First Appointment. Inside this issue:

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1 CCCS of Rochester/RethinkingDebt Headquarters: 1000 University Ave, Rochester, NY **FALL 2015** Inside this issue: First Appointment 1 First Appointment By: Dominique Williams, Certified Financial Counselor Veterans Benefits 2 Credit Repair 3 Ask CCCS 4 Holiday Spending 4 C.A.S.H Coach 5 Consumer Protection 5 Contact Us 6 When a client first contacts Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Rochester for help with their debt, they will be scheduled for a First Appointment. What is a First Appointment? A first appointment is a free one on one consultation with a Certified Financial Counselor. The client and the counselor discuss any questions and/or concerns that the client may be facing in order to find them the best debt relief option. The counselor will ask about income, expenses, debt, future goals. What items are required for a first appointment? Clients should bring a month of their most recent paystubs and should have an idea of what their monthly expenses are. Clients should bring any and all statements from creditors they would like assistance with. If possible, bring a copy of their free credit report from What will happen during a First Appointment? During a first appointment the counselor and client will go over the clients income and monthly budget to see what the client has coming in versus what is going out. If need be, the counselor will make recommendations in areas where the client is overspending or could cut back such as going out to eat, shopping, etc. The counselor will also look at the client s Experian credit report, and advise the client of their FICO credit score and all of the accounts reporting to Experian. The counselor will make recommendations to the client on ways to increase their credit score. What s next? After reviewing the credit report with the client, the counselor will go over the options that may be available to the client to get them debt free and relieve them of their financial stress. Some options that clients may have are a Debt Management Program to assist them with paying off all of their debt within 5 years, or applying for a consolidation loan from a bank. If referrals are needed for services that CCCS of Rochester does not provide, the counselor will refer them to other agencies that may be more suitable for the clients needs. Give our office a call at to schedule your First Appointment today!

2 Veterans Benefits By: Rafael Ruiz, Client Support Specialist While spending 10 years in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), I knew that when I needed an answer to a question that dealt with non-military issues, I would simply ask a fellow Marine who had more time in service than I did or visit our administration office, and ask one of the Marines whose job it was to answer these types of questions. That was 12 years ago and things are different now. I have found out through personal research and speaking with other Veterans that there are many resources and benefits for those who need a little help with easing the financial burden of things like property taxes, vehicle registration, tuition and more. Property Tax Exemptions Property tax exemptions are available to Veterans and apply to county, city, town, and village taxes. There are three different types of exemptions that Veterans can receive: 1. Alternative Veterans Exemption- this applies only to residential property for a Veteran who has served during a designated time of war or received an expeditionary medal. 2. Cold War Veterans Exemption- this is only for residential property of one who served during the Cold War period. 3. Eligible Funds Exemption- this applies to property purchased by a Veteran or certain other designated persons. Such owners must purchase the property with pension, bonus, or insurance monies. Each exemption does have certain requirements that must be met in order to qualify which can be found at the following link: exemption/vetexemptproof.htm Every two years in New York State, vehicles must be registered. This, as with property taxes, costs money. Here is another little tip to help with these fees. Through the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Veterans can qualify to be exempt from registration fees and vehicle plate fees if they meet certain qualifications such as: You are a qualified disabled Veteran under Federal Title 38, Part III, Chapter 39, or You qualify for and apply for Congressional Medal of Honor custom plates, or You are 62 years of age or older and you qualify for and apply for Former Prisoner of War custom plates. If you re anything like me, you take pride in your service as well as the branch in which you served and you want to let the world know through a customized military license plate. All vehicles that are registered in NYS as a passenger class or commercial class vehicle are eligible. There are custom plates that are available for motorcycles as well. For additional information, including application forms, visit the DMV website at: The military has hundreds of different types of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) and a large percentage of these skills transfer over to the civilian world of employment. If you were like me and were in a unique field, then you know that there are not many positions for someone who specialized in field operations, for example. That s where New York Education Benefits come in to assist. Through this program, there are the Veterans Tuition Awards (VTA) for full-time and part-time study for eligible veterans enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree-granting institution or in an approved vocational training program in New York State. Most colleges and universities have a Veterans Affairs department that can advise you further about this program and what it takes to qualify. The transition from military life to civilian life is not an easy one and realistically, we never really transition over, we just adapt to our new surroundings. We miss that which we understood fully, but there are people out here that are waiting to help Veterans with their transition. Please do not hesitate to reach out to those that are waiting to serve you as you have served them. Additional Assistance To learn more about the benefits and services, you may be eligible for as a Veteran, service member, or as a family member of a Veteran or service member, please call the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs Help Line at (1.888.VETSNYS), where you may also schedule an appointment with a Veterans Benefits Advisor. All information here was obtained from the New York Division of Veterans Services. Visit their website for more information on any of these programs at Vehicle Registration Exemption New York Education Benefits Page 2

3 Your credit rating impacts many important factors and financial decisions in your life, such as applying for a credit card, getting a mortgage or car loan. Therefore, it is very important to understand your credit report, credit score and how to improve your credit score. You should always know who you owe and what s on your credit report. The following are some helpful tips to get started on repairing your credit. Obtain a copy of your credit report Go to and pull a report from all three credit reporting agencies- Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This is a website that gives you free access to your credit report once a year. You should take a look at your credit report to find out which accounts are in good standing and which may need some work. Your credit report will give your account numbers, balances, payment amounts, closed accounts, paid off accounts, open accounts and much more. Dispute errors on your credit report Make sure that all information is correct. If it s not, contact all the reporting agencies to dispute the error. Mistakes can be made and you should investigate anything that doesn t look familiar. This step alone can remove damaging items on Steps to Repair Your Credit By: Stacey Walker, Certified Financial Counselor your credit report that don t belong to you. Pay off all collections accounts Your payment history accounts for 35% of your score. Collection accounts hurt your credit score because these accounts are past due. The farther behind you are on payments, the more it hurts your credit score. Get these paid off ASAP. Pay off debt Since you are trying to repair your credit, pay off debt to increase your score and do not charge anything else. Your outstanding debt counts as 30% of your credit score, so start paying it off to improve your score. Avoid new credit cards Since you are in repair mode, you should avoid adding new debt. This will help lower your score. The more credit cards and credit lines you have, the more credit agencies take a look at your ability to afford these lines. If your debt to income ratio is out of whack, your credit score can suffer. Keep accounts open Closing your credit cards with a balance can hurt your credit score if the lender stops reporting your credit limit. Also even closing paid off accounts can hurt if you have had the account for a long time as this would shorten your credit history which counts as 15% of your score. Be patient Give yourself some time for your score to increase. This debt did not happen overnight so it will take time before you will see your credit score improve. Call CCCS CCCS of Rochester can also offer some advice if you don t feel confident handling this yourself. Come see us and we can walk you through your credit report and budget to get you back on track to a higher credit score. Call our Client Support Department at Page 3

4 Ask CCCS By: Lisa Hochlander, Director of Counseling Question- Why do I receive monthly statements from my creditors if Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Rochester sends me a monthly statement? Answer- This is a great question and it is more common than you would think. It is completely normal to continue receiving monthly statements from your creditors. If you are not receiving statements from your creditors, you should contact them to ensure they have your most recent contact information. These statements provide you with valuable information regarding your account with them. Key information located on your statement that should be monitored on a monthly basis: Balance Interest Rate Payment activity Interest charges Additional activity such as credits or other balance adjustments It s important to monitor your monthly statements to ensure that you re being charged the correct interest rate, your balance is decreasing with payment activity and that there is no unusual activity or additional fees being applied to your account. If you have any questions about your statement or notice incorrect information, please contact our Client Support Department for additional assistance. The statement will provide us with important information so please have it available at the time of your call. If necessary, we will contact your creditor to resolve the issue. CCCS of Rochester will also send you a statement on a monthly basis. Our statements provide estimated account balances, anticipated interest rates of each account as well as payment activity for your Debt Management Plan. In addition to reviewing your creditor statements for accuracy, we request that you compare our statement to that of your creditor and notify us of any discrepancies. Our staff members work in partnership with you to ensure your account information is accurate and that your Debt Management Plan is successful. Holidays and Spending By: Pamela Hart, Client Support Specialist The holiday buying season can be stressful. If you don t have a budget for your gift giving and you rely on credit cards, it can make the upcoming year s finances even more difficult. To avoid excess spending and credit card debt, there are a few things people can do. First, look for sales. They are everywhere and some start earlier than Thanksgiving. You can sign up for Black Friday specials and flyers, and also check out store web sites for sales. Shopping online helps you narrow down what you want and you don t get in trouble while wandering around stores. Second, if you are able to leave the credit cards at home, do it! Pay cash or use your debit card, this will help avoid impulse buying and over spending. Go with a budget and only spend that much. Third, Start saving throughout the year. Take part in a Christmas Club or similar saving product offered through your bank. This will help avoid the last minute rush to save money and help prevent you from feeling like you have no choice but to use credit cards. Fourth, if you use credit cards with promotional rates, pay those card off before the promotion is over! Once the promotional rate ends, a large amount of interest can be added to your bill. These rates give you a deadline to work toward. Don t take part in the promotional rate, though, if you don t think you can pay it off in time. Last but not least, take advantage of laya-way deals. A lot of stores offer either free lay-a-way or a small percentage down around the holiday time. If a store where you shop does not offer a lay-away service, start shopping earlier in the year. You can also use bonuses or overtime pay to get a few gifts throughout year, this is also a good idea to avoid the madness at checkout lines during the holidays. Using all or just one of these ideas will help prepare you for the upcoming holiday season. These tips will help you keep your expenses on track and not set you behind for the New Year. Be realistic and know your budget. Plan ahead on an amount to spend per person and stick to it! Happy Holidays! Page 4

5 C.A.S.H Coach Open Enrollment By: Chad Rieflin, Director of Programs and Grants C.A.S.H. - Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope - is a community coalition led by Empire Justice Center and the United Way of Greater Rochester. C.A.S.H. was established in 2002 to help low-income workers make the most of their money and build stronger financial futures. CCCS of Rochester and C.A.S.H. have worked together since 2005 to co facilitate a program known as C.A.S.H. Coach. With funding from the Women's Giving Circle and ESL Federal Credit Union, the program offers free, one-on-one financial coaching, group meetings and financial education. With the help of trained volunteer coaches over a period of 9 months, participants learn to man age their money and improve their financial future through achieving realistic, measureable and attainable financial goals. This year the C.A.S.H. Coach program initiated a new process to enable yearround enrollment of participants and volunteer coaches. This means that those who are interested can apply at any time to start their journey to a stronger financial future. Hopefully this will allow more people to take part in the program. For more information about enrolling in the C.A.S.H. Coach program, visit: or crieflin@cccsofrochester.org. Consumer Protection Laws In a complex financial industry, the US government has addressed some of the challenges consumers face in managing day-to-day finances. There are a series of Consumer Protection Laws designed to ensure fair competition. Below are a some of these laws. Fair Credit Reporting Act Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to a free credit report every twelve months from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You also have the right to a free credit report within 60 days of being denied for credit, if you have been a victim of identity theft, if you are on welfare, or if you are unemployed and will be looking for a job within 60 days. In addition to the right to a free credit report, you also have the right to dispute inaccurate information and to have it investigated within 30 days. Disputes should be sent directly to the Credit Reporting Agency that is reporting the error Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices when collecting a debt. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (The CARD Act)- The most recent addition to Consumer Protection Laws, The CARD ACT is a law regulating the credit card industry. As of February 22, 2010, The CARD Act brought changes to the credit card issuance practices by giving credit card users greater control and clearer terms for their accounts. More information on The Card Act can be found here: consumerinfo/ wyntk_creditcardrules.htm Truth in Lending Act- Under the Truth in Lending Act, creditors have to provide you with clear credit terms in easy to read language. The complete Truth in Lending Act can be found at the FDIC's website here: rules/ html Fair Credit Billing Act- Under this law you have the right to dispute billing errors, including charges that you did not authorize, charges for items or services that were not agreed upon, and charges with wrong information, such as the date or the amount. More information, including a sample dispute letter, can be found at the FTC's website here: consumer/credit/cre16.shtm Equal Credit Opportunity Act- The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits credit discrimination on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. More information can be found at the FTC's website here: consumer/credit/cre15.shtm Page 5

6 Non-Profit Org US Postage PAID Rochester, NY Permit NO. 986 Stay Connected with CCCS/RethinkingDebt Headquarters: 1000 University Ave., Suite 900 Rochester, NY Phone: (585) Fax: (585) Toll Free- (888) Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Toll Free Phone: This newsletter is a publication of CCCS of Rochester/ RethinkingDebt.org, a Not-for-Profit agency. It is a source of information for clients, sponsors, representatives of the credit industry, and the service networks supportive of our mission and vision.