I have a warning for credit card users. I was promised a low (4.9%) APR interest on a loan I took on my credit card. When I got the bill, I was shocked to see the APR is 26.28%. When I called the company, the representative insisted that I did indeed receive 4.9%. I sat arguing with him for 5 minutes. Either they don't know what they are talking about or they are just B.S.ing the consumers. Be wary of any purported low interest rates, even if they insist that the APR is low, before charging anything that will leave you paying over time. I thought there was a law passed to prevent this type of abuse, regarding the APR. Apparently not. Please learn from my mistake

My wife and I obtain our credit reports from each of the three major bureaus at least once each year. Invariably, we find accesses listed as "AR" (Account Review) by unknown or non-existent addresses. These are parties that have been provided our complete credit files with a complete list of each creditr card with the amount of current available credit. These have been determined in most cases to be identity thefts in progress. This can be verified by simply attempting to contact the firm listed and requesting verification and legitimacy of the inquiry. In the majority of the cases a non-existent telephone number will be listed along with a phoney address. Other examples will include using a previously closed credit card account number to access a credit files. In these cases the identity thief already has a current, valid credit card account number for the victim and he's looking for the amount of typical available credit the account holder is maintaining so that he can max it out before the victim or the card-issurer is aware of it. We are planning on a press release detailing recent examples of this to encourage everyone to review their credit files. (Most states now require the bureaus to provide a copy once a year at no cost.) Be very aware of the various "free credit report" advertising as there is always a costly gimmick attached and we have found what is implied as advertised is rarely what the consumer gets. If you wish an e-mailed copy of our press release - due out about November 5th please e-mail us at: bennerassoc@comcast.net
Sincerely, Ken & Karen Benner