(June 10, 2008)

Main topic: BBB Military Line – new service (listing businesses offering discounts)

Scheme of the week:

Attachment: BBB Military Line webpage

Q – What is BBB Military Line and what are the new services being offered?

A- BBB Military Line is a national BBB program designed to assist the military family with their unique challenges as consumers.

One of the two main challenges facing the military consumer is that they are very mobile. They often are confused about consumer rights due to the fact that consumer laws are different in each state. A consumer right that they enjoyed in Virginia, for example, may not exist when they move to Texas.

The other major challenge occurs when the family is separating during deployment. This creates special stress on the partner that remains in the states and handles the finances.

BBB Military Line® brings BBB services to military members and their families. BBB Military Line has Memoranda of Understanding with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, and reaches service members across the United States through local BBBs, as well as offering special military Web pages. That web page is bbb.org/military.

We, at the local level, have added a home page link to military information. Two new items have been added:

A list of businesses that offer military discounts
A list of businesses that have been put off limits by the military

Businesses who wish to be added to the “discount” list should contact our local BBB. There are only two requirements for participating on the list. First, the business must have a satisfactory report with the BBB. Second, the discount must be a “real” discount. Businesses do not have to be BBB Accredited to be included.

Note: In September the local BBB will have its annual Torch Award banquet. Our guest speaker will be Holly Patraeus, director of the national BBB Military Line program. If her name sounds familiar, you are right. Her husband is General David Patraeus.

Q - What’s our scheme of the week?

A- We have a report on TransUnion, the Chicago-based credit bureau. The company has agreed, in perhaps the largest legal settlement ever, to offer up to nine months of free credit-report monitoring to more than 150 million Americans.

Under the agreement any consumer who had a credit card or a mortgage, auto or student loan, or other open credit account or credit line in the U.S., will be able to choose from two free TransUnion services for a limited time. This settlement likely sets a record in affecting the largest number of people.

The lawsuit claimed that TransUnion violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it sold consumer information to businesses for their targeted marketing efforts. The law allows selling public but not private information. This was a civil suit and the settlement must be ratified by the courts.