These days, ... lives are burdened with ... With ... ... bills, junk mail, and ... taking up space in their day, few people have time to look at every piece of
These days, everyone’s lives are burdened with paperwork. With newspapers, magazines, bills, junk mail, and who-knows-what taking up space in their day, few people have time to look at every piece of paper that comes their way. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more necessary to carefully examine bills and contracts, as various penalties are finding their way into the fine print of credit card bills, home equity loan and mortgage contracts. It truly pays to take the time to read the fine print in these documents.Up to one third of major credit card issuers now include a “universal default clause” in their credit card terms. The UDC allows the credit card company to raise the interest rate on the account if the cardholder pays his or her bills late. This can apply even if the credit card bill is paid on time! It is important to find out if your credit card terms include a UDC, as your interest rate could be affected by whether or not you pay your telephone bill on time. This is just one of many ways that credit card companies are increasing their profits, but it isn’t one that they’re willing to advertise. When a letter comes in the mail from your credit card company that says “change in your credit card terms” or something like it, make sure that you read it. Failure to do so could raise the interest rate on your credit card substantially.Another “fine print” issue that has been turning up recently is the prepayment penalty that is now being attached to up to half of all mortgages and home equity loans. The volatile nature of interest rates in the lending market has inspired many homeowners to repeatedly refinance their homes in the last few years. Lenders often hold a mortgage for only a few months before the borrower finds a lower rate and refinances, paying off the original loan. In order to “protect” the profits from lending the money, up to half of all lenders are now requiring a substantial penalty if the loan is paid off prior to a specified date. These fees can amount to several thousand dollars on a primary mortgage and several hundred dollars on a home equity loan. Most borrowers would not be pleased to go through the process of refinancing their home, only to find out at closing that they owed a penalty of five thousand dollars. Instead, be sure to read the fine print in your mortgage or home equity loan documents before you sign them.As the lending and credit markets become more and more competitive, lenders are doing more and more to increase their profits. They are not necessarily doing so in obvious ways, however, so it is always in your best interests to read any document carefully before you sign. Your failure to do so could cost you quite a bit of money.
Home Loans – Identity Theft Protection Could Hurt Home Sales
Identity theft has been a hot topic in the news during the last few years. Just a month or so ago, forty million credit card numbers were compromised due to a computer attack on a credit card processor. Consumers are rightly concerned, as it can take years to unravel the problems created when someone’s identity is stolen. New legislation in Texas and California, also proposed elsewhere, is designed to protect consumers by letting them put a “freeze” on their credit reports. Those in the real estate industry are worried, however, that doing so may make it difficult for some people to buy homes.
Debt Consolidation – How to Protect Your Credit Accounts from Theft
Last week, a security exploit at CardSystems Solutions, Inc, a credit card processor, may have allowed thieves to obtain as many as 40 million credit card numbers from unsuspecting victims. The theft was brought about though a virus introduced into the CardSystems that allowed external hackers to obtain access to the account information. Adding to the problem was the fact that CardSystems wasn’t supposed to have the account information at all. It appears that CardSystems “inappropriately” held onto the information after clearing the credit card transactions. At that point, the account information should have been deleted. CardSystems held onto the account information for supposed “research purposes.” Fortunately for those involved, the compromised information only included account numbers and not Social Security numbers, which would have assisted the thieves in identity theft scams. This latest security breach at a credit card processor outlines how anyone can be vulnerable to account or even identity theft. Is there anything that can be done about it?
New Bankruptcy Law – Targeting the Wrong People?
Last April, President Bush enthusiastically signed into law the oddly-named Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act. This bill, representing the biggest overhaul of bankruptcy law in twenty-five years, was written in order to discourage “bankruptcy of convenience.” Proponents of the bill, which included the credit card industry, say that the bill is necessary in order to stop an avalanche of bankruptcy filings by drug users and compulsive shoppers and gamblers. The law makes it harder to have debts wiped away, requires credit counseling for those considering bankruptcy, and holds attorneys responsible for paperwork errors by their clients in bankruptcy cases. The net result will probably be chaos, as fewer attorneys will handle bankruptcy cases, credit counselors will raise their fees, and more consumers with problem debt will be clueless as to what they should do next. Adding to the confusion are some new statistics that suggest that a large number of bankruptcies that are thought to be personal are actually business bankruptcies. As a result, the new law may be unfairly targeting consumers for punishment when they are not actually the biggest part of the problem. Worse, it could be harming small businesses.
