Online debt consolidation has been a hot topic on everybody's lips nowadays. People are divided in their opinions about online debt consolidation because there are those who swear that they've been saved from bankruptcy, thanks to online debt consolidation while there are those who say online debt consolidation is such a no-no, like all other financial processes done over the Internet, because it's too risky.
This article would hopefully be one of the few to tackle the issue of online debt consolidation in an objective manner. The advantages and disadvantages behind online debt consolidation would both be considered but in the end, we leave it to you to decide since it's your life, your money and your bills.
Let's begin then. Just for clarity's sake, debt consolidation is adding up all your bills together and asking a debt consolidation company to do some quotes for you online. Some sites even assure you that you need not show any documents at all to avail yourself of online debt consolidation. So that's an advantage of online debt consolidation over other institutions like banks, for example. Banks wouldn't let you take a loan unless you show them a heap of papers that proves your credit reputation is tarnish free. With online debt consolidation, you may not even need to show more than your bank account balance. Online debt consolidation is also convenient obviously because it can be done online. There are times when we can't help but worry about our finances and so even though we're out of town, we can easily cope with our problems thanks to online debt consolidation. If you have a laptop, you can simply plug it to a phone line and you're on. Or you can go visit the nearest internet café. Then you log in to an online debt consolidation company and there you go, bills paid in an instant. It's that easy. But of course, there are always two sides to a coin and so there are disadvantages to using online debt consolidation too. The first major disadvantage of online debt consolidation is sending personal and pertinent information over the Internet like your Social Security number, your financial status, your credit card number and so on. Online debt consolidation companies may require access to your accounts and that could be a fatal thing. Even if they don't, sending information such as those mentioned above over the Internet would instantly make them vulnerable to hackers worldwide. And you naturally don't need more bills to tally, bills for products and services that you didn't even enjoy yourself.
Another disadvantage of online debt consolidation is that you may not know what exactly is going on. They may be just a company that represents other companies so your bills may be passed to another person and so on until it's all one big mess. Although online debt consolidation can be convenient, when the situation becomes a little crazy, that's when it becomes inconvenient. Since it is online debt consolidation, there may not even be a company address for you to go to when trouble arises.
As a closing note, although we have nothing against online debt consolidation,
we do believe that if you truly want to solve your bills in such a way, then
why not try to do it personally and visit the nearest debt consolidation company
instead of doing it online? At least you'd see the person who is
going to handle the finances instead of simply relying on a computer processed
form.
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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