Unclaimed Property Blog

Did you know that your credit card could carry accidental death insurance? Not many do, here are the details.

Your in line to purchase your plane ticket. Ever wonder whether you should pick up some insurance just in case? Well, not to worry, you may already have that extra insurance right in your wallet. Check your credit cards.

Each of the four major credit card brands (American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa) offer some form of coverage. This is what the insurance industry calls “accidental death and dismemberment” or AD&D coverage.

The benefits vary by brand and card type and can range in coverage from $100,000 to $1 million.

Have you ever read the fine print? Do you even know what the larger print means? Here are some definitions that will help you to better understand the “deal” you are getting when you apply for a credit card.

If you don’t understand what is being said, credit card offers and statements could lead you down the path to deep debt when you thought you were at 0% interest. Here is what some of the frequently used credit card terms mean:

You receive your credit report and find there is an inaccuracy. The following data will help you in knowing some basic rules to follow.

Disputing inaccuracies on your credit report can be a quick and simple process for some. For others, it may prove more complicated. The reason for that is most often it depends on the cooperation of the creditor that reported the information to the credit bureau.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumers in dispute situations, mandating that credit reporting agencies (CRAs) must respond to your dispute by initiating an investigation and collecting evidence (where possible) from your creditors. If the information is inaccurate, the CRA must either remove or correct the disputed information, usually within 30 days.

Just like there are four food groups a credit report has four groups.

This is your personal data that gives you your identity. Your social security number is part of this group as well as your current and previous addresses, your date of birth, telephone numbers, driver’s license numbers, your employer and your spouse’s name.

Look at it closely to make sure it’s accurate. It is not unusual to have different spellings of your name because someone reported the information that way.

There is a fight going on with credit scores. It is the FICO credit score against the big three credit bureaus. Read on for details.

FICO, Fair Isaac Company, is the creator of a system to give consumers a credit score. A credit “score” simply assigns a number to indicate how much risk you pose as a borrower. Fair Isaac’s formula for scoring is the one lenders have chosen to use as they like it the best.

The three big credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. They are private companies that each track your accounts, balances and payment habits which make your credit report. They recently worked together to make a new credit score call VantageScore.

The convenience is wonderful, however they can also become very inconvenient. Read on to find out how.

By having several cards you can lose track of what the interest rates are. The end result could be a pricier purchase than you can afford at the higher interest rate. One of two cards maximum is all you need. With one or two cards, you can keep track of purchases and make sure you pay each on time.

These tips may seem like common sense, because they are. What has happened is so many of us lose that common sense viewpoint when we see items we want but don’t need.

Credit cards can be a great thing. They’re convenient, they can help build good credit if used properly and they are very useful in emergencies. However, they can be dangerous.

How sweet the temptation to overspend, how disastrous the end result of overspending. The danger is when you charge more than you can afford, make very low monthly payments and combine that with high credit card interest rates. This is the basic cause for many people to spiral into debt.

The concept of a credit card can be sound. Some feel it is a good safety net. A recent report explores this a bit deeper. Read on to see another view of your credit card.

It was found that American families are losing the fight against lending practices as they are really working against them. It is time for Washington to address this crisis head-on and create policy that protects and promotes economic vitality for all American households.

Do you know how you scored on your credit score? Probably. Do you know what you did to get this score? If not, here are some areas that are used to determine your credit score. Hopefully with this data you can begin to get extra credit in some areas. Here are the 5 basic things that are reviewed which will give you your overall score for credit worthiness.

You receive a call from a collection agency on a debt that has been written off or perhaps the statute of limitations on collecting the debt has expired. Do you know what your rights are? Do you know that trying to make it good can harm you? Read on for some noteworthy advise on how to deal with this situation.

The statute of limitations is the amount of time a creditor can sue over an old debt. Also in some states there are laws that prohibit creditors from suing once a debt is more than four years old. So time can be on your side regarding old debts.