CONSUMERS -- BE AWARE OF CAR SAFETY WHEN BUYING A NEW CAR!
Vehicles are on of the larger consumer purchases made each
year. Safety of these vehicles should be an important consideration. Recently
NBC's Dateline news show aired the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety's crash tests of the model year 2000. They
tested seven midsize cars with sticker prices between
$18,500 and just over $23,000.
For the 2000 models, the test found that the redesigned
Subaru Legacy was best for crashworthiness. Of the models
tested, the biggest seller, the Pontiac Grand Am, received
a "poor" ranking, the lowest rank given. The dummies
used in the tests seemed to fare worst in the Leganza, from a Korean automaker
Daewoo. Thus, avoid driving a Grand Am or Leganza, for safety reasons.
WISCONSIN
AUTO INSURANCE PREMIUMS AMONG THE LOWEST IN THE COUNTRY!
Wisconsin drivers continue to enjoy some of the lowest
automobile insurance premiums in the country according to a recently released
report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The
study found Wisconsin consumers pay almost 30 percent less per year for
automobile insurance than consumers nationwide.
According to the NAIC study, the average auto premium in Wisconsin
was $604.82 in 1999. This compared with an average automobile premium of
$783.14 nationally. Wisconsin ranked fifth lowest in the nation for
automobile insurance rates.
The study ranked New Jersey first with an average auto
premium of $1200.40, almost double Wisconsin rates. Iowans paid the lowest
average premium, $543.44. According to the Office of the Commissioner of
Insurance, "Wisconsin has claimed the fifth spot for two years, while
ranking seventh for the previous three years."
The NAIC also reported Wisconsin auto insurance premiums
take up less money in the family's budget. When the average cost of a
policy is divided by the average income for a family of four, Wisconsin families
paid .086 percent of their income for auto insurance compared to the
national average of 1.14 percent. An average family of four in Wisconsin
has a higher average income ($63,436) than the national average ($59,981), but
pays well below the national average for auto insurance.
"This is great news for Wisconsin consumers,"
said M. Angela Dentice, President of the Wisconsin Academy of Trial
Lawyers. "Despite dire predictions by insurers, Wisconsin's low rates
also demonstrate the 1998 change in the wrongful death cap has had no effect on
auto insurance premiums," Dentice continued. In 1998 Wisconsin raised
the cap on wrongful death from $150,000 to $350,000 for an adult and $500,000
for a child. Two mothers from Menomonie, Wisconsin, Barb Schultz and Patty
Millar, led the fight to change the law after their children died as a result of
alleged medical negligence.
"The low rates also debunk the notion that the civil
justice system is 'out of control,'" Dentice said. Over the past few
years the number of personal injury cases have been decreasing. According
to the Wisconsin Director of State Courts, the number of cases filed involving
automobile injures was 5,100 in 1999 compared to 5,427 in 1998. In 1999,
61,577 persons were injured and 744 were killed in motor vehicle crashes.
That means less than one person out of 12 injured or killed in a motor vehicle
crash filed a lawsuit.
PROTECT
YOUR CREDIT RATING
There is a way you can
protect your credit rating when inaccurate information shows up on your credit
report. The Fair Debt Collections
ACT (FCRA) requires creditors and others who report information to credit
reporting agencies to re-investigate any information that a consumer disputes.
Under the FCRA, a
consumer can request, in writing, that a credit reporting agency list a debt as
“disputed” and to investigate the validity of the debt if fraud or deception
is involved. A consumer should
dispute this information with all agencies that report the debt.
In addition, it is a good idea to send a letter to the creditor as well.
With 5 days of receipt of
your letter, the credit reporting agency must notify any person who furnished
the disputed information and must include all relevant information that you
provide. Most reporting agencies use a standard Consumer Dispute Verification
form, known as a CDV or “611 notice.” After
the reporting agency sends this notice to the creditor, the creditor must
conducts its own investigation of the accuracy and completeness of the
information provided, and report back to the reporting agency promptly.
The goal of the reinvestigation procedure is make sure that consumer
reports are accurate. The
investigation must by “reasonable.” Therefore,
a failure to conduct such an investigation would be negligence. Your consumer report should not be misleading, out of date or
incomplete.
Reinvestigations
conducted by reporting agencies must be completed within 30 days of receipt of
the dispute letter from the customer. At the end of the reinvestigation period,
disputed information must be deleted from your credit report if it cannot be
verified, corrected or modified in light of the reinvestigation. Failing to
comply with the statutory provisions within required time limits can subject the
reporting agency to possible actual damages and attorney fees.
Any furnisher of information who negligently fails to comply with any of
FCRA requirements is liable to the consumer for actual damages, the costs of
litigation and attorney fees.
Thus, you as the
consumer, are in the best position when you inform the creditor in writing of a
disputed item, with appropriate details of the error and of the importance to
you of an accurate credit record. Don’t
forget to always send a copy of any disputed items given to the credit reporting
agency also to the creditor.
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