Archive for April 2007

Don’t Get Scammed

April 20, 2007 by gpstevens.

I’m sure many of you have seen the commercials on TV about a free credit report. Freecreditreport.com is a scam. It aint free. But the federal government is obligated to give you a free credit report once every year. The following is from about.com, and it’s legitimate. Don’t get scammed. 

Government Mandates Free Credit Reports for

All Consumers

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that U.S. consumers be entitled to a free credit report each year. The government’s goal is to make sure that consumers stay informed, fight identity theft, and get fair treatment.In the past, not everybody was entitled to a free credit report. Instead, consumers had to pay or qualify based on certain activity within the credit report. Some states required that residents periodically be entitled to a free credit report, but it is now nationwide.

How do I Get my Free Credit Report?

The nation’s credit reporting agencies have teamed up and built a website that you should use to get your free credit report. The site is www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also call them at 877-322-8228 and request your free credit report.

Contacting the Credit Agencies Directly

You can also call the major credit agencies directly and ask about a free credit report. However, the FCRA-mandated “Annual Free Credit Reports” are only available through the website and phone number above. In other words, you might have to pay if you contact a credit agency directly.

I cannot overemphasize that the only way to get your annual free credit report is by using the organization above. If you go any other route, you may have to pay or subscribe to a private service.

What Information do I Need for a Free Credit Report?

You’ll need to be prepared with your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. You’ll also need any prior addresses from the past few years. Finally, you’ll be asked to disclose something that only you know (like the amount of a given payment, for example) as a security measure.

When Can I See my Free Credit Report?

In order to manage the process, availability is only available to certain regions at certain times. As of September 1st, 2005, the entire nation has access to a free credit report.

If your region is up and running, you can see your free credit report instantly online (at www.annualcreditreport.com). If you use the toll-free number, it may be 15 days or so until you receive the report.

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Love is Greater (Always)

April 17, 2007 by gpstevens.

Virginia Tech

In light of the recent massacre at Virginia Tech University I wanted to send out my thoughts and prayers for the victims and their family and friends. It seems that day after day and year after year we hear about these things or read about them in the paper and it’s almost trivia. Hey did you hear about this or did you read about that? Whats the new scoop on Anna Nicole or what about this scandal or that, and somehow it all gets lumped into this big wad we call “The News.” It’s just another story, a picture in the paper, something to talk about over dinner or a beer at the bar or club. Water cooler talk I think they call it now. Just something to talk about with strangers when you don’t really want to talk to that person at all. How cold we have become.

Do we really feel their pain? Do we really feel the tragedy in our hearts? Do we really stop to think that on one Monday morning and afternoon literally thousands of lives have been changed as the result of one lone killers actions? As of now we have 33 people dead including the shooter, over 20 people wounded. Right now as it stands we have at least 50 people shot. Now how many wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends and various other relatives have been affected? Just using simple math that translates into the thousands.

I guess all I want to say is this.

None of us ever really know when the s**t is gonna hit the fan. In America we seem to take life and liberty and freedom so for granted. Then one day everything we loved so much is gone, sometimes it’s gone within minutes if not seconds. Yesterday a bunch of college kids went to class. In a couple of days they will be lowering alot of kids into the ground. They will never come home again. The school year for them is over. They will never get that dream job. They will never be what they wanted to be. They will never see mom and dad again. And mom and dad will have to live with the memory of seeing their child not outlive them.

What can we do about this? Not much. The best we can do is love our friends, treat them with respect. Love our children and our family and never let a day go buy without doing something or saying something that lets them know we love them. “Love thy neighbor as you love thyself” Jesus said. The country is in pain tonight and eventually the wounds will heal over time but let us not dismiss the pain of today. Today we were wounded but not killed, we will live on to fight another day, but in the meantime let’s pause and think and remember that sometimes when a loved one walks out the door to do what we consider their everyday routine, we may never see them again. Every good-bye could be our last.

May God bless and comfort those victims of the Virginia Tech Massacre and to all my friends, family, and everyone else, I love you.

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