July 27, 2020

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION consumer news

regulatory agency for help or guidance. This includes the FDIC at https://ask.fdic.gov/ fdicinformationandsupportcenter/s/. Beware of scams Scammers try to profit from people who are financially vulnerable. Scams are meant to sell you services or products that sound good, but only take your money, so be on the lookout. Do not provide bank account or credit card numbers or other personal

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES information over the phone or in an email, unless you can verify that the entity is reputable and trustworthy. More information on debt relief scams is available from the Working Through Financial Difficulty Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Credit counselors and assistance with creating a budget or plan The FDIC encourages banks to work with With the help of a credit counselor, you Overcoming their customers experiencing financial can get advice on creating a budget and difficulty, where possible. This may include a plan to address your financial difficulty. budgetary delaying loan payments, extending the terms This should allow you to organize your of a loan, or restructuring loan agreements. It debts and establish a roadmap to paying setbacks is important to contact your bank to discuss them down. A credit counselor may your options before skipping any payments also help you work with your financial or taking any other action that differs from institution. Counselors typically do not the terms of your loan. negotiate any reduction in the debt you owe. However, they may be able to help If you do not think you can make your loan make your monthly debt payments more payments on time, contact your bank as manageable by negotiating extensions soon as possible to discuss your options. of the time that you can repay loans and Paying your debts late or not at all can working with your financial institution cause significant problems, including the regarding fees and interest charges. The assessment of fees. In addition, making late Consumer Financial Protection Bureau payments can damage your credit score. (CFPB) can assist you with finding a Your bank may be able to work with you credit counselor. on a solution, but it is critical that you contact your bank as soon as possible and What is mortgage forbearance? explain your situation. Mortgage forbearance is when your financial institution or lender agrees to If you have additional concerns or a complaint allow you to temporarily make reduced with your bank, be proactive. First, contact mortgage payments or suspend your the bank directly to work on a mutual mortgage payments for a period of time. resolution. If that is not effective, you may Forbearance may help you through your contact the appropriate federal or state financial hardship by providing temporary budget relief or giving you additional time collection companies from using abusive, More information about the FDCPA is to catch up. Forbearance does not cancel the unfair, or deceptive practices. The CFPB available at https://www.consumerfinance. amount you owe to your financial institution. (toll-free 1-855-411-2372) and the Federal gov/consumer-tools/debt-collection/answers/ You will have to repay any missed or Trade Commission (toll-free 1-877-FTC- key-terms/#fair-debt-collection-practices- reduced payments in the future. HELP) share overall enforcement act-fdcpa. responsibility for the FDCPA and accept You can find additional information on the complaints about debt collectors. The FDIC Additional resources: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275- What is mortgage forbearance? (CFPB) Security Act (CARES Act), which may 3342) may also help with your complaint. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/ provide you with additional forbearance FDCPA covers consumer debts mainly for what-is-forbearance-en-289/ options due to the coronavirus pandemic personal, family, or household purposes What happens after I complete an application by visiting the CFPB at https://www. such as mortgages, credit cards, and medical consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/guide- to determine my options to avoid foreclosure? debts. Please note that the FDCPA does not (CFPB) coronavirus-mortgage-relief-options/ for cover business or commercial purpose debts. more information. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask- FDCPA communication requirements for cfpb/what-happens-after-i-complete-an- If you are having trouble paying or debt collectors: application-to-determine-my-options-to- managing your mortgage, you can contact avoid-foreclosure-en-1851/ a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban • Generally, debt collectors are prohibited Development (HUD)-approved housing from contacting you at an unusual time or Protecting your finances during the counselor for help with your situation. place, and are prohibited from contacting coronavirus pandemic (CFPB) you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ Dealing with a debt collector coronavirus/ Ignoring or avoiding a debt collector will not • Debt collectors are not allowed to harass stop their attempts at contacting you. The you or anyone else through any forms of Dealing with Debt (FTC) debt collector may even use other means to their contact. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/ try to collect the outstanding debt, including dealing-debt/ a lawsuit. If you do not owe the debt, you • If you are represented by an attorney, the debt collector generally must stop Home Buying and Ownership Counseling should explain this to the debt collector NeighborWorks America attempting to contact you. If the debt is contacting you, and must contact the attorney instead. https://www.neighborworks.org/Homes- yours and you are unable to make payments, Finances you may be able to make arrangements with the debt collector. You can also ask the Credit Building and Credit Repair National debt collector in writing to stop contacting Foundation for Credit Counseling you, which will stop the communications; https://www.nfcc.org/en/ however, this does not necessarily stop other efforts to collect the debt. For more help or information, go to www.fdic.gov or The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act call the FDIC toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342). (FDCPA) is a federal law that governs debt collection practices and prohibits debt Please send your story ideas or comments to Consumer Affairs at [email protected]