Top Four Consumer Protection Tips from CCCS of MT

This week is National Consumer Protection Week.  "The message of National Consumer Protection Week 2010 is simple: It's never too early or too late to become a more informed and empowered consumer," said Jolene Bach with RDI/Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MT.   

RDI/Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MT provided free financial advising to over 10,500 Montanan's in 2009.  The non-profit agency offered the below tips for consumers during National Consumer Protection Week:

1.Arm your self with knowledge! 

Know your Credit Report Not only is the credit report a road map for financial relief, it is the first place that identity theft will appear.  The free service for credit reports is www.annualcreditreport.com.  Consumers can receive one free report from each of the three credit bureaus annually.  CCCS of MT recommends that consumers pull one report then wait four months, pull the second report, wait four months and pull the third and final report.  That ensures that the credit report has been monitored throughout the year for free. 

Know the Details Before You Sign a Contract  Debt settlement companies, foreclosure scams and loan modifications, and other predatory lenders work because people don't ask questions and take advertising as it is presented, which isn't always in the consumer's best interest.  Know the Annual Percentage Rate (APR - the amount of interest), know the terms, read the fine print, ask questions (where is the company located, is the company a non-profit, etc.), a financial institution will help discuss the document terms prior to signing as will non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (CCCS). 

Try to learn something new about finance each week.  There are a wealth of resources out there and if you read just one article a week, you will be better prepared and more money savvy.  Start with www.ftc.gov or www.consumer.gov or www.cccsmt.org.

2. Protect Your Identity

Don't share your information unless you initiate the call.  Your financial institution will not email you asking for information nor  will they call, and if they do tell them that you'd prefer to call them back.  And call the number from your statement.   

Shred your personal information.  People actually go through trash looking for personal identification so they can open up a false credit account. 

Call 1.888.567.8688 to be removed from pre-screened offers.  Your Social Security number will be required to opt out, it's ok in this instance because you initiated the call.

Monitor your accounts.  Monitoring your accounts on-line frequently will immediately point out problems so you can resolve them quickly and with the least amount of damage.

3.       Report fraud and scams so that they can be stopped! If people don't speak up and out about scams and frauds, they don't get stopped.  This is why there are so many in existence, they make a lot of money and people are too proud to report it or talk about it.  If more consumers shared their stories and filed complaints then these companies would slowly be put out of business. 

Fraudulent and predatory businesses spend millions on advertising.  They make their product or offer look as legitimate and attractive as possible.  Consumers don't learn the ugly truth until they have spent thousands and not received the promise help.   Visit www.consumeraction.gov for the forms, letters, and contact information you need to file a complaint.  The Montana Attorney General is also actively pursuing agencies that defraud Montanans visit www.doj.mt.gov to learn more.   

4.       If it sounds to good to be true it probably is! 

local, non-profit credit counseling and education resource since 1968.

Whether you're looking for debt counseling, are a current CCCS client, or just surfing for helpful tips on credit & budgeting issues, we can help.

Call today to learn how we can help you.1-877-ASK-CCCS

Serving Montana and Wyoming with locations in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls,  Helena, Kalispell, & Missoula

Main Office 2022 Central Avenue, Great Falls, MT 59401

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Our goal is to provide the best counseling and education to help our clients improve their financial situation. To ensure that we meet this goal, we are dedicated to continuous quality improvement. All of our staff and senior management team review data and such factors as the relevance and accuracy of advice given, attitude of personnel, as well as the  cost and fairness of systems. We also ask for feedback from clients upon the completion of their counseling or education program. The feedback and internal review of processes allows us to know what areas need improvement and where we need to provide relevant staff training so that our services are of the highest possible quality.