FAQs

As of January 1, 2012, paper savings bonds are no longer sold at financial institutions. This action supports Treasury’s goal to increase the number of electronic transactions with citizens and businesses. Click here for details about purchasing savings bonds electronically.

If your credit union cashes savings bonds, explain your policy. You can find information and a guide on TreasuryDirect.gov here: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/instit/savbond/guide/guide_cash.htm

The federal government requires that each of the three national credit-reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—gives you a free credit report every year. You can request a free copy of your credit report by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the only authorized online source is at annualcreditreport.com. Consumers should be aware that there are many sites out there that claim to offer “free” credit reports but often charge you for another product if you accept the report.

To request your credit report by phone, call (877) 322–8228. To request your credit report by mail, write to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Do not contact the individual credit-reporting agencies.

Because the federal government requires that each of the three national credit-reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—gives you a free credit report every year, consider staggering the receipt of each of your credit reports. That way, you'll get a continuous picture of how your credit picture looks, because the three bureaus feed each other the latest information. You’ll also be able to clean up errors as you find them (because errors can drag down a credit score) and you'll also keep an eye on identity theft.

To get a free copy of your credit report, visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

Explain how this can be done (in-person, by phone, or online). Describe what type of information the person must provide (check number, the date the check was written, the amount of the check, and the name of the payee). Mention any fees associated with placing a stop payment on a check. Mention any situations in which a stop payment cannot be put on a check and whether the stop payment can be removed.

Cosigners lend their names and good credit histories to the maker. Should the maker die, lose a job, or otherwise fail to make payments, all responsibility for meeting the terms of the loan transfers to the cosigner. An often-overlooked aspect of cosigning a loan is the fact that the loan appears on both the maker's and cosigner's credit reports.

Read more about your obligations when you cosign a loan. The last sentence should be a link to the "Loan & Credit Management > Borrowing and Repaying Loans" section of your Financial Resource Center if you purchased this product from CU Solutions Group.

Your money is insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an independent agency of the United States Government. Your savings is federally insured up to $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

Note: You might want to include a link to the NCUA’s Your Insured Funds at
http://www.ncua.gov/Legal/GuidesEtc/GuidesManuals/NCUAYourInsuredFunds.pdf

It might be tempting to view your 401(k) as a source of emergency funds, but before you dip into your retirement account for cash, explore alternatives. Include a link to the "Financial Planning > Planning for Retirement" section of your Financial Resource Center if you purchased this product from CU Solutions Group.

To make this decision, calculate your monthly payments and your total net cost. When you compare these amounts, you can determine which option is right for you. Use our Auto Buy or Lease calculator to help you. The last sentence should be a link to the "Financial Calculators" section of your Financial Resource Center if you purchased this product from CU Solutions Group.

Our share draft checking account is free!

Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a website where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and account numbers that the legitimate organization already has. The website, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information. Add text explaining that your credit union would not send requests for this type of information via e-mail and any other details that you wish to provide.

Vishing is the telephone equivalent of phishing. Vishing is the act of using the telephone in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The scammer usually pretends to be a legitimate business, and fools the victim into thinking he or she will profit. Add text explaining that your credit union would not send requests for this type of information via phone.

If you feel you have been a victim of identity theft, contact the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); by mail: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580; or online.