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The a r t i c les wr i t t en fo r Wes t Coas t Cred i t L inea re fo r Cred i t I n s t i t u t e member s on ly and a r ep ro t ec t ed by Copyr igh t . Rep roduc t iono f any a r t i c l e s o r adve r t i s emen t s w i thou t t hewr i t t en p r i o r app rova l o f t he Cred i t I n s t i t u t eo f Canada , B .C . Chap t e r i s p roh ib i t ed .

Office Address c/o Heather Strack

920 Spence AvenueCoquitlam BC V3J 4V5604-931-1515 fax 604-931-1545email: [email protected]

West Coast Credit Line

Inside

Volume 2, Issue 3

14

10

Interview Techniques

Factoring:

An Alternative CapitalSource

Graduation Banquet

Graduation Awards

President’s Message2

3

4

6

9

Credit Hotlist

Math Check

2003/ 2004

A PUBLICATION o f t he BRITISH COLUMBIA CHAPTER,CREDIT INSTITUTE o f CANADA

www. c r e d i t i n s t i t u t e . o rg

GRADUATION BANQUETBRITISH COLUMBIA CHAPTER

THE ARBUTUS CLUB

Friday, November 14, 2003

GRADUATING CLASS OF 2003Randy Carson, FCI

2001 Nanton Ave, Vancouver

Colleen Dulian, FCIChristine Jurva, FCI

Gail Kivari, FCICarol MacDougall, FCI

Constantine Marinis, FCIScott Powers, FCI

Debra Todesco, FCI


President’s MessageCathy Duncan, FCI

Credit Manager, Brandt TractorBC Chapter President 2003/2004

n b eha l f o f ou r membe rs and t he boa rd o f d i r ec to r s , I wou ld l i ke t owe lcome a l l o f you to t he BC Chap te r ’s Gradua t i on & Award Ce remony.

I wou ld l i ke t o honou r ou r l a t es t FC I g radua tes , C red i t Spec ia l i s t s andHono ra r y members , as we l l a s t hose who have exce l l ed i n t he i r s t ud i esand earned an award, or in some cases, mult iple awards, for their outstandinge f f o r t s .

The vis ion statement of the Credi t Inst i tute of Canada is “ To be professionalsded i ca ted t o exce l l ence i n C red i t Managemen t ” . I be l i e ve t ha t t he co reo f p ro fess i ona l i sm and exce l l ence , i s educa t i on and a numbe r o f ou rmembers have p roven t hey have ach ieved t hese goa l s .

We cong ra tu l a t e a l l t he new FC I ’ s and C red i t Spec ia l i s t s and pass onou r cong ra tu l a t i ons t o t hose who we re unab le t o a t t end t he g radua t i onceremonies. You have a l l worked d i l igent ly to accompl ish your designat ionsand we we l come you who lehea r ted l y i n t o t he f e l l owsh ip .

As an FCI g radua te , you have chosen to and succeeded i n d i s t i ngu i sh ingyoursel f f rom others in the credi t profession. You have the la test knowledgeto succeed i n t h i s cha l l eng ing wo r l d o f bus i ness ; you r emp loye r can becon f i den t t ha t one o f t he i r l a rges t asse ts i s be i ng managed by a t r uep ro fess iona l .

I w o u l d l i k e t o a d d t h a t t h e l e v e l o f d e d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e s t u d e n ts e x h i b i ti s ve r y adm i rab l e cons i de r i ng t ha t each one i s pu t t i ng i n l ong hou rs a tthe i r p lace o f emp loyment as we l l as fami l y and commun i t y i nvo lvements .Fou r yea rs may have seemed i nsu rmoun tab le , bu t you have succeeded .

We t r u l y b e l i e v e t h a t n e w m e m b e r s h a v e a l o t t o o f f e r t o t h e C r e d i tP ro fess i on . We l ook f o rwa rd t o see ing you a t t he d i f f e ren t f unc t i onstha t t he Chap te r o f f e r s .

The graduation is a celebration of your efforts, please join me in congratulatingthe new g radua tes on a j ob we l l done .

O


BANQUET AWARDSNATIONAL AWARDS

Lorraine Bennett

A Robinson, FCI Memorial AwardHighest Overall Marks - Law (2002 - 2003)

$650

BC CHAPTER ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Richard Secret

Highest Combined Marks (2002 - 2003)Financial Accounting and Law

$250

LOCAL AWARDS

Lorraine Bennett

Highest Marks in LawWest Fraser International Award

$200

Scott PowersSecond Highest Combined Marks (2002 - 2003)

Advanced Credit Management & Management Information Systems$200

Randy Carson

Highest Marks in CommunicationsExport Development Corp (EDC)

$200

Scott Powers

Highest Marks in FinanceDNB Award

$200

Scott PowersHighest Marks in Management Information SystemsWholesale Floor Covering Credit Association Award

$200

Kimberley Daddona

Highest Marks in Credit ManagementEquifax Inc.

$200

Scott PowersHighest Marks in Advanced Credit Management

HSBC Bank Canada Award$200

Richard Secret

Highest Marks in EconomicsCanadian Credit Career Group of Vancouver Award

$200

Richard Secret

Highest Marks in AccountingCoast Capital Savings Credit Union Award

$200Randy Carson

Overall Highest Combined Marks in FCI ProgramMetropolitan Credit Adjustors

$200

The Vi Jones Memorial has been presented to an individual who has provided their support for a number of yearsto the BC Chapter as well as having a proven record of volunteerism in their community. The individual willhave provided support to the educational and social programs available to the membership and can be counted onwhen the need arises. The award represents the Chapter’s fond memory of Violet Jones and her devotion to thecredit fraternity for more years than we can remember. Her generosity and dedication to everyone she met, herencouragement when all else seemed unattainable and the friendship she bestowed on her fellow man is honored.Violet was a very spiritual woman who recognized the good in an individual and encouraged them to takeadvantage of every opportunity. She will be remembered forever by her colleagues, friends and family.

VI JONES MEMORIAL AWARDFraser Fraser, FCI


BANQUET

Scott Powers

FCI

Constantine Marinis

FCI

Carol MacDougallFCI

Debra Todesco

FCI

Colleen Dulian

FCI

Christine Jurva

FCI

Gail KivariFCI

Randy CarsonFCI

Scott PowersAward Winner

Richard Secret

Award Winner

Scott Powers

Award Winner

Scott PowersAward Winner

Randy CarsonAward Winner

Randy CarsonAward Winner

Lorraine BennettAward Winner

Richard SecretAward Winner

email: [email protected]

frasercollectionservices limited

200 - 3071 #5 ROADRICHMOND BC V6X 2T4

TEL: (604) 273-4671FAX: (604) 273-3875

incorporated 1967


BANQUET

Fraser Fraser, FCIVi Jones Award

Mr & Mrs CroweTom Bastable Nancy Goldman

Randy CarsonValedictorian

Geoff WilkinsonGeneral Manager, CIC

Carol FriedmanFriedman Training Services

Bruce HearstReid Hurst & Nagy

Louise Taylor Mike McPhee


W

Being a member of the CreditInstitute of Canada isn’t the only

reason this man is successful. He’ssuccessful because he’s dedicated,

knowledgeable and efficient. Just likewe taught him.

Bottom line: only members of the Credit Institute of Canadareceive ongoing education, skills enhancement and professionalguidance in their roles as Credit Professionals. And, only C.I.C.members can receive the invaluable FCI designation. Whichbegs the question, “If you’re not hiring a C.I.C. member, whoare you hiring?”

Credit Instituteof Canada

Est. 1928www.creditinstitute.org (905) 629-9805

businesses and expansion began.

There are two types of factoringgenerally used. One is recourseand the other is non recourse

.Recourse means that if a receiv-able is purchased from a businessand is not paid by the debtor withinan agreed time period or the debtorbecomes insolvent, the factor cancharge the receivable back to the

hat is meant by the termfactoring? Factoring means the out-right sale of accounts receivable,usually commercial in nature, to athird party, the Factor, at a discount.The Factor, in turn, assumes therights and the responsibilities asso-ciated with the receivables admin-istration and collection.

Although “Factoring” is a term whichis not commonly used, this businesspractice is more common than onemight think. As a matter of coursefactoring is the basis on which creditcard companies operate. For exam-ple, when a merchant accepts abank credit card for payment forgoods or services the merchant re-tains the credit slip. The respectivebanks will accept the credit slip andpay the merchant within 2-4 busi-ness days and charges a service ordiscounting fee. It is then the re-sponsibility of the bank to adminis-ter the completion of the credit trans-action.

How did factoring start? Therea r e a r t i c l e s w h i c h s u g g e s tthat factoring has it roots datingb a c k 4 0 0 0 y e a r s a g o i n Mesopotamia and later i t wasused by the Romans who usedthis practice to sell promissoryn o t e s a t a d i s c o u n t .

The first documented widespreaduse of factoring occurred in theAmerican colonies before the revo-lution. Americans shipped their goodsuch as lumber, cotton and furs toEurope and the UK. Merchant bank-

FACTORING: AN ALTERNATIVE CAPITALSOURCE

ers in these countries advancedfunds to the colonists for these ma-terials, before they reached the con-tinent. This enabled the colonists tocontinue harvesting their land, with-out waiting for payment from theirEuropean customers.

Once the industrial revolution ar-rived, factoring started to focus pri-marily on the issue of extendingcredit. Currency, aswe know it, wasn’t asreadily available asit is today. Notes andinvoices were guar-anteed by mer-chants and factorsand traded as cur-rency. By assistingclients in determin-ing the creditworthi-ness of customersand setting creditlimits, factors couldguarantee paymentfor approved debt-ors.

Factoring continuedin Europe concen-trating largely in thetextile and garmentindustries where ithad begun with thecolonials. After WWII, however, somesaw the potential tobring factoring toother forms of re-ceivables based-

B y : L o u i s e Ta y l o r F C I


business.Non recourse means that once areceivable has been purchasedregardless of whether or not thedebtor pays or becomes insolvent,the factor remains responsible. Inboth cases it is easy to see whyproper credit management anddue diligence is imperative to thewell being of all parties involved.

Why use Factoring instead of tra-ditional forms of financing? Typi-cally, over the past 20 years, tra-ditional forms of financing, such asbanks, have become more restric-tive with regard to granting loansor operating lines of credit, particu-larly with small to medium sizedand start-up businesses. Banksare viewed as inflexible and slowto meet the demands or increas-ing need for working capital forbusinesses. Because of the flex-ibility of factoring it can be used tosustain growth or take advantageof new business opportunitieswithout any interruption to thebusiness. A factoring based line ofcredit will help meet these de-mands and in some cases can beused in conjunction with an exist-ing bank line.

Lack of capital during temporaryor seasonal cash flow problemscould result in missed opportuni-ties for a business. With factoring,however, a company can operateat a normal level and seize oppor-tunities as they present them-

selves. This will also allow for busi-ness owner and operators to focusprimarily on growing their business.

A factor will often provide adminis-trative and ongoing credit support.This could reduce or even eliminatethe high costs associated with thesestaffing needs, particularly duringseasonal lows or rapid expansion.

Factoring also benefits credit rat-ings as a company can reducecosts by taking advantage of dis-counts and better payable turnoverin general. They no longer have towait to get paid by customers in or-der to meet their obligations.

Q u i t e o f t e n c o m pa n i e s c a nbe in the midst of a restructuringwhich can jeopardize an existingbank line. Factoring can providethe cash flow needed to acceleratethe turn around without dilutingequi ty or incurr ing addi t ionald e b t .

To d a y, i n t h e U K a n d o t h e rEuropean countries, factoringis a p roduc t o ffe red by la rgef i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d i san established, well-recognisedf o r m o f b u s i n e s s . E v e n i nt h e U n i t e d Sta t e s f a c t o r i n gis a widely accepted businessp r a c t i c e .Wh i le the Un i ted Sta tes andmuch o f Europe fo rge aheadwith the business of factoring,C a n a d a a p p e a r s t o b e s l o wto warm up to the idea. Havingworked in the business I knowit is often viewed with negativeconnotations such as the lendero f l a s t r e s o r t o r a s a n e wway to d i sgu i se a co l l ec t i onagency. Both of which businessesfear w i l l re f lec t poor ly in theeyes of their customers. Perhapsthrough more in format ion onthe subject and better understandingo f t h e p r o c e s s e s i n v o l v e d ,Canadian businesses will morereadily accept this very traditionalf o r m o f f i n a n c i n g .

FACTORING: AN ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL SOURCE

.Student CornerLooking for a mentor to assist you in your studies?

Call Nancy Goldman, FCI604-530-2311

Course Registration Deadlines

Spring: March 2, 2004 Summer: May 25, 2004

Call Muguette MacDonald, FCI604-699-8061

Call Ken Mock, FCI604-552-7817


Credit Institute (BC Chapter) Credit Institute (BC Chapter) Credit Institute (BC Chapter) Credit Institute (BC Chapter)

Upcoming Events

10th: Board Meeting 9th: Board Meeting 13th: Board Meeting8th: Seminar PIPEDA

14th: Valentines Day 22nd: Annual General Meeting

12th: Board Meeting

13th: Board Meeting

Canadian Career Group Canadian Career Group8th: Board Meeting


r g a n i z a t i o n s c o m p e t i n gi n t o d a y ¹ s g l o b a l w o r l d o fc o m m e r c e a r e b e s i e g e d b ychallenges - both technologicallyand f i s ca l l y. The i r success ,e v e n t h e i r e x i s t e n c e i s , t oa g rea t deg ree , de te rm inedby t he ca l i b re o f t he peop leworking for their organization.

E m p l o y e e s e l e c t i o n a n dretention is, therefore, a morecritical consideration now thanat any t ime in recent h is tory.Companies are working harderand spend ing more up f r on t(pay now or for sure pay later)toavo id h i r ing m is takes tha ta r e t i m e c o n s u m i n g a n demotionally debilitating. Theyare concentrating on eliminating“ the bad app le that can spo i lt h e b a r r e l . ”

I t i s n o l o n g e r a c c e p ta b l eto use hire and hope recruitmentpractices. Selection and screeningprograms for new employeesmust identify people who havethe emotional and psychological“fit factors” to help an organizationmeet i ts s t ra teg ic ob jec t iveswh i l e enhanc ing i t s cu l t u ra lv i s i o n .

Companies now consider theirhiring practices to be as importanta s a n y o f t h e i r c o r p o r a t eactivi t ies. They are reviewingt h e i r s c r e e n i n g p r o c e s s e sto properly weight recruitmenta c t i o n s .

D e c i s i o n m a k e r s s t i l l r e a dresumes and introductory lettersto screen candidates, but theyare acutely aware that applicantsh a v e t h e w h e r e - w i t h - a l l t oc ra f t documen ts t ha t , wh i l e

a t t r a c t i n g a t t e n t i o n , c a noverstate the applicant¹s case.

R e f e r e n c e c h e c k i n g i s s t i l la h a n d y w a y t o g e t a s e n s eo f a p e r s o n ¹ s w o r k h a b i t s ,b u t i t i s n o w m o r e d i f f i c u l tto get employers to commenton former employees for fearo f l i t i g a t i o n .

A s a r e s u l t e m p l o y e r s a r ebecoming more re l iant on theface- to - face in te rv iew to ge ta t r u e p i c t u r e o f a p e r s o n ¹ sabilities, skills and commitmentt o p e r f o r m a t a h i g h l e v e l .T h e d a y o f t h e “ o n e w o r d ”i n t e r v i e w a n s w e r i s g o n e .Interviewers must be sophisticatedi n t h e i r a p p r o a c h i n o r d e r t og e t a r e a l a s s e s s m e n t o f ac a n d i d a t e ’s p e r f o r m a n c ep o t e n t i a l . T h e i n t e r v i e w i sb o t h a p r o c e s s a n d a n a r tfo rm when i t i s conduc ted byexpe r ts .

G o o d i n t e r v i e w s , l i k e g o o dbusiness deals, result in mutuallyprof i table exchanges and canonly happen when interviewersdo the i r homework. In terv iewspecial ists must know exact lyw h a t i t i s t h e y w a n t t o l e a r na b o u t a c a n d i d a t e .

O n e c o m m o n a n d r e v e a l i n gtechnique used in a discriminatingrecrui tment process is knownas the Behavioura l In terv iew.A p r o f e s s i o n a l B e h a v i o u r a lInterviewer studies job descrip-t ions and work env i ronmentsto gain a thorough understand-ing of what competencies areprerequisites for a given position.

C o m p e t e n c i e s c o n s i s t o f

knowledge, ski l ls and abi l i t iesa n d a r e a n i m p o r ta n t pa r t o fa n y s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s . T h e yare measurable characteristicsof a person that lead to outstandingperformance. (The identificationof competencies is enormouslyusefu l for se lect ion purposes,and can also be used for strategicplanning,performancemanage-ment and competency -basedcompensa t i on sys tems . )

The idea is to be able to formulateand ask the k ind o f ques t ionso f an app l i can t t ha t requ i rest h e m t o d e s c r i b e s p e c i f i ci n s ta n c e s o f b e h a v i o u r t h a td e m o n s t r a t e w h a t s k i l l s a n dcompetencies they have learnedand u t i l i zed . The i n te rv iewerm u s t b e a b l e t o u s e f o l l o w -up probing questions to clari fyhow accura te the app l i can t ¹si n f o r m a t i o n i s . I t i s s a i d t h a tt h e b e s t p r e d i c t o r o f f u t u r eperformance is past experience.

T h e B e h a v i o u r a l I n t e r v i e wt e c h n i q u e , w h i c h i s j u s t o n eof many new selection practicesbeing used today, requires trainingand p rac t i ce . More and morecompanies are equipping theirHR professionals with this ski l las the poo l o f top ta len t th insout and human resource manage-ment becomes more and morecomp lex .

The above a r t i c l e was w r i t t enby Bruce Gi l lan, a Senior Par tnerat CCD Corporate & Career Develop-men t . I f you wou ld l i ke f u r t he rin format ion on in terv iewing tech-niques, please cal l Sandra Reder@ CCD (604 ) 685 -5094 . Checkou t t he i r webs i t e @ www.ccd inc . ca .

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUESBruce G i l l an , Corpora te & Career Deve lopment Inc .

O


W h a t i s m y c r e d i t r e p o r t& why should I check it regularly?

Your credit report is a record of yourcredit history to date. Your creditreport may contain the following in-formation:

· Identifying information- name, ad-dress, employer, date-of-birth, SIN#· Credit history- your payment pat-terns to credit grantors and accounthistory. Public records- anythingthat may affect your credit worthi-ness i.e. bankruptcies, judgments,etc.

- Inquiries- list of those who haverequested your credit report· Other info- such as banking infor-mation and/or collections

Your credit report does not contain:medical histories, purchases madein full with cash or cheques, busi-ness accounts (unless you arepersonally liable for the debt),credit score, race, creed, color,ancestry, ethnicity, or political af-filiations. The bureau receives theinformation on your report fromcredit grantors, public records, orit could be updated in response tocorrespondence the bureau myhave had with you, the individual.

Your credit report directly affectsyour financial dealings. A surveywas done in Canada and foundthat only 1 out of 11 Canadians isaware of the contents of theircredit report. Good credit easesthe process of obtaining loans,mortgages, low-interest credit cardseven the purchase of a cellularphone. A poor credit history maysend a warning sign to potentialcredit grantors making it difficult oreven impossible to get credit. Ob-taining your credit report allows youto know where you stand when a

lender runs a credit check on you.Accounts, derogatory information,and judgments can remain on yourcredit report six to ten years fromthe date filed. Bankruptcies can re-main six to fourteen years.

Another reason to check your creditreport is because inaccuracies maybe present on your report and theseinaccuracies may affect how alender sees you. The credit bureauprovides steps to correct these is-sues should they arise.

How is information gathered formy credit file & how is it used?

Credit providers gather informationabout the consumer who has ap-plied for credit from their institutionand report it to the credit bureau orcredit-reporting agency. This infor-mation includes the credit accountsthat have been opened along with

the payment patterns of the con-sumer. The credit bureaus in turnstore and maintain this informationfor use by it’s members. Informa-tion can also be taken from publicrecords or from correspondencebetween the credit bureau and you,the consumer.

The information gathered allowscreditors to make sound decisionsbased on your past financial history.The better your credit history themore a company will desire you asa customer.

How long is information on mycredit report kept on file?

Credit history, banking information,secured loans, judgments, foreclo-sures, garnishments and collectionsare kept on file for up to six years.Credit counseling, consumer pro-posals to creditors, orderly paymentof debt (OPD) and voluntary depositare kept on file for up to three years.Bankruptcies are kept on file forseven years. In the case of two in-cidences of bankruptcy, both remainon your credit file for 14 yearsstarted after the second bankruptcywas discharged.

What can I do if I find errors ordiscrepancies on my credit re-port?

If you find any inaccuracies on youronline credit report there are a fewsteps you will need to take. First,order your official credit report di-rectly from the bureau. IQuiri is nota credit reporting bureau, thereforewe cannot change/correct yourcredit file. Enclosed with your offi-cial report will be any update formsyou may need to dispute the error.Review your official report to con-firm the inaccuracy then send in thecompleted form to the bureau.

The information found in a credit fileis provided to the bureau by creditgrantors, federal and provincial gov-ernment offices and public regis-tries. The details relating to man-

CREDIT HOTLIST

“Credit Card Fraud can beone of the most expensiveand painful financial experi-ences of your life. It can ruinyour good credit history anddestroy your credit reports.While there are no guaran-tees, the US Secret Servicehas 10 tips that may preventyou from falling victim tocredit card fraud”

M a r g a r e t J o h n s o n , C r e d i t S o l u t i o n s I n c .


ner of payment and historical sta-tus reflect the actual manner inwhich you paid your accounts. Thebureaus cannot alter in any way theinformation reported, unless the in-formation is determined to bewrong, incomplete or otherwise in-accurate. You have the right, as aconsumer, to dispute informationcontained in your Canadian creditfile. For consumers who wish to dis-pute any information, the bureauwill conduct an investigation forverification and resolution. If the in-vestigation does not resolve the dis-pute, you may provide a written ex-planatory statement, which the bu-reau will add to your file.

How can I know if I am a goodcredit risk?

There are many factors that affectyour Canada credit worthiness.They are:

Number of credit accounts and thehistory of the accounts that areopen, amount of each account, thebalance owing on each account,payment patterns, types of credit,and how often and how recently youapply for credit. There is anotherway to determine if you are a goodcredit risk. That is by determiningyour debt ratio. Mortgage lendersgenerally won’t approve your loanif your mortgage debt would exceed28% of your income. Your total debtratio — including all other debts —should not exceed 36% to qualifyfor a mortgage.

These debts don’t include food, utili-ties or taxes that you pay. For thesecalculations, mortgage lenders lookat items like credit card bills, stu-dent loans and car loans and howyour mortgage would affect youroverall ability to pay.

Figuring your debt ratio:

List all your bills in one column. Inthe second column list your monthlypayments. In the third column listyour balance due. Of course, creditcards don’t have a monthly paymentso use this option: Estimate yourmonthly payments as 4% of thebalance. In other words, if you owe$1,000, list your monthly paymentas $40 ($1,000 times .04.)

Now you must figure your monthlyincome. Start with your gross an-nual income, which is your incomebefore taxes. Add to that — also onan annual basis — any other in-come such as investment earnings,child support, alimony, CanadianSocial Security benefits, free-lanceincome from consulting. You shouldnot include any overtime or bonusmoney unless it’s guaranteed. Ifyour income is based on an hourlywage, multiply your average weeklypaycheck by 52 weeks to come upwith an estimated annual income.Be sure to use the gross income fig-ure, which is your weekly incomebefore tax. Now divide your monthlydebt payments by your total monthlyincome. So, if your total monthlyincome is $2,500 and your totalmonthly debt payments are $850,your debt-to-income ratio is $850divided by 2,500 or .34, which is34%.

Where does your CanadianCredit stand? Use these guide-lines:

10% or less: You probably won’t besurprised to know you’re in greatshape. Because lenders view youso favorably, make certain you havegood, low-rate cards. 11% to 20%:You shouldn’t have trouble gettingloans but to be sure contact theCanadian credit bureau. As youapproach 20%, you’ve probablytaken on too much debt. Scale

back, particularly if buying a houseis on your agenda. 21% to 35%:Stop charging! Although you prob-ably aren’t having trouble gettingnew credit cards, you’re spendingtoo much of your monthly incomeon debt repayment. You’re probablyhaving trouble saving money. 36%to 50%: Cut up your cards and de-velop a plan to get out of debt. Morethan 50%: You need help. Make anappointment to see a credit coun-selor or a financial adviser to talkabout your credit rating and how tosave. Don’t panic. You’re not alone.Get started whittling down yourdebt.

What can I do if I feel that I am avictim of credit/identity fraud?

If you feel that you are a victim ofcredit/identity fraud immediatelycontact Northern Credit Bureaus [email protected]. An ALERT will thenbe placed on your credit report tell-ing creditors that there was an inci-dence of credit/identity fraud. Youshould also contact Human Re-sources Development Canada(HRDC) in the case of identity fraud.Contact your local police depart-ment if you find out someone is us-ing your identity or credit cards.

How can I maintain good credit?

It is very important that you main-tain a good credit profile. The besttime to do this is once you get yourfirst credit loan. By paying your billson time, paying off your bills in thetime required and by not overex-tending your credit debt you can beassured a good credit standing.Avoiding bad registered items, col-lections and judgments will preventwarning flags arising during a creditcheck. It may be very difficult toobtain credit if you have filed bank-ruptcy within the last fourteen years


or else you may have to pay ex-cessive interest rates. Reviewingyour credit report annually will helpdetect inaccuracies, which if al-lowed to remain on your report mayaffect your credit rating. Also, it al-lows you to check for possible iden-tity fraud.

How can I ge t a copy o f myc r e d i t r e p o r t ?

If you would like to receive yourcredit report by mail, please con-tact one of the following credit bu-reaus and centres based on yourprovince of residence.

You will need to provide two piecesof photocopied identification, frontand back, to receive your report.One must be showing a signature.Identification accepted includes:

Driver ’s license or ProvincialIDcard Birth Certificate or Pass-port Copy bill statement (gas, tele-phone, electricity, cable)Certificate of Indian StatusCredit Card Citizenship Card

Nor thern Cred i t Bureaus336 R IDEAU BOULEVARDR O U Y N - N O R A N D A Q C

Trans Union of Canada (Forall provinces except Quebec)1 - 8 0 0 - 6 6 3 - 9 9 8 0 .

Equ i fax Canada Inc .Consumer Relations DepartmentBox 190 Jean Talon Stat ionMont rea l , Quebec

What information is on my creditreport?

Your credit report is a record of yourcredit history to date. Your creditreport may contain the following in-

formation:

http://www.getafile.com/cgi-bin/merlot/get/techsmith/TSCC.exe

· Identifying information- name, ad-dress, employer, date-of-birth, SIN#· Credit history- your payment pat-terns to credit grantors and accounthistory

· Public records- anything that mayaffect your credit worthiness i.e.bankruptcies, judgments, etc.· Inquiries- list of those who haverequested your credit report· Other info- such as banking infor-mation and/or collectionsYour credit report does not contain:medical histories, purchases madein full with cash or cheques, busi-ness accounts (unless you are per-sonally liable for the debt), creditscore, race, creed, color, ancestry,ethnicity, or political affiliations. Thebureau receives the information onyour report from credit grantors,public records, or it could be up-dated in response to correspon-dence the bureau may have hadwith you, the individual.

How can I protect myself fromIdentity/Credit fraud?

Credit Card Fraud can be one of themost expensive and painful finan-cial experiences of your life. It canruin your good credit history anddestroy your credit reports. Whilethere are no guarantees, the USSecret Service has 10 tips that mayprevent you from falling victim tocredit card fraud:

1) It is critical that you notify yourbank or credit card company imme-diately if you lose your card. It mayprevent someone else from using itillegally. Remember to get your cardback after purchasing goods or ser-vices. Do not leave the card in ho-

tel rooms or unnecessarily exposedfor long periods of time. The num-ber can be copied even if the cardis not taken.

2) Retain all carbon copies of yourreceipts when making a purchaseand retain receipts from ATM with-drawals. If you don’t get a billingstatement on time, notify the creditcard issuer immediately. Check bill-ing statements carefully upon re-ceipt to make sure all charges areyours. Errors or changes that don’tbelong should be reported as soonas possible.

3) Do not put your credit card ac-count number on checks used to payyour monthly bills. The credit cardagency can always trace your checkthrough your name/address informa-tion from your check

4) Retain copies of receipts to checkagainst billing statement. Be care-ful when disposing of materials andcorrespondence relating to your fi-nances. Shred all receipt carboncopies to make sure your credit cardnumber is unrecognizable. Do notthrow away canceled checks, finan-cial statements or letters offeringpre-approved credit cards whereothers can easily find them.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD can be pre-vented if you diligently guard againstcriminals.

5) Promptly destroy all old cards orcards you no longer use. Cut themin half and make sure the card num-ber is unrecognizable.

6) Secure your mailbox. Obtain alock, if necessary. If you receive mailthrough an apartment houseclusterbox arrangement, make surethe locks for the panel and your boxlock correctly.


7) When applying for a credit card,check the return address. If thereis a sticker with a return addressplaced on the application, contactthe card issuing company to verifythe correct address.

8) Do not give your card number toanyone calling on the telephone of-fering you prizes or gifts.

9) Do not write your card numberon a postcard notifying you that youhave won a prize or gift and re-questing the number as part of theaward arrangements.

10) Do not leave gasoline creditcard receipts at the pump. Theycontain your credit card number.

Be smart. Be aware of your sur-roundings. Credit card fraud canhappen anywhere, anytime. Be onthe look out to prevent yourself frombecoming just another victim of thissinister crime.

What is a credit rating?

Your credit rating is based on theinformation in your credit bureaurecord. The information on yourcredit file allows lenders to deter-mine whether or not you are a goodcredit risk and is an overall sum-mary of your credit worthiness.Higher ratings are better. With ahigh rating, you have a goodchance of getting the credit andloan(s) you want. Your score or rat-ing is not the only thing lenders lookat when making their decision.Other information is also evaluatedlike account balances, paymentpatterns and monthly credit pay-ment amounts. The CreditProAnalysis provided by iQuiri, allowsyou to better understand where youstand, credit-wise, with lenders byrating your credit as Very Poor,

Poor, Average, Good or Excel-lent.

c r e d i t s o l u t i o n s M a r g a r e t J o h n s o n

Solutions Credit CounsellingServ i ce I nc . i s a na t i ona lfirm specializing in providingcredit knowledge and supportt o p e o p l e a n d f a m i l i e s i nf inancial di ff icul ty. Womenand Money Inc. is focusedo n t e a c h i n g Wo m e n h o wto build their financial l ives,a n d a l s o p r o v i d e s c r e d i te d u c a t i o n t o w o m e n w h oare faced wi th the d i f f icu l tt a s k o f r e b u i l d i n g t h e i rc r e d i t l i v e s .Margaret has been featuredin BC Women’s magaz ineand various newspaper arti-c l e s .

Throughout her career, Marg-aret has nurtured and maint-a i n e d r e l a t i o n s h i ps w i t hmany professional industriesand associations, in Canadaand the USA. In 2001 and2002, Margaret was nomin-a t e d a s E n t r e p r e n e u r o ft h e Ye a r. M a r g a r e t l i v e swith her two grown childreni n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a .

1 - 8 7 7 - 5 8 8 - 9 4 9 1Phone: (604) 588-9491 Fax:( 6 0 4 ) 5 8 8 - 2 0 0 5


i rport check At New York’s Kennedyairport today, an individual later discoveredt o be a pub l i c s choo l t eache r wasarrested t ry ing to board a f l igh t whi lein possess ion o f a ru ler, a pro t rac tor,a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator.At a morning press conference, Attorneygeneral John Ashcroft said he believesthe man is a member o f the notor iousal-gebra movement. He is being chargedb y t h e F B I w i t h c a r r y i n g w e a p o n sof math instruction. Al-gebra is a fearsomec u l t , ” , A s h c r o f t s a i d . “ T h e y d e s i r eaverage solutions by means and extremes,and some t imes go o f f on t angen tsi n a sea rch o f abso lu te va l ue . Theyu s e s e c r e t c o d e n a m e s l i k e “ x ” a n d“y” and refer to themselves as “unknowns”,bu t we have de te rm ined they be longto a common denominator o f the ax isof medieval with co-ordinates in everyc o u n t r y. “ A s t h e G r e e k p h i l a n d e r e rI sosce les used t o say, t he re a re 3sides to every triangle,” Ashcroft declared.When asked to comment on the arrest,President Bush said, “If God had wantedu s t o h a v e b e t t e r w e a p o n s o f m a t hins t ruc t i on , He wou ld have g i ven usmore f i nge rs and toes . I am g ra t i f i edt h a t o u r g o v e r n m e n t h a s g i v e n u s as i n e t h a t i t i s i n t e n t o n p r o t r a c t i n gu s f r o m t h e s e m a t h - d o g s w h o a r ewi l l ing to disintegrate us with calculusd i s r e g a r d . M u r k y s ta t i s t i c i a n s l o v et o i n f l i c t p l a n e o n e v e r y s p h e r e o finf luence,” the President said, adding:

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“Under the c i rcumferences , we mus tdifferentiate their root, make our point,and d raw t he l i ne . ”P res i den t Bushwarned, “These weapons of math instruc-t i o n h a v e t h e p o t e n t i a l t o d e c i m a levery th ing in the i r math on a sca lenenever before seen un less we becomeexponen ts o f a H ighe r Power andb e g i n t o f a c t o r - i n r a n d o m f a c ts o fv e r t e x . ” A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l A s h c r o f ts a i d , “ A s o u r G r e a t L e a d e r w o u l dsay, r ead my e l l i pse . He re i s onepr inc ip le he is uncer ta in ty o f : thoughthey con t i nue to mu l t i p l y, t he i r daysare numbered as the hypotenuse tightensa r o u n d t h e i r n e c k s . ”

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T h e C r e d i t I n s t i t u t e o ff e r s a l l m e m b e r s a n d s t u d e n t s o f g o o d s t a n d i n g t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t ou t i l i z e t he Re fe r r a l Se rv i ce .

O v e r t h e p a s t y e a r a n d a h a l f t h e l o c a l R e f e r r a l S e r v i c e h a s b e e n c o n t a c t e d b y 3 0 d i ff e r e n tcompan i e s , wh ich have i nc luded i ndus t r i e s f r om Manufac tu r i ng , Commun ica t i ons , Pape r,P l u m b i n g & H e a t i n g , U t i l i t y, F o o d , F o r e s t r y a n d A g r i c u l t u r e , w h i l e n a t i o n a l l y o v e r 2 0 0compan ie s ha s u t i l i z ed ou r s e rv i ce .

The pos i t i ons o ff e r ed r ange f rom ve ry s en io r c r ed i t manage r s t o j un io r co l l ec t i on pos i t i ons .T h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e p o s i t i o n s o ff e r e d w e r e a l s o v a r i e d f r o m f u l l t i m e , c o n t r a c t s , p a r t - t i m eand ma te rn i ty l eaves .

T h e s a l a r i e s o f f e r e d r a n g e d f r o m $ 3 5 k t o $ 8 0 k p e r y e a r.

L o c a l l y w e p l a c e d 1 0 p e r m a n e n t p o s i t i o n s , a n d 5 c o n t r a c t p o s i t i o n s o v e r t h e l a s t y e a r.

C o m p a n i e s w i t h h e a d o ff i c e s i n o t h e r p a r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y c o n t a c t t h e C r e d i t I n s t i t u t e f o rp l a c e m e n t o f p e r s o n n e l f o r t h e i r l o c a l o ff i c e s . P o s i t i o n s o f f e r e d i n B C a r e n o t r e s t r i c t e do n l y t o t h e l o c a l a r e a a r o u n d Va n c o u v e r ; t h e r e h a v e b e e n i n q u i r i e s f r o m t h e O k a n a g a n a n dI n t e r i o r o f t h e p r o v i n c e . C h e c k o u t t h e w e b s i t e f o r p o s i t i o n s p o s t e d t h r o u g h N a t i o n a l .

I f y o u a r e u n e m p l o y e d o r l o o k i n g f o r a m o r e c h a l l e n g i n g p o s i t i o n , a n d a r e a m e m b e r i ng o o d s t a n d i n g , y o u c a n s u b m i t y o u r r e s u m e t o t h e R e f e r r a l S e r v i c e . R e s u m e s a r e k e p t o nf i l e f o r 6 m o n t h s . I f y o u r e q u i r e l o n g e r t h a n t h e 6 m o n t h p e r i o d , p l e a s e c o n t r a c t m e .Yo u p a y n o t h i n g f o r t h i s s e r v i c e , a s i t i s c o v e r e d i n y o u r y e a r l y c h a p t e r d u e s .

Yo u c a n a l s o h a v e a r e d u c e d v e r s i o n o f y o u r r e s u m e p o s t e d o n t h e C r e d i t I n s t i t u t e s WebS i t e . To s u b m i t t h e r e d u c e d v e r s i o n o f y o u r r e s u m e f o r i n c l u s i o n o n t h e w e b s i t e c o n t a c tFe rn Be l l i s s imo a t member sh ip@cred i t edu .o rg

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