Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Federal Trade Commission & "Free" Credit Reports

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.

Warning: Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.

For more information on how and why you might want to obtain your credit report(s), visit the FTC page, visit "Facts for Consumers: Your Access to Free Credit Reports," at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

New: International Journal of Defense

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) has announced publication of International Journal of Defense Acquisition Management, (IJDAM, ISSN 1940-3445), a new, free online journal that is being jointly published by the Acquisition Research Program at NPS and the Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.

You can find out more about the journal and download current articles at
http://www.acquisitionjournal.org/, or visit http://www.acquisitionjournal.org/archive.cfm for previous issues.

Overview of 2010 Budget Now Available

A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise provides a description of the Obama Administration’s fiscal policies and major budgetary initiatives. This document is an overview of the full Fiscal Year 2010 Budget expected to be released this spring. A New Era is available for download at
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/pdf/fy10-newera.pdf.

A paper edition will be distributed to federal depository libraries, such as ULM. In addition, hard copies may be purchased from the Government Printing Office at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/new-era.jsp.

The document begins with President Obama's message, in which he states that "This Budget is a first step in that journey. It lays out for the American people the extent of the crisis we inherited, the steps we will take to jumpstart our economy to create new jobs, and our plans to transform our economy for the 21st Century to give our children and grandchildren the fruits of many years of economic growth."

Federal Consumer Information Center News

"Beware!" says the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB has seen a considerable spike in both complaints and inquiries from consumers who state that they received misleading mailers or high-pressure telemarketing calls claiming their auto warranty was about to expire.

“As an outgrowth of our country’s economic troubles, and to some extent problems in the auto industry, BBB is hearing from consumers nationwide who are being bombarded by telemarketers and mailers trying to scare them into thinking their auto warranty is about to expire and if they don’t sign-up now the offer expires,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson. “Not only are these telemarketers lying about the consumer’s coverage, they are potentially ignoring federal laws such as the Do-Not-Call registry.”

For the full story on this and other consumer alerts, visit the Federal Consumer Information News & Notes site at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/newsnote.htm.