Thank you for submitting your application for the No Credit Check Loan.

Due to the volume of applications, it will take about 7 to 10 days to process the loan.

You should receive an email from Docusign with your loan documents. The documents must be signed and submitted before we deposit the funds in your account. You may check your account balance by STAT24, Mobile or Internet Banking.

If there is an issue with your application you will be contacted by one of our staff members.

Thank you for your patience.

$1,000 No Credit Check Loan Application

Free weekly reports can help you maintain credit health during COVID.

The three major credit bureaus in the U.S. have collectively agreed to offer free weekly credit reports to consumers. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion will all provide weekly reports through annualcreditreport.com at no charge through April 2021. The goal is to make it easier for Americans to manage their credit during the pandemic and resulting recession.

In the past, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandated that people could check their credit for free once per year. You could download a copy of each credit bureau’s report through annualcreditreport.com every twelve months.

The dramatic increase in free credit reports attests to just how unique the situation with the U.S. economy is during this pandemic. There is a range of potential reporting issues that could result in credit damage.

Reasons to check your credit?

Make sure forbearance and deferment are reported correctly

If a credit card company or lender offered forbearance or deferment, it should not affect your credit. Any payments they permitted you to miss should not be noted as missed payments. Your account should still be current with no negative notations in the account’s history.

If you see a missed payment or a delinquent status, contact the creditor immediately. Under the CARES Act updates to the FCRA, creditors are required by law not to report missed payments during COVID forbearance periods.

Ensure debt management plan payments are noted in your history If you enrolled in a debt management program to pay off credit card debt, those payments should be noted, too. Since your creditors agree to accept payments through a credit counseling agency, payments will be made on time for each account.

What’s more, most creditors will agree to bring delinquent accounts current once you make three consecutive payments through the program. Monitoring your credit as you pay off your debt will ensure everything is being reported correctly.

Any balances you consolidate with a loan should be paid off

If you use a personal loan to consolidate credit card debt, then you will see a few updates on your credit report. First, you should see a new inquiry on your credit report for the loan application. Then the loan itself will appear as a new account on your report. Finally, you should see the balances on the cards that you pay off drop to zero.

Secured loan applications are grouped as one inquiry

Interest rates are at historic lows, meaning that it may be a good time to make a major purchase. If you have good credit and stable income, getting a new car or buying a home can be extremely cost-effective. You may enjoy interest rates of three percent or even lower, and car dealerships are offering 0% APR for up to 72 months.

If you decide to buy a car or home now to take advantage, you can apply for multiple loans to get specific rates and terms. All inquiries made within 14-45 days should be grouped as one inquiry. You should check your reports to ensure your credit isn’t dinged for multiple inquiries instead.

This only applies to mortgage and auto loan applications. Any other loan applications will remain as individual inquiries. Too many inquiries can potentially hurt your credit score.

Watch out for collection accounts

If you have faced unemployment or loss of income, you may be juggling bills. Even after you recover from a slowdown in your income, you may still be working to catch up. Keeping an eye on your credit report may help you spot a collection account that fell through the cracks.

Also, be aware that any medical collections that may appear on your report can be removed if they should have been paid by insurance.

Be on the lookout for identity theft

The pandemic has resulted in more time spent online and an increased need for online shopping. All that time online means people are at a much higher risk of identity theft.

If someone gets their hands on your personal information, they may open accounts in your name. One of the best ways to catch this type of ID theft is to monitor your credit reports for accounts you do not recognize. If you see an account you did not authorize, it may be a sign that your information has been compromised.

What negative information can appear on your credit report?

In addition to finding mistakes and ensuring payments are reported correctly, you also need to be on the lookout for negative items that have been legitimately incurred during this crisis.

This table shows some of the items you may incur during a period of economic hardship and how long they can remain on your credit report.

Will an eviction appear on a consumer credit report?

The hold on eviction and foreclosure actions is set to end on August 31. If that moratorium date is not extended again by the federal government, then many families could be facing eviction notices.

An eviction, itself, will not appear on a consumer credit report. The only way the information would appear on your report is if the landlord sent an unpaid rent amount to a collection agency. Then the collection account would appear on your credit report.

Just be aware that even though the eviction will not appear on your credit report, it may still appear on a tenant screening report.

For more financial education information visit your KOFE Portal!

Transfer your high interest rate credit card balances to our Platinum Master Card

Knock Out High Interest

• Transfer balances January 1 through December 31, 2018
• 3.90% APR* for the first 6 billing cycles

Say NO to Fees

•  No Transfer Fee
•  No Annual Fee
•  No Cash Advance Fees

Keep Saving All Year Long

• Standard interest rates range between 8.49% APR and 17.99% APR at the end of the transfer promotional period.
• Current card holders log in to www.gotomycard.com, click on "Balance Consolidation" and follow the prompts.

Become a Cardholder Today

Apply online or in person and let us know you would like to transfer balances from higher interest cards.

*A promotional rate of 3.90% APR will be applicable on all credit card balances transferred between January 1, 2018 thru December 31, 2018. The promotional rate is effective for 6 (six) billing cycles from the date of the transaction. At the end of the promotional period, your standard APR will apply, between 8.49% APR - 17.99% APR. No cash advance fee will be charged. Subject to credit union lending guidelines.

Equifax Breach

What You Need To Know

BHCFCU is here to help with protecting your personal information. Although we have no way of knowing which of our members was affected by the breach, we can provide you with information to help you understand what you can do to find out if you or your family members were affected. Most of the information below was pulled from the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

Sensitive information of 143 million Americans and approximately 400,000 U.K. citizens was exposed in the Equifax Data Breach from mid-May through July 2017. Hackers were able to retrieve people’s names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and in some cases driver’s license numbers. Credit card account numbers for about 209,000 people, and dispute documents containing personal identifying information of about 182,000 people, were also obtained. An unconfirmed number of Canadian citizens have also been affected. –Seena Gressin, Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education.

The following resources are available for consumers:

Websites:

www.consumer.ftc.gov

• You can find the full article regarding the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) advice and investigation
• Search the site’s FAQs for information on placing a credit freeze, and or a fraud alert

www.idtheft.gov

• Provides valuable tools to report ID Theft and offers information in protecting your personal information

www.equifaxsecurity2017.com

• Find out if your information was exposed
  • Click on “Potential Impact” tab
  • Enter your FULL name
  • Last six (6) digits of your social security number
• Be aware that when using an unsecure network/computer further puts your information at risk, please make sure you are using an encrypted network. Accessing through public wifi is not an encrypted network.
• You can sign up for free credit monitoring, but read the fine print some of your consumer rights may be waived

www.annualcreditreport.com

• Obtain a FREE copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. It is best to pull report sporadically throughout the year so you can see any changes during the course of the year.

Broward HealthCare Federal Credit Union checking account holders with ID Theft Recovery product may receive free credit monitoring if your identity has been compromised either by this breach or any other incident. If your account is being deducted $1.95 each month then your accounts, your spouse’s and your children’s under age 25 years are all covered under the one fee. Just a quick phone call to us if your information has been compromised will get you on the path to recovery.

What else can you do?

• File your taxes as early as possible
• Respond immediately to ANY letters from the IRS
• Monitor your accounts regularly for any unauthorized transactions
• Pull at least one of your credit reports and review for any suspicious activity
• Be aware of scams! Equifax will not contact you set up credit monitoring, the IRS will only contact you via USPS, and your financial institution will not contact you by phone, or email to verify any personal information or to set up credit monitoring.
  
   

Get your finances fiscally fit

A KOFE certified financial coach onsite for confidential meeting to assist with some of the following:

• Resolve questions and provide advice on money management, budgets, savings, debt resolution
• Help in understanding your credit report, improve history, how to increase credit score, dispute mistakes, general information about your report
• Advice about mortgage payment options, becoming a successful homeowner, home retention tools, foreclosure prevention programs

Choose the session that fits your schedule.

July 13  Broward Health North Branch