Payday Loans Blog

Social networking using sites such as Twitter, Facebook and My Space are almost as essential to people, and as much of a routine, as getting gas or buying groceries. For many Americans, and others around the world, social networking, especially using these sites is an everday occurance and some people may even feel lost without them.  Sites, such as the ones mentioned, allow you to post your daily activities, your pictures, and really any type of social, or even non-social events and happenings that you want, as long as they meet site rules.  People everywhere, including businesses and banks, can then look at your profile and any information you choose to share with the general public can be viewed by literally anyone in the general public.

What Does This Mean for You?

Sites, especially advertising and marketing sites are gathering this information to use for their own personal benefit. If you say you love ice cream and to ride horses on the beach, chances are that some marketing or information gathering site somewhere on the internet has this information about you in their database under the "Robert Smith" file. Even though most of this information gathering is rather innocent, there are people who may be gathering your personal information for financial, social and political gain.  If you don't believe me, check and see what ads are coming up on the right side of your facebook account. Chances are they are tailored specifically to you, based off of information you provided on the site. 

Banks

Banks are not likely to use the information found on your social networking site for personal gain, but bank representatives have told the media that their marketing departments use data to determine your daily activities and ability to receive a loan or other credit or debit products or services. 

Friends

Remember when your parents always told you to choose your friends wisely? This is when it may be important to watch who you associate yourself with; especially closely with on social networking sites.  Banks and other lending companies may check those you are closely associated with to see if they make wise credit decisions and to see what kind of a risk you may pose to their company upon receiving a loan, etc.

The basic idea then is watch who you associate with and the privacy settings you choose to use on your various accounts.  Things you may say or do, could come back to haunt you in more ways than one. 

Check City offers great Social Media Networking. You can become our fan on facebook, follow us on twitter, watch our commericals on YouTube, and stay up to date by reading our daily blog posts. With so many ways to learn about Check City and the great things we have to offer, you are sure to find a financial service that is perfect for you. Visit us Online or in one of our Store Locations today. 

Visa makes a bold step on Wednesday March 24 as it pushes forward its agenda to phase out the need for signatures on credit card receipts hoping to help stamp out credit card fraud.  Visa is hoping to introduce chip and PIN technology for all Visa cards by 2014 and plan on having the signatures completely phased out at checkouts by 2012.  Visa's New Zealand manager is working with banks and retailers to upgrade over 2.6 million cards as well as thousands of point of sale terminals and ATM machines.

New Zealand is the first in this new phase of credit cards.  They feature securely embedded smart chips to give consumers a heightened sense of security and will be embedded in all cards starting in April of 2010.  After these changes are made Visa will also be making changes to their debit and reloadable prepaid cards by April 2012. 

These chips will also provide benefits such as faster services and transactions.  Some innovations also include contactless payment and rewards information will be able to be stored on their cards. This plan also includes moves to enhance online security.  A few websites already have updated security measures that require a password to access online transactions and payments and these retailers will be required to capture the three-digit cardholder verification number and small and medium businesses will be required to have even more security features in place.

The new technologies available make it easier than ever to control and even stop credit card fraud overseas.

Check City offers a great alternative to Credit Cards with its netspend Prepaid Debit Card.  With this easy and convenient Prepaid Card you won't have to have your credit checked and you won't receive monthly bills or fees.  You will never overdraft because the only way to get money on the card is to deposit it there yourself.  It is a simple way to stay out of debt, and it is much more secure than a credit card, and less prone to fraud. 

Over the past week and a half I have been giving you as much information as I can on the new CARD Act Reform policies, procedures and laws that have been put into place. Today I'd like to wrap it up with one last article about what will go on your monthly statement as well as the deadlines companies have been given for the policies and practices to be completely enacted.

One of the best changes, that I haven't discussed yet, when it comes to your monthly statement is the fact that they are now also requiring credit card companies to make the fine print a little less fine, and a little more readable by everyone.  Follow this link at CreditCards.com to see a mock up of what your statement will look like when it has been completely changed over to the new format.  

All changes must be completely in place by July of 2010 and if for some reason this doesn't occur with your company, it is a good idea to contact them just to see what is going on.  The contact numbers and emails should also be more readily available on the monthly statement in perhaps more than once place, so don't hesitate to call.  

Instead of dealing with the hassle of interest, minimum payments, overdraft and late fees, get a netspend Prepaid Debit Card from Check City. We can save you time, stress, and even money with our low deposit fees and the easiest services in town.  With a netspend Prepaid Debit Card the only thing you have to do is load money onto the card, and you can spend it anywhere Visa or Mastercard are accepted, all over the world! Its easy and we charge minimal fees.  Once your card has been emptied, you have to reload it in order to use it again. It is a great way to get the convenience of a credit card, without all the hassle.

Did you know that each and every consumer, by law, is entitled to receive their credit reports for free one time every twelve months from all three credit reporting bureaus? This comes from the Fair Credit Reporting Act ammended most recently in October 2001. The act, know more commonly known as the FCRA was originally put into place in 1970 and is monitored by the Federal Trade Comission (FTC).  The Fair and Acurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is an ammendement to the FCRA enacted in 2003 allowing consumers to receive one free credit report a year. Consumers can request the report by phone (877-322-8228), mail (Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281), or through the website provided by the government annualcreditreport.com

This credit act also states that if a consumer desputes any negative part of their credit report and it is sucessfully removed from their report, a credit reporting agency cannot place it back on without notifying the customer within five days, in writing. It also protects consumers from negative reports lasting over 7 years.  Credit reporting bureaus are now required to discard old deliquencies and other negative issues after 7 years. There are certain exceptions as there are to every rule, such as mortgages (they may keep for 10), and tax liens (may be kept 7 years from the time they are paid off). 

So, who are these Credit Reporting Agencies or Bureaus and what exactly do they do?  The three credit agencies are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.  Lenders are also required to inform consumers if they are reporting a bad credit mark to any of these agencies, and agencies will inform them that their credit scores have been updated. 

Receiving these credit reports annually will also help you to combat negative items on the report and help prevent identity theft, if you are keeping an eye on your own reports.  You can also have your credit frozen, so that no one can run your credit, or do anything with your credit score or report without your acknowledgement and approval. You will also be notified everytime something relating to your credit changes. 

If you request your credit report online, you will be able to view it immediately as soon as you verify your identity, so if you are looking to see your credit report fast, that might be the way to go.  

Is your credit bad, and you don't know what to do? Check City offers netspend Prepaid Debit Cards.  In order to use them, you must preload them with all the money you plan to use. When that money runs out, you must reload the card before you can make another purchase. This will help you not over spend, and avoid overdraft fees, etc. When you go with a netspend Prepaid Debit Card,  it is reported as good credit on your credit reports and we don't need to run your credit to get a card. Did you know that everytime someone runs your credit report it decreases? Avoid all the hassle and raise your credit score at the same time. Visit Check City today to get your Prepaid Debit Card. 

In an article published this morning on Credit Card Guide consumers find out that a newly proposed credit card fee could harm their FICO credit score. 

By Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.

When you apply for credit or financing, your credit report will be pulled electronically from any three major consumer reporting agencies.  These are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax.  They are responsible for maintaining correct and up to date credit information for people around the globe.  Obviously they are maintaining billions of records and are therefore not very effective in finding errors to individual reports.

This is the very reason why we as consumers are responsible for checking our own credit reports.  Make sure that you get a copy of your credit report at least once per year.  You are entitled to get one free copy per year.  If you have been denied credit in the past 60 days you are also entitled to receive a free credit report.  Below is a list of each credit bureau.

• Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; (800) 685-1111.
   
• Experian(formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).
   
• Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; (800) 916-8800.
   

You can also use the internet to get your credit report.  Many companies will give you instant access to your report online and will offer it free if you try their credit monitoring service for a limited time.  These are great services to keep track of your credit and stop identity theft in its tracks.  When someone applies for credit in your name and SSN, these services will notify you via email.  If you did not request this credit then you just log into your account and alert the credit bureaus of potential fraud.

The information on your credit report is used to evaluate you when you apply for credit, insurance, employment or other purposes allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  It is crucial that you review your credit for accuracy at least once per year.

When you monitor your report you will save yourself future problems when you apply for new credit or if you are considering the purchase of a new home.  When you know what is on your report you can clear up any inaccuracies before you even apply for new credit.  In doing so, you will avoid any issues before they arise.

When you find inaccurate information do the following:

• Verify discrepancies as soon as possible.  The credit bureau says that a reasonable amount of time is usually 30 days.
• Dispute the information.  You can either do it one at a time or all at once.
• Write a dispute letter.  Don’t just copy a form.  They will take you more seriously if you write it yourself rather than doing what thousands of others have done before.

The credit bureau is required to investigate claims and if they cannot confirm within a reasonable amount of time then the credit record must be taken off your credit file.  They also must provide you with a free copy of your credit report that was fixed.

Make sure your dispute goes to all three credit bureau companies. If by chance they decide that the information must stay on your report, then you can add a letter of explanation to your report so that future lenders are aware.