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When it comes to student loans, dealing with the lender can be more difficult than repaying the loan. Thats one of the top complaints by consumers in a report of the student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

For federal student loans, more than twice as many consumers (71 percent) reported difficulties dealing with their lender or service than the 28 percent who complained to the CFPB that they were struggling to repay their loan. Two percent of complaints were about a problem with a credit report or credit score.

Accessing Protections
Federal law provides protections for federal student loans. Many are designed to help borrowers avoid delinquency and default during economic distress, such as a job loss.

Servicing loan breakdowns “can delay, deter or deny access to federal benefits and protections, rendering them illusory for many student loan borrowers,” the report states.

Nearly all federal student loan borrowers should be eligible to make payments based on their income through an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. The plan can help struggling borrowers avoid default.

Yet borrowers complained to the CFPB about servicing roadblocks in IDRs, such as obstacles when trying to enroll in an IDR plan. These include unexpected delays, lost paperwork, poor customer service and inconsistent application processing. They can lead to higher loan costs, reduced benefits and extended repayment terms.

Forbearance Instead of IDR
Others said that when telling their servicer that their standard monthly payment is unaffordable, theyre directed to options like forbearance or extended payment, which can be more expensive over the long-term than an IDR plan.

Borrowers in IDR plans are required each year to recertify their income and family size so they can qualify for an affordable monthly payment"a process that should take weeks but is longer, according to the CFPB. Federal law allows borrowers during that recertification time to continue paying their current monthly plan until their new IDR payment is recalculated.

However, borrowers complained that they either had to continue making the unaffordable monthly payment, or their loans were incorrectly placed into forbearance during this process, which prevented them from accessing loan forgiveness programs. Forbearance allows loan payments to be temporarily suspended, and a long delay in the IDR recertification can prevent borrowers from making progress toward loan forgiveness.

Consumer Action
While the CFPB takes legal action against some student loan providers, there are steps consumers can take to deal with student loan problems.

When contacting a student loan servicer, do it in writing so that theres a paper trail that may help solve problems later. Borrowers can also sign up for automatic payments, which can get them a slight interest rate reduction on their loans and will make sure their payment is made on time each month. They can also look into student loan options such as refinancing, consolidating loans, IDRs and student loan forgiveness.

To submit a complaint to the CFPB, go to consumerfinance.gov/complaint or call 855-411-2372.

Or submit by mail to:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
P.O. Box 2900
Clinton, Iowa, 52733

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Unauthorized credit inquiries are a sign that someone has fraudulently applied for credit in your name. They can hurt your credit score and make your financial life more difficult until theyre removed from your credit report.

A credit inquiry is a record that your credit report was accessed because you submitted a credit application somewhere.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act defines who can be granted legal access to your credit. These include you, a court order if youre alleged to have caused credit damage, debt collectors, lenders, employers (with your permission) and insurance underwriters.

An unauthorized credit inquiry is when your credit is being used fraudulently by someone, such as running up a lot of charges quickly.

Checking your credit report often, such as for free every four months through one of the three main credit bureaus, can help you spot unauthorized inquiries.

Not recognizing a name on the inquiry doesnt mean youve had your credit information stolen. It could be a collection agency that has pulled your report, which is one of the few times when your permission isnt needed to get access to your credit report.

Removing unauthorized credit inquiries
If you think your credit reports have been accessed without your permission, you can have the unauthorized inquiries removed.

Start by disputing them with the three credit bureaus. If you think fraud is involved, make that clear in your dispute because credit bureaus must respond to those types of issues quickly.

If you think your personal information has been stolen by an identity thief who is trying to apply for fraudulent accounts in your name with unauthorized credit inquiries, ask the credit bureaus to put a security freeze on your credit reports.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that each state has its own rules about credit freezes and how much consumers must pay for them. It also provides phone numbers for the credit reporting companies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to request a security freeze.

The credit freeze will take your credit reports out of circulation and wont allow lenders that you dont have a relationship with to access them.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

A damaged roof could deter buyers, causing your house to stay on the market for longer than youd like.

What Is the Roofs Current Condition?

If the roof appears damaged, have it inspected by a professional.

Knowing the cost of repairs can help you decide what to do.

Should You Replace the Roof or Sell the House As-Is?

If your house needs major work, buyers will be reluctant to make an offer.

If your roof has damage, it should be replaced before you sell the house.

If you cant afford to replace the roof, you might be able to sell your house, but be ready to accept an offer that’s lower than you would like.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Paying your medical bill is one of the last things on your mind when youre at a hospital emergency room. And how that bill could affect your credit score is probably much less of a concern. But even a non-emergent hospital visit can result in a large medical bill months after your health insurance covers a portion of it. If you dont pay the bill or pay it late, it can go to collections and hurt your credit score.

Here are some of the ways unpaid medical bills can hurt your credit:

Late Payments
An unpaid medical bill can end up on your credit report in a few ways. Your doctors office may report a late payment or unpaid bill to the three major credit bureaus. A large hospital may report the outstanding bill, but a small doctors office may not. If it goes to a collections agency, the debt will likely be placed on your credit report. The largest part of a credit score is payment history. It accounts for 35 percent of a score, and shows if youve paid past credit accounts on time or missed payments entirely.

Medical Debts Weigh Less
Medical debts have less of an impact on credit scores from the Fair Isaac Corporation, or FICO, which are the most widely used. Most lenders in the U.S. use an older version of the FICO credit scoring system which doesnt pay much attention to the type or balance of a collection.

Under the old system, a small, unpaid medical bill could hurt a credit score just as much as a larger debt. The new scoring system protections dont apply if you paid the medical bill with a credit card. If the credit card bill is paid late, your credit score could still be dinged.

Wait Seven Years
Legally, collections can only stay on a credit report for up to seven years. If you can wait that long, then the medical debt will go away and your credit score should gradually improve.

If you want your credit score to improve during those seven years, some lenders may want to see that youre paying off collections that are less than seven years old. Others may not care and may continue denying you credit during that time. The more recent a collection is, the more it will hurt your FICO score.

Published with permission from RISMedia.