Financial readiness is crucial to mission readiness. Service members and their families have been vulnerable to deceptive sales practices in the past. Here are four ways you can help strengthen your consumer defenses suggested by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: * Know when to seek advice. Servicemembers all have a military occupational specialty. Combat engineers who build bridges wouldn’t try to do the job of drone pilots or tank mechanics. So, why would you try to do the job of a Personal Financial Manager or JAG attorney? Get free advice from a qualified professional on base before you sign a contract, make a big purchase, agree to payment terms, or enter into any financial deal that you don’t fully understand. * Understand your rights. Servicemembers know that good intelligence is essential for mission success. Your personal finances are no different. Laws like the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) or the Military Lending Act (MLA) were created to protect your financial security and are enforced by government agencies with the power to stop those who would violate your rights. But you can’t invoke your rights if you don’t know what they are! Make sure you get up to speed on the SCRA, MLA and other consumer protection laws. * Know who’s looking out for you. There are a lot of companies that promise to help you out with a consumer issue or financial problem…for a price. Unfortunately, many of these companies charge for a service that you can get for free or can make your problem worse because they aren’t qualified to help you in the first place. Take the time to learn which federal, state, and non-profit groups handle which consumer issues and what help they can give you. You can find a list of trusted resources and ways to contact them on military.ncpw.gov . * Act fast if you get into trouble. Remember that people and businesses who target and financially exploit servicemembers are counting on you suffering in silence. It’s extremely important to seek help quickly if you get into financial trouble. It’s just as important to submit complaints to the authorities responsible for dealing with those who target servicemembers. We take complaints on bank products and services, credit cards, credit reporting, mortgages, student, auto and consumer loans, debt collection and money transfers
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 19:07:54 +0000
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