Protect Yourselves Against Fraud

As with every financial instrument, there are credit card related frauds too. There are thieves who scan through trash to gain access to credit account related information and then use it for their benefit. Once in a while there could be a treacherous person at the till of a store or at the payment counter of a local restaurant. Even simply, your card could get stolen and put to fraudulent use.

Whatever the possible ways of fraud is, we are just concerned with ensuring that we have all the guards in place so as to minimize the possibility of fraud occurring with us. Such safe guards are generally provided by all credit card companies as instructions to new card holders. Let's take a snapshot of what the most recommended safeguards are:

1. Always sign at the back of your credit card, as soon as you receive it. This is an explicit instruction from credit card companies to all card holders and is an important means of establishing identity.

2. Keep the details about your credit card and company in a secure place and separate from your credit card. In case your card gets stolen or misplaced, immediately inform the credit card company about it. All credit card companies have dedicated 24x7 lines for receiving such information. As soon as this information is received by the company, it blocks the card so as to prevent subsequent misuse of the same.

3. Keep your credit card separate from your wallet so that if a pickpocket demonstrates his/her skill on you pocket, you are not stranded due to no-cash and no-card. As the saying goes, never keep all your eggs in the same basket.

4. Never leave your card unattended and keep an eye on your card whenever conducting a transaction, just to ensure that it's not being misused or copied. It's important to mention here that there are electronic devices which are being used by fraudsters to easily retrieve information from your card for the purpose of creating a duplicate card.

5. Destroy any mails/posts that contain your credit card details. Don't bin them as-is. Remember, there could be trash scanners on the prowl.

6. 'Change of address' communications should be made promptly and in advance.

7. Always check your monthly statement and verify its correctness, instead of ignoring them as a lot of people do. In case you find anything amiss, immediately inform the credit card company about the same.

8. Also, avoid doing credit card transactions with shops or companies of ill repute.

9. Do not reveal your account details over internet or phone, even if the caller on phone or the email in your inbox appears to be from your credit card company. Fraudsters can sometimes pose as the credit card company itself and try to extract details about your card (including the PIN number). Also, online or on-phone shopping with companies you are not sure of is a big-big no.

Though there is nothing stopping you from possessing and using a credit card, the above-stated precautions should always be borne in mind.

3 Free Credit Reports For You

If you were to state person that they can have got a certain point for free, more than than likely their response would be, “what’s the catch?” In the lawsuit of credit reports there is no catch, you can now get a free transcript of this report through the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnions, and Experian. Let’s take a expression at the law and how you can profit from it.

An amendment to the federal Carnival Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) necessitates the three national credit reporting agencies to supply one free transcript of your credit report to you annually. Beginning on December 1, 2004 and culminating on September 1, 2005, the Federal Soldier Trade Committee is requiring that these agencies offer reports on a rolling, form in basis. In other words, on December 1, 2004, if you dwell in certain western states you became eligible at that clip and every three calendar months later further states were added. By September 1, 2005, occupants of all states are eligible.

Fortunately for consumers, you need not reach the three reporting agencies separately to obtain your free credit report. You can tell right online at www.annualcreditreport.com; Oregon by calling 877-322-8228; or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, gallium 30348-5281

The word form is available online where you can publish it out and mail it in: www.ftc.gov/credit.

If you need transcripts more often, you can reach the three reporting agencies and petition copies. You will pay for this service.

To purchase a transcript of your report, contact:

Equifax
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com

Trans Union
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

There are also private companies who will obtain all three transcripts of your credit report for you as well. There is a fee involved, but you may happen their services to be less of a fuss than contacting the three companies separately.

So, how can you profit from the law? By ordering transcripts of your reports from the companies on a four calendar month rotating basis. Most consumers will happen this program to be sufficient and it will allow for you to compare/contrast the reports of each agency. Of course, if you already surmise fraud you will desire to tell all three reports at once and advise each agency to put a "fraud alert" in your credit file.

All in all, the new law is a large win for consumers. Take advantage of this "windfall" as soon as you go eligible to make so.

Protect Your Credit

Because identity theft and credit card fraud are among the fastest growth law-breakings in the U.S., there are respective stairway you should take immediately if your credit card goes lost or stolen, or if you happen measures in your mail that you make not acknowledge or charges you did not authorize.

The first measure you should take is to originate a fraud qui vive on all your credit card accounts. There is a common misconception that doing this volition forestall you from obtaining any additional credit cards or financing. This is simply untrue. What a fraud qui vive will make is necessitate creditors to reach you by telephone before any new accounts are opened in your name. It will also necessitate creditors to reach you by telephone before making any requested changes to any existent accounts, such as as increasing your line of credit.

To put a fraud qui vive on your accounts, reach any 1 of the three major credit bureaus:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

The credit agency you contact will then contact the remaining two bureaus and all three will direct you a current transcript of your credit report, free of charge. When you have these reports, expression them over carefully. Note any accounts you didn't authorise or debts you don't recognize. Also check that all your personal information, such as as name, address, and Sociable Security number are correct. If any wrong or fraudulant information is found, contact the credit agency to have got it removed. Then go on to check your credit report on a regular footing to see no additional fradulant activity is found.

After initiating a fraud alert, you should then immediately fold any accounts you believe may have got been violated and submit an Idaho theft affidavit to the credit card companies in question. You should then register a police force force report with your local police section and also register a lawsuit with the Federal Soldier Trade Commission.

Identity theft is a federal discourtesy with stiff punishments for those who make bold to attempt it and are caught. Take stairway to protect your credit and forestall yourself from becoming a victim of this very serious crime.

Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft is fast becoming the major manner in which criminals are stealing your money. They are not only stealing your money but they are stealing your identity, using your personal inside information to derive access to your credit and unfastened up new accounts in your name redirecting the mail to a new address.

It is fast becoming easier for criminals to steal your identity as record numbers of consumers are obtaining credit cards and using their credit cards on unsecured websites. It is not only using your credit card in what may look to be otherwise normal states of affairs that you need to be wary of. You should do certain that credit card statements are disposed of in the right mode as well as all stuff that includes your personal details.

Shopping

Situations that you may believe normal when using your credit card could be otherwise baleful your identity. Corrupt cashiers or servers could easily scan the achromatic strip on the dorsum of your credit card to obtain inside information that they can then utilize to clone your card. When buying commodity or paying for your measure never allow your credit card out of your sight as it would be more than hard for fraudsters to swipe your card.

Other scanning machines that you need to look out for are at cash machines where you infix your card. Criminals have got been known to attach these scanners at cash machines duping customers. If when using a cash machine and you believe there might be a scanner attached make not utilize the cash machine and report it as soon as you can.

Online

If you are not security witting when purchasing online you could go a victim of identity theft. When buying an point on the internet be certain the land site is secure as you may be entering your credit card details. You can check this by making certain there is a padlock symbol on your browser bar. You may also wish to have got a Paypal account, which will further protect you from online fraud. New security measurements are being updated frequently to seek and wipe out the problem of online fraud.

Personal Documents

When disposing of your credit card statements, measures or any written documents that may have got got your personal inside information included on them you must believe about who may be able to have access to them. Investing in a shredder will eliminate nosy eyes seeing your inside information and they are quite a cheap investing considering the amount of money you could lose if you were to fall victim of identity theft.

It is of import to check your credit card statements against gross every calendar month to verify what you have got bought and what you are paying for. Any sort of abuse on your credit card should demo up and you can then move on it immediately.

Be vigilant and be just as protective of your personal inside information as you would be your cash.

How To Boost Your Credit Score

Years ago your credit score was a large secret, known only to a choice few such as as your mortgage and credit card companies. In 2000, Fair, Isaac Co., the major provider of credit scoring software, announced they would get sharing credit scores, also known as FICO scores, with consumers.

What is a credit score? A credit score is a tool used by credit grantors to determine your ability to refund your debts. The information in your credit report is compared and evaluated against 10s of billions of other consumer credit reports which gives you a credit score or number ranging from 350 (highest credit risk) up to 800 (lowest credit risk). A higher score intends you are less likely to do late payments or default on the credit extended to you. Your credit score will change as the information in your credit report changes over time.

Following is a short overview of the five major classes of credit information that are used in determining your credit score and guidelines for scoring higher.

PAYMENT HISTORY (35 percent)

Paying your current measures on clip is the single most of import factor in obtaining a high credit score. This class includes credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, retail accounts, installment loans such as as those for a car or education, loans from finance companies, and home mortgages. Also included in this class are matters of public record such as as bankruptcies, liens, wage garnishments, and aggregation accounts. The cardinal to a higher score: Wage your measures on time!

HOW much DEBT YOU CARRY (30 percent)

This class sees the amount of debt you owe on your assorted credit accounts. If you’ve “maxed out” your available credit, this could bespeak that you are overextended financially and won’t be able to do your payments on clip or refund your debts completely. This class also analyzes how many of your accounts carry balances and how much money you’ve already repaid. Shutting accounts with a nothing balance makes not generally better your score in this area. The cardinal to a higher score: Keep your credit card balances low.

LENGTH OF ESTABLISHED CREDIT (15 percent)

The longer you’ve had credit accounts the higher you will score in this area. The age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts are used in determining your score. Old accounts that have got gone fresh are also considered. The cardinal to a higher score: Establish good credit and maintain accounts active.

APPLICATIONS FOR NEW CREDIT (10 percent)

Opening multiple credit accounts within a short clip period of time stands for a greater hazard of becoming overextended. Each clip you apply for credit an enquiry is made into your credit history and these enquiries demo up in your credit report. A high number of credit enquiries will lower your score.

Some enquiries are not considered in your score. These include: petitions by you for your credit report, enquiries from companies for pre-approved offers or companies that already make business with you, along with enquiries from possible employers. Some petitions for credit are treated as a single enquiry especially when you are shopping for the best loan rate. The cardinal to a higher score: Only apply for and unfastened new credit accounts when you need them.

YOUR CREDIT mix (10 percent)

This class analyzes the types of credit accounts you have got and how many of each. Can a individual have got too many accounts? Yes and no. It really depends on whether you have got an constituted credit history or no credit history at all. The cardinal to a higher score: Open credit accounts only if you mean to utilize them.

Don’t desperation if you have got a low score or are just beginning to set up credit. Your credit score will change for better or worse depending on how well you understand and usage these five keys to your advantage in planning your financial future.

Avoiding Credit Card Traps

The adjacent clip you open up your credit card statement, take a near expression at the small insert titled “changes to your credit card agreement”. You cognize the 1 I’m speech production about. It’s that small, folded paper written in legalese that you assure to read some other clip (but of course of study that clip never comes) or you just discard it with the other “junk” inserts.

First and first you must understand that using your credit card after you’ve received this presentment consequences in your automatic “agreement” to the new terms in the notice. To forestall these new terms from affecting your account you must halt using that credit card immediately or by the day of the month given in the presentment statement.

The most common alterations to credit card understandings include new APR’s (annual percentage rates), new fees and/or changes to existent fees, or a change to the saving grace time period on your account. The saving grace time period is the number of years during which any credit used for purchases may be repaid in full without incurring a finance charge.

Not knowing or not keeping path of the dollar amount bounds on your card is another trap you should avoid. Credit card issuers will allow you to charge a small amount over the bounds set on your account. However, don’t be surprised when you get hit with an “over bounds fee”, usually around $35.00 or higher, on your adjacent statement. Also, be prepared for your APR to be increased if you travel over your credit limit.

You’ll also trigger an addition to your interest rate if you lose your payment owed date. Some companies see your payment late if not received by twelve noon or 1 p.m. on the day of the month due. Along with the higher rate, you’ll also pay a “late fee” of $29 on up. Be certain to utilize the company’s preprinted envelope when sending your payment. These envelopes allow the pre-printed bar codification to be scanned by the station office so that it can be delivered more than efficiently.

If you’ve counted on those few extra years from the clip you get off your check and the clip the check unclutters your bank, beware! Many credit card issuers have got switched from the traditional method of processing checks to a new electronic process. This new system shaves off a twenty-four hours or more than from the traditional method it normally takes for your check to unclutter by electronically debiting your account.

If you’re considering paying your credit card measures online, check to see if any further fees will be charged for using this type of payment. I recently received an e-mail message from one of my credit card companies announcing how easy it would be to do my payments online. Included in mulct black and white at the underside of the e-mail was this short letter - “A fee of up to $14.95 may be charged for this service and will be deducted from your checking account”. Hmmm, pass 37 cents on postage and mail my payment five years before the owed day of the month or pay now and get charged an further $14.95 fee? I’ll stake you can think which pick I made.

Taking the clip to carefully read and understand your credit card understanding now will assist you salvage money by avoiding unneeded fees or climbing interest rates later down the road.

© 2004, http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com

Credit Card Fraud - Part I

In this series we are going to cover one of the biggest problems all over the world. Credit card fraud.

For those who may not exactly cognize what credit card fraud is, a simple definition. Credit card fraud is the enactment of making a purchase using person else's credit card information. Sounds like something that should be hard to do. Unfortunately, it's not.

There are many types of credit card fraud, the most common we'll cover in this article.

First there is what is called "mail non-receipt fraud" which is when a new or substitution card is sent by the bank and never received by the individual it was supposed to travel to. This have been mostly combated by the banks sending out inactive credit cards where the individual have to do a phone phone call in order to trip the card. Otherwise it can't be used. Unfortunately there are some banks that make not make this and still direct out cards that are already activated.

Then there is what is called "chargeback fraud" where a legitimate cardholder utilizes the card to purchase commodity or services. Then when the statement come ups they name the credit card company and claim they never received the point or service or that they never authorized the transaction.

Another type of credit card fraud is called "skimming" where an employee or merchant do a second transcript of the person's credit card inside information before processing the payment. This transcript is then sold on the achromatic market to people who clone illegal transcripts of these cards. Fortunately, skimming have go less of a problem since the introduction of CVV and curriculum vitaes codes. These are not encoded on the card strip but are physically written on the dorsum of the card. This is a required three figure codification to finalize all transactions. Without this codification even a cloned credit card will not work.

Skimming at ATMs have also been a problem. What the illegally put up standard atmosphere machine makes is topographic point a skimmer device somewhere in the machine that reads the magnetic strip attached to the card. This is used together with assorted devices that monitoring device the computer keyboard of the standard atmosphere by attaching a fake facia over the original keypad. Fortunately, this is not as common today as it was old age ago when standard atmosphere machines were relatively new.

Then of course of study there is "online credit card fraud" which is the most common type of credit card fraud today with all the transactions that people make each day. This type of fraud gets a small complicated but simply stated, when a individual utilizes their credit card online, hackers supervise the person's entry into the merchant's system and essentially steal the credit card information without the individual having any thought this is happening. Another manner to get a person's credit card information online is to direct an functionary looking electronic mail telling the individual that they have got to update their credit card info. They are sent a fake nexus to travel to where the information is collected and used for whatever intent the swindler wants, whether to sell the information or usage it to do purchases himself.

In the adjacent article in this series we'll travel into credit card fraud into more than depth.

How to Stop Credit Card Company Abuse

Consumer complaints about credit card abuse continues to increase despite clearly defined federal regulations meant to stop abuse. By knowing and understanding your rights, you can stop abuse. Let’s examine four common methods of credit card company abuse and what you can do to stop the victimizing.

1. My creditor is charging me for items I did not purchase. Examine your bill every month to make sure that what you are being charged is what you ordered. If there is something listed that does not belong to you, notify the credit card company in writing about the disputed item. Federal law requires you do this within sixty days of receiving your bill. You must do this in writing as your rights will not be protected if you call in your complaint. Credit card companies have two billing cycles or 90 days to correct the problem.

2. My creditor regularly charges me late fees. You know that you always mail your credit payments in on time, but you just got hit with a late fee. If you are a customer in good standing, write a complaint to the credit card company and tell them you want the charge reversed. If this was a one time occurrence, your creditor will likely reverse the charge promptly. If you regularly get hit with late fees, make sure your payment is always mailed in well in advance of the date that it is due. Shady credit card companies will move up the day that your payment is due without your being aware of it. Always open your bill immediately and plan on making payments as soon as possible.

3. I was late with a mortgage payment and now my credit card company is raising their rates. Yes, as unbelievable as it sounds, some credit card companies have a provision in their contract that lists a Universal default charge. What this means is this: if you are late paying back a separate creditor, your credit card company can raise their rates. In other words, you have now become less creditworthy in their eyes and your rate has doubled or tripled! The only way to combat this problem is to pay off your credit cards in full every month.

4. I am paying for credit insurance. What is that for? Supposedly, credit insurance helps out in the event you are disabled or lose your job. If you signed up for this plan a fee equivalent to your outstanding balance is charged every month. At 1% the amount of insurance you can be charged for $5000 debt is $50 for one month. Oh, by the way, read the fine print to learn how difficult it is to actually collect this insurance!

To overcome abuse, you must take charge of the situation and respond in the proper manner. Good credit card companies correct their errors while abusers continue this practice. In the end, it may be time for you to sever your relationship with them.

Get the Red Out

If you’re determination your debt payments are increasing but your wage is stuck in place, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans are making the error of life a lifestyle that’s not in synch with their take-home pay. Unfortunately, when that paycheck doesn’t increase, a natural inclination is to purchase more than points on credit to maintain gait with the Jones’s. It do for an ugly cycle, but one you draw yourself out of by following a few simple tips:

1. Less is more. The first thing you should see is disbursement less. Easier said than done, but the world of the state of affairs is that you are disbursement too much if you don’t have got the cash to pay off your balance at the end of the month. Alluring as it may be, you should only attain for the plastic if you’re absolutely certain that you can pay off that credit card measure in full at the end of every month. If you don’t get a manage on your disbursement debts, your debts will set a throttlehold on your bank account.

2. Defeat your debt 1 card at a time. If you owe balances on respective credit cards, wage them off one at a time. Brand at least the minimum payments on each balance every month, but program on paying much more than than the minimum amount on the card with the smallest balance. Once the lowest balance card have been paid off, start making larger payments on the card with the adjacent highest balance. With each card that you pay off, you’ll choice up impulse and be in a better place to pay off the other cards.

3. Refinance debt. If at all possible, renegociate the interest rates you are being charged by credit card companies. Some companies will lower your rate, especially if they feel that the higher rate could cause you to default on on your loan. If your credit card company declines to drop their high rates, see transferring your finances to a card with a lower rate. You may desire to advert to your current credit card supplier that you be after on making a move away from them if they will not give you a lower rate. A small leverage can travel a long way.

Paying off your debt can assist you in many ways. Once you pay off your debt, you’ll be in a better place to do purchases based on what you can afford. Getting out of debt will better your criterion of life as you agitate free of those credit card balances and usage your newfound cash flow to construct wealth.

While you’re currently in the same boat as many Americans, at least you’re not up a brook without a paddle. Follow the stairway above, and instead of trying to swim upstream, you’ll be going with the cash flow.

It's High Time for a Lower Credit Card Rate

How would you rate your credit card interest rate? Unfortunately, this is a simple inquiry that few consumers take the clip to ask, and it can be a costly oversight. High interest rates on your credit card balance can bring down some heavy damage on your wallet. A higher rate intends higher finance charges, and aches your ability to pay down your debt.

If you didn’t take a stopping point expression at your rate when you got your card, fearfulness not. Here are some simple ways to reduce your high interest rates and get a better manage on your debt:

1. Argument the rate. First things first – let’s happen out exactly what rate you’re paying on your cards. Are that your Visa card whacking you at an interest rate of 19.8%? And that section shop charge card – are they really charging you 29%? Yes, those high rates are not uncommon, and opportunities are probably pretty good that whatever you are being charged, you are probably paying at rates that are much too high.

Considering that banks are now paying rescuers from 3 to 4 % interest on nest egg accounts and certifications of deposits, then turning around and charging consumers 3-5 modern times that amount to borrow money, you’d believe they have got some room to give you a lower rate. They make – it’s just up to you to negociate to have it. Here’s how: Contact each of your creditors directly and see if they will reduce the rate on past purchases to a more than sensible level. Let’s state you get them to hold on 12%. If they accept the new rate, you’ll have got automatically shortened the clip it takes to pay off your debt without increasing the amount you pay monthly. Our advice would be to increase your monthly payment even more than to get yourself out of debt sooner.

2. Go shopping – for another card. What if the creditor won’t negociate a lower rate? Then be a good consumer and store for another card. Your letter box is probably stuffed with new credit card offers. (The Internet is also a great topographic point to shop for credit cards.) Find one that volition give you a low, fixed interest rate - somewhere between 6 and 12% - preferably with a 0% transfer rate on your balance. Once your balances have got been transferred, call off the old credit cards and snippet them to itty-bitty pieces with a scissors. You simply don’t need the enticement of an unfastened line of credit.

3. How about a loan? There are basically two types of debt consolidation loans – consumer and home equity loans. Anyone can get a consumer loan, but you obviously need a house for the second loan. These types of loans only work if the interest rate you pay is low. Be careful of concealed fees and charges and do certain you fully understand what your new interest rate will be.

If you have a home and you’ve built up some value [equity] in your home, you’ll desire to choose for the home equity loan. Rates be given to be lower, and the interest you pay may be tax deductible. Brand certain that you can afford the monthly payments of both a home equity loan and a mortgage before you perpetrate to this option.

Debt is no picnic, and it travels hand-in-hand with high interest rates. It’s going to take some of the tactics we mentioned earlier, along with a good dose of discipline, to pay down your debt. But if you followed that two-pronged attack, you’ll soon happen yourself debt free and in healthy financial shape.

Avoiding Credit Card Fraud

Imagine the following situations:

Person rummages through your trash to happen discarded gross and then utilizes your account numbers illegally. A store keeper maintains a transcript of your credit or debit entry card and then utilizes it to pay for other transactions. A mailing inquires you to name a long distance number to claim a free prize. You are told to supply your account number to subscribe up. You make so and are billed for transactions you never made.

Credit and charge card fraud is a huge industry costing consumers and card issuers 100s of billions of lbs each year. It is a word form of theft that is much more than distinct than traditional robbery. While it is hard to completely forestall card fraud from occurring, there are stairway you can take to minimise your opportunities of becoming a victim.

Guard Against Fraud

Here are some tips you can take to assist protect yourself from card fraud.

Do:

Sign the dorsum of your cards as soon as they arrive. Carry your cards separately from your wallet. Keep your account numbers, termination days of the month and company phone numbers and computer addresses in a safe place. Watch your card while it is out of your sight during a transaction and seek to get it back quickly. Destroy wrong gross and all carbons. Compare gross with your monthly charge statements. Open your measures and accommodate your account monthly. Report leery activity or charges promptly and in authorship to your card issuer. Advise your card issuer in advance of a change of address.

Don’t:

Lend your card to anyone. Leave your cards or your gross lying around where others might happen them. Sign space receipts. If there are clean spaces on a receipt, draw a line through them. Write your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a postcard. Give your account number over the phone, unless you have got made a phone call to a company you trust. If you have got a inquiry regarding a company, check it out with your local consumer protection office.

Report Losings and Fraud

If your card is stolen or lost, report this immediately to the issuer immediately. Many companies have got free emergency numbers specifically for such as calls. By law, you have got got no additional duty for unauthorised charges once you have reported it. Calling quickly will reduce your liability for unauthorised charges, and will assist the card issuer to catch the fraudster or block the transactions, making life harder for the crooks.

Credit Card Processing: How to Legally Beat the System by Passing Processing Fees to Customers

Imposing surcharges on credit card transactions is illegal, and it will only lead to problems. The secret to beating the credit card processing system is not charging more for credit card sales, but instead is charging less for cash sales. It may sound like the same thing, but there is a big difference.

The increasing costs associated with accepting credit cards are leaving many merchants searching for ways to pass along at least a portion of processing expenses to their customers. Card originators such as VISA and MasterCard are becoming wary of this new trend and are enforcing strict regulations specifically designed to hinder any such efforts by merchants to impose surcharges on credit card purchases.

Discount fees, transaction costs, and other expenses associated with the acceptance of electronic bank cards (credit and debit cards) are putting a strangle hold on to the NET profits of businesses of all sizes. To help minimize the impact that processing costs are having on profits, many businesses are charging a surcharge to customers that choose to pay for products or services using a credit or debit card.

Card originators such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover have a lot to lose if the practice of imposing surcharges on credit card transactions becomes popular among merchants. When merchants impose surcharges on credit transactions, they make purchasing on credit a less appealing option to consumers, and many consumers choose to avoid the additional cost by simply paying with cash or a check. A decrease in the use of credit cards by consumers translates directly into lost revenue for processing banks. Not only do banks lose out on the processing fees that they would have collected from the merchant, but they lose any finance charges that would have been incurred by the customer as well.

You may wonder why so many businesses still choose to place a surcharge on credit transactions, even though it is strictly forbidden in the processing agreement they had to sign when opening their merchant account. Quite frankly, many business people choose to ignore this clause in their processing agreement and impose a surcharge anyway. This approach is not recommended. When and if these businesses are discovered, their merchant accounts will be terminated, and they may even be placed on the Terminated Merchant File (TMF) which will make it nearly impossible for them to acquire another merchant account.

Card originators and banks have control over credit card (bankcard) transactions, and they can legally ban a merchant from imposing surcharges. However, they do not have any legal control over other forms of payment such as cash and checks. The largest card originator (VISA) has even published information stating that, "You may, however, offer a discount for cash transactions, provided that the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash piece is presented as a discount from the standard price charged for all other forms of payment".1

Most merchant accounts operate on a tiered discount pricing grid and, ironically, the secret to beating credit card processing fees is to impose tiered pricing on your products and services as well. The old saying, "if you can’t beat em', join em’" applies perfectly.

While you can’t charge extra for credit card sales, you can charge less for cash as long as all prices are clearly stated to customers, and the cash price is reflected as a discount from the original purchase price. For example: if the price tag on an item states that the item costs $10, the cash price must be represented as a discount from that price. The price tag for this particular item should look something like this:

Price: $10.00
5% discount for cash payment @ $9.50
5% Discount for Check Payment @ $9.50

By utilizing a tiered pricing grid, merchants can alleviate the cost of accepting credit cards, while still providing their customers with the freedom to choose their preferred method of payment.

1. Published by VISA in the Card Acceptance and Chargeback Management Guide for VISA Merchants, ©2004

Copyright 2005 Jack Lang

Protect Yourselves Against Fraud

As with every financial instrument, there are credit card related frauds too. There are thieves who scan through rubbish to derive access to credit account related information and then utilize it for their benefit. Once in a piece there could be a unreliable individual at the till of a shop or at the payment counter of a local restaurant. Even simply, your card could get stolen and set to fraudulent use.

Whatever the possible ways of fraud is, we are just concerned with ensuring that we have got all the guards in topographic point so as to minimise the possibility of fraud occurring with us. Such safe guards are generally provided by all credit card companies as instruction manual to new card holders. Let's return a snapshot of what the most suggested precautions are:

1. Always mark at the dorsum of your credit card, as soon as you have it. This is an expressed direction from credit card companies to all card holders and is an of import agency of establishing identity.

2. Keep the inside information about your credit card and company in a secure topographic point and separate from your credit card. In lawsuit your card gets stolen or misplaced, immediately inform the credit card company about it. All credit card companies have got dedicated 24x7 lines for receiving such as information. As soon as this information is received by the company, it barricades the card so as to forestall subsequent abuse of the same.

3. Keep your credit card separate from your wallet so that if a cutpurse demonstrates his/her accomplishment on you pocket, you are not stranded owed to no-cash and no-card. As the expression goes, never maintain all your eggs in the same basket.

4. Never go forth your card unattended and maintain an oculus on your card whenever conducting a transaction, just to guarantee that it's not being misused or copied. It's important to advert here that there are electronic devices which are being used by fraudsters to easily recover information from your card for the intent of creating a reduplicate card.

5. Destroy any mails/posts that incorporate your credit card details. Don't bin them as-is. Remember, there could be rubbish scanners on the prowl.

6. 'Change of address' communication theory should be made promptly and in advance.

7. Always check your monthly statement and verify its correctness, instead of ignoring them as a batch of people do. In lawsuit you happen anything amiss, immediately inform the credit card company about the same.

8. Also, avoid doing credit card transactions with stores or companies of sick repute.

9. Bash not uncover your account inside information over internet or phone, even if the company on phone or the electronic mail in your inbox looks to be from your credit card company. Fraudsters can sometimes present as the credit card company itself and seek to extract inside information about your card (including the pin number). Also, online or on-phone shopping with companies you are not certain of is a big-big no.

Though there is nil fillet you from possessing and using a credit card, the above-stated precautions should always be borne in mind.

Using Credit Cards Wisely

Using credit wisely is a good wont that, with lone a small financial education, you can learn quickly. Using credit cards wisely will enable you to salvage money by avoiding late fees or punishments for exceeding credit card limits. You can even learn how to pay NO interest and have got your credit score reflect the fact that you are using credit cards wisely! Credit cards are not evil, nor are they a problem provided you learn to utilize credit cards wisely.

Wise credit card usage intends making payments on clip and avoiding having too many credit card accounts. Condense your credit cards in to one or, at the most, two credit card accounts to assist you concentrate your financial decisions. By using credit cards wisely, you will not happen yourself juggle credit card payments.

Using your credit cards wisely gets with a few credit basics. Keep in head that credit cards are not a problem unless you utilize them incorrectly. Unwise credit card usage means, for the average consumer, letting the balance go on to construct from calendar calendar month to month. Credit card companies petition payment every month, so take the intimation and usage credit wisely by paying your credit cards completely every month, just like your electrical bill, or your mortgage payment.

Using credit cards wisely also intends taking advantage of the convenience of credit cards by using them like cash, disbursement only if you will have got the finances for payment that month. Let the credit card company maintain your records for you by itemizing each purchase and managing your account. Then, in order to avoid finance charges, wage the credit card balance in full every month.

Use credit cards wisely to allow you the freedom you need in today's society without the fuss of carrying cash or authorship checks. Don't allow the credit card balance to turn unless you have got a existent emergency. If you make have got got an emergency, you'll have the credit line unfastened for use. By paying off the credit card balance every calendar month you keep a good credit line and enjoy a good credit score. And, using your credit cards wisely guarantees your credit evaluation will only travel higher.

Copyright (c) Greg Aldrich

Protect Your Credit

Because identity theft and credit card fraud are among the fastest growth law-breakings in the U.S., there are respective stairway you should take immediately if your credit card goes lost or stolen, or if you happen measures in your mail that you make not acknowledge or charges you did not authorize.

The first measure you should take is to originate a fraud qui vive on all your credit card accounts. There is a common misconception that doing this volition forestall you from obtaining any additional credit cards or financing. This is simply untrue. What a fraud qui vive will make is necessitate creditors to reach you by telephone before any new accounts are opened in your name. It will also necessitate creditors to reach you by telephone before making any requested changes to any existent accounts, such as as increasing your line of credit.

To put a fraud qui vive on your accounts, reach any 1 of the three major credit bureaus:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

The credit agency you contact will then contact the remaining two bureaus and all three will direct you a current transcript of your credit report, free of charge. When you have these reports, expression them over carefully. Note any accounts you didn't authorise or debts you don't recognize. Also check that all your personal information, such as as name, address, and Sociable Security number are correct. If any wrong or fraudulant information is found, contact the credit agency to have got it removed. Then go on to check your credit report on a regular footing to see no additional fradulant activity is found.

After initiating a fraud alert, you should then immediately fold any accounts you believe may have got been violated and submit an Idaho theft affidavit to the credit card companies in question. You should then register a police force force report with your local police section and also register a lawsuit with the Federal Soldier Trade Commission.

Identity theft is a federal discourtesy with stiff punishments for those who make bold to attempt it and are caught. Take stairway to protect your credit and forestall yourself from becoming a victim of this very serious crime.

Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft is fast becoming the major manner in which criminals are stealing your money. They are not only stealing your money but they are stealing your identity, using your personal inside information to derive access to your credit and unfastened up new accounts in your name redirecting the mail to a new address.

It is fast becoming easier for criminals to steal your identity as record numbers of consumers are obtaining credit cards and using their credit cards on unsecured websites. It is not only using your credit card in what may look to be otherwise normal states of affairs that you need to be wary of. You should do certain that credit card statements are disposed of in the right mode as well as all stuff that includes your personal details.

Shopping

Situations that you may believe normal when using your credit card could be otherwise baleful your identity. Corrupt cashiers or servers could easily scan the achromatic strip on the dorsum of your credit card to obtain inside information that they can then utilize to clone your card. When buying commodity or paying for your measure never allow your credit card out of your sight as it would be more than hard for fraudsters to swipe your card.

Other scanning machines that you need to look out for are at cash machines where you infix your card. Criminals have got been known to attach these scanners at cash machines duping customers. If when using a cash machine and you believe there might be a scanner attached make not utilize the cash machine and report it as soon as you can.

Online

If you are not security witting when purchasing online you could go a victim of identity theft. When buying an point on the internet be certain the land site is secure as you may be entering your credit card details. You can check this by making certain there is a padlock symbol on your browser bar. You may also wish to have got a Paypal account, which will further protect you from online fraud. New security measurements are being updated frequently to seek and wipe out the problem of online fraud.

Personal Documents

When disposing of your credit card statements, measures or any written documents that may have got got your personal inside information included on them you must believe about who may be able to have access to them. Investing in a shredder will eliminate nosy eyes seeing your inside information and they are quite a cheap investing considering the amount of money you could lose if you were to fall victim of identity theft.

It is of import to check your credit card statements against gross every calendar month to verify what you have got bought and what you are paying for. Any sort of abuse on your credit card should demo up and you can then move on it immediately.

Be vigilant and be just as protective of your personal inside information as you would be your cash.

How To Boost Your Credit Score

Years ago your credit score was a large secret, known only to a choice few such as as your mortgage and credit card companies. In 2000, Fair, Isaac Co., the major provider of credit scoring software, announced they would get sharing credit scores, also known as FICO scores, with consumers.

What is a credit score? A credit score is a tool used by credit grantors to determine your ability to refund your debts. The information in your credit report is compared and evaluated against 10s of billions of other consumer credit reports which gives you a credit score or number ranging from 350 (highest credit risk) up to 800 (lowest credit risk). A higher score intends you are less likely to do late payments or default on the credit extended to you. Your credit score will change as the information in your credit report changes over time.

Following is a short overview of the five major classes of credit information that are used in determining your credit score and guidelines for scoring higher.

PAYMENT HISTORY (35 percent)

Paying your current measures on clip is the single most of import factor in obtaining a high credit score. This class includes credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, retail accounts, installment loans such as as those for a car or education, loans from finance companies, and home mortgages. Also included in this class are matters of public record such as as bankruptcies, liens, wage garnishments, and aggregation accounts. The cardinal to a higher score: Wage your measures on time!

HOW much DEBT YOU CARRY (30 percent)

This class sees the amount of debt you owe on your assorted credit accounts. If you’ve “maxed out” your available credit, this could bespeak that you are overextended financially and won’t be able to do your payments on clip or refund your debts completely. This class also analyzes how many of your accounts carry balances and how much money you’ve already repaid. Shutting accounts with a nothing balance makes not generally better your score in this area. The cardinal to a higher score: Keep your credit card balances low.

LENGTH OF ESTABLISHED CREDIT (15 percent)

The longer you’ve had credit accounts the higher you will score in this area. The age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts are used in determining your score. Old accounts that have got gone fresh are also considered. The cardinal to a higher score: Establish good credit and maintain accounts active.

APPLICATIONS FOR NEW CREDIT (10 percent)

Opening multiple credit accounts within a short clip period of time stands for a greater hazard of becoming overextended. Each clip you apply for credit an enquiry is made into your credit history and these enquiries demo up in your credit report. A high number of credit enquiries will lower your score.

Some enquiries are not considered in your score. These include: petitions by you for your credit report, enquiries from companies for pre-approved offers or companies that already make business with you, along with enquiries from possible employers. Some petitions for credit are treated as a single enquiry especially when you are shopping for the best loan rate. The cardinal to a higher score: Only apply for and unfastened new credit accounts when you need them.

YOUR CREDIT mix (10 percent)

This class analyzes the types of credit accounts you have got and how many of each. Can a individual have got too many accounts? Yes and no. It really depends on whether you have got an constituted credit history or no credit history at all. The cardinal to a higher score: Open credit accounts only if you mean to utilize them.

Don’t desperation if you have got a low score or are just beginning to set up credit. Your credit score will change for better or worse depending on how well you understand and usage these five keys to your advantage in planning your financial future.

College Student Credit Card - Students Can Find The Right Credit Card

How can a student with limited income and no credit history get a credit card? By applying for a student card. Student credit cards necessitate no income or co-signer. Usually these cards offer small credit lines with sensible rates. By using one wisely, you can construct your credit.

What To Look For

When you are shopping for a student credit card, don’t trouble oneself applying for a regular card. For one, you will be denied if you have got no credit history. For another, every clip you apply for credit, you are lowering your credit score. Multiple credit applications in a short time period do you look desperate for cash. Lenders avoid such as people.

Instead, expression for a credit card that is targeted for students. Usually such as cards will necessitate no income or co-signer. Your credit bounds will be small at first, but you can increase it later on. If you make need a larger credit limit, you will need to happen a co-signer World Health Organization will be partially responsible for your payments.

You will also desire to look for a card with low interest rates and no annual fees. You may also happen a card that offers price reductions or rewards. These tin aid you financially, but don’t get caught on paying out large funding fees.

Shop Credit Card Companies

Don’t be afraid to compare credit card companies’ offers. Just because you happen an application on campus or in the mail, doesn’t mean value there aren’t better 1s out there. Search online for student credit card programs. Be certain to read the terms of understanding to cognize what rates and fees they are charging.

Building Your Credit

Once you have got your card, start using it once in awhile. You desire to be certain that you don’t max out the bounds and that you can always do at least the minimum payment. Ideally, you should pay off the full balance each month. You don’t desire to destroy your credit with late or missed payments.

After at least six months, you can apply for other types of credit, such as as shop credit cards. However, you don’t desire too many credit accounts unfastened or it will ache your credit score. Rich Person enough credit unfastened to cover emergencies. That manner you will have got adequate available credit to purchase a car or home in the future.

To see our listing of most suggested student credit card companies online, visit this
page: Recommended Student Credit
Card Companies Online.

Escaping the Debt Spiral

Credit card debt is the ball and concatenation that impedes many consumers from reaching financial happiness. The biggest problem is that many people who have got got brawny credit card debts have no thought just how much money they’re paying inch interest every calendar month – they’re in a “debt spiral” from which it’s very hard to recover.

Credit card companies charge borrowers rates that far transcend what you get when you put your money. For example, if you have got a nest egg account, you are probably earning less than 3% interest on your money. Unfortunately, if you have got a credit card, you are likely paying 12%, 15%, 21% Oregon more than on the money you’ve borrowed. It’s perfectly legal for creditors to charge those amounts, but it can set you deep in the hole in a hurry.

How about those 0% credit card offers you read about? There are some creditors allowing consumers to do purchases with no interest rates. However, as interest rates have got increased over the past two years, the 0% rate have fallen by the wayside. Most are now limited to the first six calendar months of payments on your outstanding debt (called a balance transfer). At that point, a new rate of 17% Oregon more than boots in. To add abuse to injury, if you are late on payments, you not only lose the 0% rate, but you can be charged 24 or even 29% on your unpaid balance.

All of these patterns – once again, perfectly legal – volition direct you into a debt spiral. The $3,000 you borrowed can soon cost you $10,000 or more than in interest payments over the years. You may be able to do the minimum payment but you are doing little, if anything, to pay off the original $3,000 borrowed. All you are really doing is paying money to cover your interest charges - nil else.

There are ways to lower your rate. First of all, check your credit card statement and see what the interest rate is being charged to your account. If it is much higher than what you used to pay, you may have got had the rate jacked up without your knowledge. See calling your credit card supplier and asking for a lower rate. If they won’t give you a lower rate, see if you can get another card where they offer a fixed, lower rate. They may be offering 1 of those 0% balance transfer rates mentioned earlier. If you prosecute this option, do certain that once you get the new card and your balance have been transferred, advise the old credit card supplier that you are canceling your now paid off of account.

If you cannot get a new card or transfer your money to a lower paying account, you can begin reducing your debt by paying off the biggest amount owed first. For example, if you have got three credit card debts of $1,000, $3,000, and $7,000, do the minimum payments on the last two cards, but do much larger payments on the first card - the 1 with the lowest balance. Once the first card is paid off, then begin making larger payments on the second card until it is paid off. Finally, when the second card is paid off, do large payments against the 3rd card. Providing you don’t go on to add to your credit card balances, you’ll be out of debt sooner than you’d expect.

If some of these options are hard to understand, a trained debt professional person can assist you. The most of import measure is to recognize that you need to take action on reducing some of those outstanding balances. And the sooner you get out of the debt spiral, the sooner you can get edifice wealthiness and a much happier life.