|
|
 |
|
The
views expressed
on this page are soley those of the author and do not
necessarily
represent the views of County News Online
|
 |
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Protecting the
Finances of Ohioans Serving in Uniform
Thousands of Ohioans are deployed overseas serving in our nation’s
military, according to a recent count. Not only do these Ohioans put
their lives on the line to defend our nation, but they also often face
significant risks to their personal finances while they are on
deployment.
The challenges include difficulty managing accounts from abroad,
identity theft, and being targeted by predatory lenders. Even minor
credit events, such as a single missed payment, have the potential to
balloon into major problems that can threaten their financial
well-being.
Our men and women in uniform and their families make enough sacrifices
for our country — their credit rating shouldn't be one of them.
Since 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has
received hundreds of complaints from servicemembers about credit
reporting, including problems dealing with identity theft or fraud
while overseas.
There are tools out there to protect our troops’ finances, like Active
Duty Alerts and security freezes. Active Duty Alerts protect members of
the armed forces by requiring that businesses take extra steps before
granting credit in a servicemembers’ name. Yet less than one percent of
those servicemembers who called the CFPB reported placing an Active
Duty Alert on their credit reports before leaving for a deployment.
Members of our armed forces and their families can visit
http://www.militaryonesource.mil/ or call 1-800-342-9647 for more
information on protecting their finances during deployment. Military
Source recommends that deployed service members file an Active Duty
Alert and place a security freeze on their credit file.
And servicemembers facing financial issues can contact the CFPB for
help. Anyone can submit a complaint online at
www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/. Since 2011, the CFPB has helped
more than 1,300 Ohio servicemembers.
But we must to do more to help our troops take advantage of these
tools, and to address the unique financial challenges they often
encounter when they return home.
Last month, I sent a letter urging the Defense Department to redouble
its efforts to help safeguard servicemembers from financial ruin. I
pressed the Department to make sure that servicemembers are aware that
Active Duty Alerts, security freezes, and other tools are there to
protect their credit reports and scores.
And earlier this year, I helped reintroduce the Military Families
Credit Reporting Act. This commonsense legislation would provide
servicemembers the opportunity to explain on their credit reports that
late or missed payments were due to their deployments. It would also
help them keep better track of their credit while they are deployed.
As a grateful nation, we owe it to our military men and women, and
their families, to help ease their transition when they come home. They
shouldn’t have to battle creditors because they were serving our
country abroad.
|
|
|
|
