Law Office of Suzanne Begnoche

12/15/2023

Did you know that you can get free copies of your reports from the three major credit bureaus every week? This perk from Covid times is now a permanent feature of the Free Annual Credit Report portal. For more about how to access your reports and why you might want to look at them more often than you have been doing, read the attached article.

The big three credit bureaus have made a pandemic-era change permanent.

07/12/2023

Gift opportunity! Whenever I close out a client's file, I give them a free copy of the National Consumer Law Center's 300 page guidebook "Surviving Debt." New edition is coming out, but I still have some copies of the 2021 edition left. Send me a direct message if you want one! First come, first served, seven available.

03/07/2023

Tiny increases or decreases in your FICO score can have huge impacts on what you'll pay if you're applying for a mortgage or refinancing. For example, according to a Bankrate analysis, a borrower with a 660 FICO score seeking a $300,000 mortgage will pay $30,951 less in interest over a 30-year mortgage at current rates than a borrower seeking a mortgage of the same amount with a 659 FICO score.

The linked article from Bankrate explains more, including an easy-to-understand explanation of the minimum credit score to be eligible for a mortgage depending on the type of loan and lender. Please share this helpful resource!

There's no one single number. But your credit score plays a major part in qualifying for a mortgage, and the terms you'll get.

02/08/2023

Just FYI for North Carolinians!

03/21/2022

Did you know that Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union are not the only credit bureaus that may harvest, store, and sell your information? Each year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes a list identifying numerous other national and specialty consumer reporting agencies. Specialty agencies focus on certain markets, such as employment background checks, tenant screening, insurance applications, utility payment history, and medical data, among others.

While the CFPB's list doesn't include every possible credit bureau or background check company, it does enable you to identify and contact some of the more frequently-used agencies to request copies of your reports, which many agencies will provide once a year for free. For example, if you're thinking of renting a new apartment, you should ask for copies of your reports from tenant screening companies to correct inaccuracies in your rental history before applying. Similarly, if you have a common name (like "John Smith"), you might want to see what background check companies are reporting as your criminal record and get errors fixed before applying for jobs--criminal record mixups happen regularly. To download the list or use the CFPB's credit bureau search tool, click the link below.

This list includes the three nationwide credit reporting companies as well as other companies that focus on certain market areas and consumer segments.

03/18/2022

The three major credit bureaus just announced some changes to how they report unpaid medical bills. Click the link to find out how the new policies might affect you!

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently reported that Americans' credit reports contain $88 billion in medical debt, that one in five American households has unpaid medical debt, and that medical bills account for half of all debts appearing on credit reports! In conjunction with its repor

01/26/2022

Free credit score apps are easy to find and use. It's nice to have the ability to check your credit report any time you want to, and gratifying to see your score increase. Unfortunately, these apps carry significant privacy risks, the free scores don't always correlate with the scores lenders actually use, and in some cases, signing up for an app may require you to unwittingly give up your right to sue a credit bureau over errors on your report! For more information, click the link to read Consumer Reports' investigation of five popular credit score apps, including Credit Karma.

Credit score apps such as Credit Karma and Credit Sesame aren't reliable, have unnecessary charges, and pose privacy risks, a Consumer Reports investigation finds.

01/15/2022

The 2022 Edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine as named me as a "Super Lawyer" in Consumer Law.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas. The magazine’s patented selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. No more than five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion on the Super Lawyers list.

I'm proud to be a Super Lawyer for the fifth consecutive year and thankful to colleagues for this recognition of the quality of my work.

Super Lawyers magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-approved

12/18/2021

Identity theft consequences can sometimes include unemployment fraud, where a perpetrator files a fake unemployment claim in order to get benefits using the victim's identity. For more information, see Attorney General Josh Stein's warning at the link below.

If someone makes a fraudulent unemployment claim in your name, you may also be at risk of other types of financial fraud. My office provides free consultations to identity theft victims.

[image = http://ncdoj.emailnewsletter.us//images/user_images/AGSteinLogo.JPG]* * CONSUMER ALERT* * ...

08/05/2021

Effective tomorrow, August 5, all Orange and Chatham County courthouses will again require that you wear a mask while in the building. My firm continues to limit in-person meetings unless absolutely necessary, and we ask that you mask up you are in the office until further notice.

03/02/2021

Did you know that you can get free copies of your three major credit reports once a week through April 2022? Because of the pandemic, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union have extended free credit report access through the Annual Credit Report online portal for another year. To get your free copies, click on the link below and follow instructions. Bookmark the link so that you can get new reports each week if needed!

During the COVID-19 pandemic, accessing your credit is important. That's why Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are continuing to offer free weekly credit reports.