March 29, 2009
Steps to take if you’re laid off
If you’re one of the 4.4 million consumers laid off since the recession started in December 2007, and your bills are piling up, try these tips to keep from panicking:
- Go ahead and feel upset or afraid.
March 26, 2009
Identity-theft complaints rise in Va.
Identity-theft complaints rose 21 percent in the Richmond area in 2008, according to a Federal Trade Commission report. The region ranked 239th among the 380 largest metropolitan areas in the nation. The ranking is based on the number of identity-theft complaints per 100,000 residents. In 2007, the area was No. 244. The FTC received 1,162 identity-theft complaints among consumers in the Richmond area in 2008, compared with 961 in 2007.
March 22, 2009
Read credit card bills ASAP and pay them early
Credit card issuers are making plenty of mischief before government reforms kick in. One reader told me her annual percentage rate was raised twice since September, from 12.99 percent originally to 16.99 percent, then 21.99 percent. Another said she received a statement with a due date in three days instead of the usual 10. Her husband had to scurry to get the payment off in time to avert a late fee.
March 15, 2009
Phony texts to cell phones may seek data
Watch for fraudulent text messages, cell-phone users. First Community Bank in Bluefield, which has 56 branches, including five in the Richmond area, said con artists are looking for victims in this area. They are sending unsolicited text messages to mobile phones seeking personal data that lets them drain people’s bank accounts. They do that by cloning the victims’ ATM cards.
March 08, 2009
Work-at-home scams proliferate in poor economy
Work-at-home hucksters are busy looking for victims in 2009. Don’t become one of them. Christine Durst, chief executive at Staffcentrix LLC, a company that screens work-at-home job ads for the federal government, said scam artists come out of the woodwork looking for victims whenever there is a sense of hopelessness.
March 01, 2009
FICO 08 is new lending credit tool
Heads up, consumers. Your credit score may change for better or worse in the near future because of a newly launched risk management tool for lenders. FICO 08, a revised credit score model developed by Fair Isaac Corp., the pioneer of credit scoring, became available in late January through the credit reporting agency TransUnion.
February 22, 2009
Pros, cons of freezing your credit report
Use caution in freezing credit file If you’re feeling squeamish about your identity being stolen, should you put a security freeze on your credit file? Yes, if someone has already fraudu lently opened up new accounts in your name. Otherwise, maybe. Freezing your credit report might be advisable if you look at it and something’s amiss, said Steve Katz, spokesman for credit reporting agency TransUnion.
February 15, 2009
When debt management plan can help
Patricia Vaughn of Richmond owed $5,000 to eight creditors. She was a chronic overspender—an addictive behavior associated with her bipolar disorder. One day she saw a ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions announcement that offered to help consumers get con trol of their finances. Skeptical, she contacted the Henrico County-based credit counseling agency and discussed her situation with a financial specialist.
January 31, 2009
Out of work? Desperate? Help is here
Out of work? Desperate? Help is here If you’ve lost your job and suddenly don’t have money to pay basic living expenses, don’t push the panic button. Someone is available to help. Even if you haven’t gotten the ax, but you fear it may happen soon, get prepared. Clip this column and save it. Cora Dickerson, manager of the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg’s Information and Referral Center, said about every fifth call that its staff fields is from or about someone displaced from a job.
January 25, 2009
Saved enough to survive loss of job?
If you lost your job tomorrow, how many months could you survive? A typical worker might make ends meet for a median of 120 days before they couldn’t pay their basic living expenses, according to a survey by Henrico County-based SnagAJob, a Web site connecting employers with part-time and hourly workers.
January 18, 2009
CONSUMER WATCH: Group seeks affordable debt plans
The nation’s biggest credit-counseling association, seeking to avert a rash of personal bankruptcy filings, has asked credit-card issuers to make deeper debt concessions to financially distressed consumers. Susan Keating, president of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, said many of the 2.8 million consumers who sought credit counseling from its 108 members in 2008 wanted to enroll in a debt-management plan.
January 11, 2009
CONSUMER WATCH
Foreclosure scheme has many lessons The criminal indictment of a Virginia man accused of running a Ponzi scheme based on buying up people’s foreclosed homes and letting them stay and pay rent is filled with lessons for consumers. The case was filed in December in the U.S. District Court in Richmond. The matter goes to trial in June. According to the indictment, a man convinced people to invest in his Chesterfield County-based company which “saved” financially distressed peoples’ homes from foreclosure by buying them from the lenders.
January 04, 2009
Carefully read funeral contracts
A reader entered into two pre-need contracts with a Richmond funeral home, one each for her and her husband. The reader’s husband died. But the funeral home charged current prices when her husband died.
December 28, 2008
Plan and set family goals for budget
Did you overspend yet again? Better sit down and start a family budget before you go broke. Follow these tips: Take a free budget class. Circle Feb. 5 on your calendar. That’s the next “Money Management & Credit Recovery Class” presented by Housing Opportunities Made Equal. Developing a budget is one part of the seminar.
December 21, 2008
CONSUMER WATCH
Donate quickly to receive tax deductions Time is running out. The calendar flips to 2009 the middle of next week. Hurry if you want to help the needy or a family member or your business one last time this year and get a deduction at tax time. Donate your old vehicle now. You can donate your car to any charity that accepts vehicle donations by calling the organization directly.
