miss a payment. Right now, credit card companies are charging the maximum penalty fee to the majority of their customers. If it's passed by Congress, the new rule could end that practice.
The rule would stop credit card companies from charing fees that are more than the violation. For example, if you go over your limit by $5, your maximum over-the-limit fee would be $5. The rule would stop inactivity fees and prevent cardholders from being charged multiple times for one violation.
You can let the Federal Reserve know what you think about the proposed rule by commenting at their website. Make sure you leave a comment for R-1584.
The Fed Proposes a Rules to Limit Credit Card Fees originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 02:10:52.
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...(more)Watch Out for Unauthorized Charges From iTunes
Note: This news story came out last year, but many readers are still facing problems with fraudulent charges from iTunes.
A MyFox New York story warns about fraudulent credit card and check card charges that appear to be from iTunes. The first signs of the fraud include charges or pending authorizations from a APL*ITUNES business for $1.00 which might seem to be accurate or an email for gift card receipts that were purchased with your account. The fraud is happening to a wide-variety of people who may or may not have an iTunes account. From the news story:
The high-tech scam has claimed victims from New York to California. At the heart of it all is Apple's wildly popular iTunes. Victims say it starts with an unexpected e-mail for purchases they never made. That's how Rachel Katz from Manhattan found out, "I got two emails thanking me for my purchase."
But by the time victims get the e-mail receipt it's usually too late. The receipts appear to be legitimate, and come from Apple, generated by the user's iTunes account. The receipts show purchases for iTunes electronic gift certificates and charges that hit checking accounts, credit cards or PayPal depending on what the user has linked to his or her iTunes account.
Some of the thieves wait for the $1.00 charge to complete before hitting the account with even higher charges. Sending an initial small charge through first allows the thief to determine whether the account is legitimate.
Many victims of the fraud are having trouble fixing the situation. Neither the banks nor Paypal nor Apple accept ownership. Meanwhile, victims are left without hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
Brett Larson with MyFox recommends deleting your credit card information from iTunes. Instead, he suggests you fund your account with an iTunes gift card. The cards can be purchased from many retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. Or, you can make iTunes purchases with single-use credit card number available from your credit card company.
I just deleted my credit card information from iTunes by going to Store --> View My Account. I clicked on Edit Payment information and next to "Credit Card" I selected the radio button next to "None."
If you notice an authorization or charges from Apl*itunes, contact your bank immediately. Here are some Tips to Avoid Credit Card Scams and information about disputing inaccurate credit card charges.
via Consumerist
Watch Out for Unauthorized Charges From iTunes originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 02:05:33.
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...(more)Are Some Creditors Trying to Hide the True Cost of Credit?
Credit card issuers are now required to include credit card repayment time and cost on the front of your billing statement, but they may be trying to skirt that new requirement.
Credit card issuers are now required to give a minimum payment warning letting you know just how much you'll end up paying in interest if you make the minimum payment on your credit card. They also have to clearly state late payment penalties including late fees and penalty rates. Both these disclosures are supposed to be printed on the front of your billing statement.
The rule applies to printed statements and if you check your billing statement online, you might not see the warnings unless you download the PDF version of your statement. Could this be the real reason why some private-label credit card issuers started charging consumers a dollar to receive paper statements?
CreditCards.com reports that back in December of 2009, retailers who issue through Alliance Data Systems gave cardholders the option to get their statements online or pay $1 for paper statements. Of course, there'll be some customers to pay the fee because they can't or won't check their accounts online. The ones who opt for online statements could miss out on vital information about how much they're paying for credit.
Are Some Creditors Trying to Hide the True Cost of Credit? originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 02:42:48.
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...(more)Credit card skimming is a type of credit card theft that allows thieves to steal your credit card information without stealing your credit card. After being hidden in ATMs and other credit card machines, credit card skimmers collect your data in what would have been a legitimate transaction. Waiters, retail clerks, and other customer service representatives can hold skimmers in their hands and swipe when you're not paying attention. Learn more about credit card skimming, how to recognize a skimmer, and how to avoid the theft.
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Beware Credit Card Skimming originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 00:18:06.
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...(more)5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund
It's tax season and for many taxpayers that means a tax refund is due. If you know you're getting a refund, you've probably already started thinking about how you're going to spend it. Buying consumer goods would stimulate the economy, but paying off some credit card debt would stimulate your get-out-of-debt plan. See 5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund for some ideas on what you can do with this year's income tax refund.
5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund originally appeared on About.com Credit / Debt Management on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 00:18:53.
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