You and Your Credit Report
March 3, 2010 | Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.By Susan E. Sheely Spring 2009 In Brief Newsletter Chances are you regularly find your mailbox overflowing with envelopes promising fast and easy “pre-approved” credit. Although they are designed to tempt the credit consumer, often they tempt the identity thief instead. “New Account” fraud occurs when a thief obtains another person’s identifying information and uses that information to open new credit accounts in that person’s name. The thief runs up balances on the accounts and then fails to pay the bills. But, because the accounts were opened in the name of the victim, it is the victim, not the thief, who bears the brunt of the resulting collection actions. The resulting damage to a victim’s credit report can take months, even years, to repair. What can you do to protect yourself from this type of fraud? First and foremost, check your credit report regularly. Although there are many companies who advertise credit monitoring for a fee, consumers are entitled to receive one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies each year. The three major reporting agencies are: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Checking your credit report regularly allows you to quickly identify errors or unauthorized activity and report those matters to the appropriate agency. More information on obtaining your…
Read MoreCollection of Your Accounts Receivable
March 3, 2010 | Joan M. QuadeBy Joan M. Quade Spring 2009 In Brief Newsletter In these tough economic times, companies find that payments on their accounts receivable are delayed and diminished. More and more of their customers cannot pay on time. Some cannot pay the invoices in their entirety and have resorted to smaller, drawn out payments for services and goods, while others have not been able to pay at all. Money is less plentiful but if your customers do not pay, it affects your ability to meet your company’s obligations. In years past, most companies could afford some nonpaying and slow paying customers, but when many of your customers are having financial difficulties, your company must take action to ensure your own company’s survival. You have supplied the goods and services and you should be paid for those efforts. Ignoring your mounting accounts receivable could lead to your own company’s damage or demise. Every company should adopt a procedure for collection of accounts receivable. Such a procedure should be in place during thriving economic times as well as during the tough economic times so that corporate value is not being lost through inconsistent and ineffective collection procedures. To work effectively, a collection procedure should be in writing and adopted by the company’s management team. Training should be…
Read MoreCollateral Effects of Arrests – What You Need to Know
February 25, 2010 | Jon P. EricksonBy Jon P. Erickson and Shawn D. Stuckey Summer 2007 BGS In Brief Newsletter When a person is convicted of a crime, they are subject to the direct and collateral effects of a conviction. But what happens when a person is arrested for an offense and the case is either not charged, or the person is found not guilty? Most people think that the arrest record is either thrown out or sealed. Many are unaware that anyone can have access to that information for years to come. Some of whom could use this information to make determinations of capability for employment and housing. Others who posses the capacity, and many times do, to make the person’s arrest known to the world. Unless actions are taken now by the person who is the subject of the arrest record, a person who was arrested many years ago may still be denied employment, housing, or have his name published for all to see. Collateral effects are invisible, civil punishments attached to any crime and arise immediately following an arrest. In the past, the public could not easily access criminal history records. Today, technology has greatly increased the public’s accessibility to criminal records. Employers, landlords, newspapers, data harvesters, and any member of the public, have access to…
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