Individual

What are your obligations if you decide to cosign on a loan for a friend or relative?

This article provides hints and tips for shopping for a used car. It includes a checklist and explains your rights when buying from a dealer or a private party. It also offers buying tips and resources if you have problems after the sale.

A new car is second only to a home as the most expensive purchase many consumers make. That’s why it’s important to know how to make a smart deal. This article provides tips to help you with the purchase. It explains commonly used industry terms, and it provides a worksheet to help you negotiate on price.

You've probably been receiving privacy notices from banks and other financial companies. This article explains the federal law that require the notices and that protect your financial privacy. These laws give you the right to stop (opt out of) some sharing of your personal financial information. The laws also require that you will receive privacy notices from your financial institutions.

If you don’t make timely payments on the vehicle, your creditor may have the right to “repossess” — or take back your car without going to court or warning you in advance. Your creditor also may be able to sell your contract to a third party who may have the same right to seize the car as the original creditor. This website discusses the requirements for seizing and reselling your car for nonpayment. It explains deficiency - the difference between what you owe on your loan and what your creditor gets for reselling your car.

Your liability for fraudulent credit card charges is $50, but that doesn’t stop scam artists from peddling “loss protection” services.

If you have old debts, collectors may not be able to sue you to collect on them. That's because debt collectors have a limited number of years — known as the statute of limitations — to sue you to collect. After that, your unpaid debts are considered "time-barred." According to the law, a debt collector cannot sue you for not paying a debt that's time-barred. This article provides information on debt collection for debts that are past the statute of limitations.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits credit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because you get public assistance.

Federal law limits your liability if your credit, ATM, or debit card is lost or stolen, but your liability may depend on how quickly you report the loss or theft.

Learn how to avoid holds on your money or credit.