Advice Column

Consider the Credit Bureau Report (CBR for short), a report card of how you've lived your life.  Except this report card is accessible to more than just your teachers.  This report card is accessible by ANYONE who has your social security number.  Every time you apply for new cell service, a new credit card, buying a home, buying a car, heck even looking for employment!!!  You heard right folks, even businesses you apply to for employment are looking at your credit history and gaining such information as how many jobs you've had in the last 10 years, how many times you've moved, and how much debt you've defaulted on.  All in the name of trying to find a stable employee.

But how much of this is truly invading your privacy?!?  Does someone who hasn't even hired you yet have a RIGHT to be looking at your creditworthiness?  The unfortunate answer here, is YES.  Especially after you sign that form that's included in the pre-employment packet along with the application.  And if you REFUSE to sign the credit form, guess what?  They won't even look at you and everything goes into the trash.  So you're caught between a rock and a hard place.  Sign it, and lose every bit of privacy you ever hoped for... Don't sign it, and don't work.

So as you can see, the CBR is a pretty important piece of paper.  Do you want to know HOW to get a good looking CBR?  Do you want to KNOW how to have that credit score in the 700 - 800 range?  How do you get old creditors off your back?  How do you stop the collection calls? 

Give me a call today and I can help you with all these questions and more.  Companies out there will charge hundreds, sometimes thousands to do what you should be doing yourself.  By calling me and spending just a little while on the phone, well... ask yourself this -

One debt reduction company that will remain nameless wants to charge their clients $2500 to send letters and call your creditors on your behalf.  I can teach you how to do all that for a FRACTION of that amount.  So which would you rather do?  Spend $2500.00 with "the other guys", or spend $100 with me and learn everything you need to know about cleaning up your credit and arming yourself with the knowledge that can only help you in the future? 

The other companies want you to think it's a closely guarded secret.  The only secret here folks, is that they don't want you doing for yourself what they can charge you for and they know you'll pay because you don't want to be bothered with the tedious work.  BE BOTHERED and do it yourself... You'll save money, and you'll be glad you did it.

OK...

Most of us check in and out of a hotel with no questions asked, and some of us even do it without looking at our bill! 

There are times when a hotel may charge you a key deposit and not tell you that they've done it.  Under the Fair Business act, if you complain to the manager they're required to give you a refund, or not charge at all. 

The same goes for local calls.  Now most places advertise whether or not local calls are free, but some don't.  Rule of thumb here, is that if they don't advertise them as being free, they're probably not.  Get clarification at check-in and watch your bill when you check out.  In some hotels, even if you call an 800 number, there's a connect fee charged because you're calling from the room.

What it all boils down to, is that YOU are the consumer.  Not many businesses believe anymore that the customer is always right.  Having worked in customer service as long as I have, I've come to expect a certain level of customer service, and if I don't get it, I definitely make my voice heard.

It's YOUR RIGHT to dispute a charge you think is unfair.  Make sure you make use of that right.  I've seen where a gentleman was given a voucher for his entire stay and our hotel mistakenly put a toll free call on his bill because we were switching phone services and it didn't recognize the 866 as being a toll-free number.  His company refused to pay it, and he was stuck with a $52.00 phone call.  We did refund him, but that's just an example of how things can go in the hotel industry.

Anthony