Legislators Ponder New Credit Protection Laws

Legislators in Washington, D.C. are considering several credit-related consumer protections as outlined in The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (H.R. 2622). If approved, consumers could benefit from most wide-ranging changes to rules covering consumers and credit in decades.

One of most important changes would be right to receive a free annual copy of your credit report, upon request, from three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Currently only six U.S. states offer their residents this form of consumer protection. Federal law requires that a consumer may obtain a free copy of their credit report only if they have been denied a loan or credit based upon information contained in their credit reports.

Other highlights of The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 include:

~ special notifications whenever excessive inquiries (credit checks by potential lenders and creditors) are lowering your credit scores significantly; ~ notification by creditors whenever they are sending derogatory account information to any of national credit reporting agencies; ~ blocking negative credit information caused by an identity thief from reappearing on credit reports; ~ mandating creditors to establish guidelines to prevent them from issuing credit deemed likely to be fraudulent; ~ disclosure of credit scores used in connection with loan application decisions and an explanation of key factors that were used to determine that score; ~ requiring disclosure of name, address, and telephone number of businesses that supply information to credit bureaus.

The Power of Cash

Recognizing psychological power of cash has changed this client’s way of thinking and helped her realize true, measurable results in her efforts to eliminate debt. Here’s how.... Five months ago, Jennifer* came to me with over $32,000 in debt. She was barely able to make her monthly minimum payments, and was charging groceries and other necessities on her cards. After we reviewed and discussed her situation, she realized she was at a critical point where failure to take action would ultimately lead to bankruptcy. Jennifer asked for my help to eliminate her debt and guide her through budgeting process. Today, just 5 months later, Jennifer has made tremendous progress: [] She has not placed ANY more charges on her credit cards. [] She has created and continues to live within a budget, which we monitor weekly. [] With help of a debt reduction plan, she has reduced her debt by 9%, to just over $29,000. She will be completely debt free in 3.6 years. [] She feels a sense of relief whenever unexpected expenses occur, since we’ve managed to set aside an emergency fund. Before Jennifer could realize any success with her debt reduction plan, she had to get her current spending under control. A key part of Jennifer’s success lies in recognizing power of cash. Jennifer had become accustomed to paying for everything with plastic or by check. When we created her budget, we built in a weekly “allowance.” Jennifer’s allowance covers all recurring expenses that are not regular bills: groceries, gas, entertainment, etc. (Healthcare, car maintenance, and other irregular expenses are covered by her emergency fund.) Jennifer takes her cash allowance out of bank each