In Trouble

This article will discuss about 'In Trouble'. In trouble in this discussion telling about the consumers that in trouble in paying his/her bills. Before we discuss deeper about 'in trouble', i think we should know why consumers don't pay. The reasons are unemployment, illness, overextension, and defectuve goods and services. The highest rank of the reasons is unemployment. Unemployment is a person who is try looking for a job but dont get a job at the level of wages applicable.

There are some warning signs that will make you realize that you are in trouble. First, you dont know how much you owe. It's already too many that you don't know again how much you owe. You don't have money, so the second is you often pay bills late. If you pay bills late, you will searching a new loan to pay old loans. You can't pay full of your bills, so you pay only the minimum balance due each month. The last is you’re spending more than you earn, using your saving to pay for day to day expenses.

If you realize that you are in trouble the first step that you should do is take another (close) look at your budget. Take another look at your budget means trim your expense and be realistic about what you can afford. After that, you should contact your creditor. Tell them why you can’t pay, that you intend to pay, and when/ how much you will be able to pay. You may be able to work out a new payment schedule. If possible, continue to make the minimum payments.

If you are in trouble when buying a car. There are some responsibilities and also rights that you have. Your responsibility are must still pay the ”deficiency balance” the emount of debt remaining even after your creditor has sold your car. And the right is you can buy back car by paying the full amount owed on it plus repossession expense.

In this last paragraph, i will give you conclusion and some advices. The conclusion is we should know how to act when we realize we are in trouble. If we don't realize, there are some consequence that we would get, such as you get a bad mark on your credit report and your interest rate goes up. The advices to pay bills on time are get organised, choose a payment method that suits you, don’t let your bills get on top of you, check your bills regulary, and make sure you're not paying too much. (cr. https://www.moneyadviceservice.org)

TELEMARKETING FRAUD

 

Hello friends, in this article I will explain about consumer awareness. First, what Is the meaning of consumer awareness? Consumer awareness is about making the consumer aware of his/her rights concerning available  products and services being marketed and sold. For easier to explain, I will focus on telemarketing fraud.

Telemarketing fraud is one of many ways that the criminal use for defraud the consumer with telephone. Identified by FTC, telemarketing fraud is one of the most persuasive deceptions. Types of telemarketing fraud are advance fee fraud, pyramid schemes, credit card fraud, overpayment fraud, charity fraud, cramming, summer jobs fraud, office supply scam, and magazine subscriptions scam. The one that the most happened in Indonesia is advance fee fraud. The criminal will typically require upfront payments in exchange for goods and services. This is also a popular technique used in lottery and student scholarships scams.

There are the best three tips how to avoid being a victim of telemarketing fraud. First, request written information about organization and product or investment. If you have written information, you can check it carefully, whether it’s fraud or not. Second, don’t buy anything on terms you don’t fully understand. As example, if you buy an apple and you don’t fully understand about the quality of apple, you will easily being a victim of fraud. The last and the most important is don’t provide any personal financial information. As additional, I suggest if you feel something strange when you talking with someone you don’t  know on telephone, hang up. What to do if you’re a victim of telemarketing fraud? You should report the telemarketing fraud quickly to police station. 

 

Better to prevent than to cure, I will give you some ways to protect yourself from telemarketing fraud. The first way is don’t call me. It means that you should ignore the incoming call that you don’t know. Second, give them nothing. The criminals are hunting for your information, especially financial information. Third, stay alert. Although you already sure that it isn’t a fraud, you should still search informations about the organization. Be part of the solution is the last way, you can help prevent it. If you've received a call, mailing or email you think might be from a scammer, report the incident to the FTC by calling its consumer hot line at 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357). (Cr. http://www.aarp.org)

ADVERTISING

Advertising is a way that the company used to promote their product or service. The purpose of advertising is to persuade the customers to buy their products or services, to reassure the customers that their products or services are the best, and enhance the image of the company. Taken from smallbusiness.chron.com, a good advertisement should include some requirements. There are memorable, effective targeting, entertaining, and grabbing attention.

 

For me, the advertisement that fulfill that requirements is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is carbonated soft drinks. Coca-Cola is produced by The Coca-Cola Company since 1944.  In advertising, The Coca-Cola Company used many ways to advertising Coca-Cola, such as sports sponsorship and and in mass media.  Coca-Cola have coorperated with many sport events, as example are Fifa World Cup, Olympic, and Rugby World Cup. In mass media, Coca-Cola featured in countless films and television programs. Their advertisement also always be on television.

 

 

The most I like between all of the Coca Cola ad (Advertisement) on television is an ad name “Coca Cola Polar Bear”. You can see it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbbQjwLpRXw. This ad narrates about a batch of bears who coorperate each others to reach the moon, after get the it, they  open their Coca Cola with it. Behind the purpose to present their products to customer, this ad also teach us about teamwork like that bears do. For me, this ad also show that Coca-Cola company have a good teamwork. My assumption show that the ad success to enhance the image of the company. As a joke, maybe Coca Cola Company want to show us that not only human like Coca-Cola, but also a bear.

 

Back to the requirements, I wil explain why Coca-Cola Company  fulfill the requirements. The first is memorable. Honestly, i just once see the Coca Cola Polar Bear ad and I remember it as a good advertisement from Coca-Cola. My experience show that the advertisement that Coca Cola presented is memorable. Then, effective targeting. The target of Coca Cola is people who around 12-30 years old. I think they used suitable advertising, especially with the program of sports sponsorship. For me an entertaining advertisement is an an advertisement that make me smile and there is a meaning on it. As I said before, the Coca Cola Polar Bear is fulfill the third requirement. Last is grabbing attention, the advertisement that Coca-Cola showed is always grabbing attention. For example, in 2009, there is a ad named "Heist". This ad involve many insects, such as butterflies, a team of bees, ladybugs to make a synchronized classical music soundtrack. From this ad, Coca-Cola got its first-ever Emmy Award (http://www.coca-colacompany.com).

 

Believe it or not, advertising heavily involved in the decision to buy products or services. Therefore,

 we should selecting which product is the best for us, not only but its advertising, but also from it's

quality. There is a quote, “Don’t judge the book by it’s cover”. That is also applied when you buy a

products or services. I think this is the end of this article, byebye!

CARS AND LOANS

This writing's focus is about car. A car is a wheeled, self-powered motor vehicle used for transportation and a product of the automotive industry (cr. Wikipedia). Nowdays, people prefer cars for they daily activities more than other such as motorcycle or bicyle. Car can protect you from rain and heat. Another advantage for having a car is its can accomodate more than two peoples.

Before you decide to buy a car, there are some questions which you should know the answer to deciding on the right purchase. The questions, such as what level of quality do I want? What level of quality do I need? What types of services and repairs does the dealer offer? Should I wait until there is a sale on the type of car I want? Should I buy a new or a used car? etc. But there are some differences between a customer who want to buy a new car and an used car. For a new car, the steps for shopping are decide which car model and specific options you want, find out the invoice price and the true cost to the dealer of the model and options you want, decide how much you are willing to pay the dealer above the invoice price, make your offer to as many dealers as possible, compare  final sales prices with other dealers and buying services, compare financing costs from various sources. When you shopping for an used car, you should find out the reputation of the dealer, find out what type of warranty comes with the car, and lastyly find out what type of service contract comes with the car. 

About the cost when you have a car, its divided into two types. There are ownership fixed cost and operating variable cost. Ownership fixed cost means the cost that the owner of the car have to pay it such as depreciation, interest on loan, insurance, registration fee, license, taxes. Operating variable cost, such as gasoline, oil and other fluids, tires, maintenance and repairs, parking and tolls.

There are also a term named 'car loan'. That means personal loan to purchase a car. Shopping for a car loan, there are some variables cost include, such as Annual Percentage Rate (APR), length of the loan, monthly payments, total finance charge, and total to be repaid. How to calculate the total cost of a loan is amount of the loan x APR x number of years. And then to estimate the amount of monthly payments is total to be paid divided by number of months of the loan.

Last, we will discuss about the truth-in-lending act. That discuss about amount financed, what charges are included in amount financed, Annual Percentage Rate (APR), payment schedule, prepayment penalty, late payment penalty, security interest, and insurance charges. For the insurance, there are six types of that, there are liability (40–50% of premium), collision (up to 30% of premium), comprehensive (about 12% of premium), medical, uninsured motorist, towing and labor, and rental reimbursement.  If you ask how insurance rates are set, the answer is personal characteristics, geographic location, driving record, and vehicle characteristics. As an conclusion, when you decide to buy a car whether its new or used, cash or credit, you should make sure that you choose the right car and can pay the payment.

CREDIT CARD (2)

Related to the previous post, this post also discuss about credit cards. When you applying for your card, there are also have costs, such as annnual precentage rates (APR), grace period, annual fees, and the transaction fees. With costs, you will also  able to get the features, such as credit limit, how widely the cards is accepted, and the services. For the bank and for the credit card holder, there is also have a law between them to protect each other's right.

In 1974, there is a law named Fair Credit Billing Act. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) explain about the protection for the consumers from unfair billing practices and to provide a mechanism for addressing billing errors in "open end" creditaccounts, such as credit card or charge card accounts. Briefly, it explains about an unfair billing practices. There are seven parts of the FCBA 1974.

The first is challenge a billing statement for errors, this means that when the bills came, you should calculate and now if it is ballance with your spending or not. Then, you must notify the creditor of a disputed item within 60 days. After it, the creditor will investigate whether it's error or not. You also cannot be billed for or forced to pay in the investigation era. If it is determined that you are responsible for the bill, you must be given the usual amount of time to pay it. The sixth is this law said that tour credit history is protected during the dispute process. The last is creditor should explain the customers about their rights at least twice a year.

There also other credit card protection, such as unauthorized charges, refunds of credit balances, and prompt credit for payment. Unauthorized charges is explained about what should you do when your card lost. When your card is lost, the first list to do is report it lost as quick as possible. Because when you report it before it is used, you won't be held for any responsible. But, when it already used your responsible will not more than $50 if you report it within two business days.

When you apply for the credit card, it won't be always sure that you will be accepted. There are some reasons that you're denied for applying the credit card, such as your bad credit history. If you not sure what is that, you can ask the creditor. If you think the reason for the deny is valid, the best thing you can do is improve your creditworthiness, such as pay bills on time, increase income, reduce spending, obtain a secured, and then after than you can ireapply. But sometimes, the reason is invalid, you can notify to the federal enforcement agency and then they will invesitage it.

Last, i will give you an advices and the tips about how you use your credit card. That are never borrow more than 20% of your yearly net income and monthly payments shouldn’t exceed 10% of your monthly net income. For you to understand it easily, i will give you an example. My net income each month is 10 million rupiahs, so my net income for a year is 120 million rupiahs, then i will not borrow more than 24 million rupiahs (20% times 120 million rupiahs). As i said before, my net income each months is 10 million rupiahs, so my monthly payment will not more than 1 million rupiah (10% times 10 million rupiahs). The tips are shop around (means that search for any sources before you buy something), read and understand the contract, and know your cost.

CREDIT CARD

Nowdays people don't use cash for big transactions, sometimes in small transactions they don't use it too, they said that it was old fashion. People especially in modern country, use credit card. Briefly, if you have credit card, it means that you can buy something when you don't have any money. The payment system of credit card is on the ending of the month.

Beside this card has advantages, it also has disadvantages. The advantages are able to buy needed items now, don’t have to carry cash, and creates a record of purchases. The first advantage means that when you don't have any money on your pocket, you can still buy the item that you want. For example, when you want to buy limited edition shoes now, you can just use that card, although you don't have any money on your pocket. The second is don't have to carry cash. Beside it's not efficient for bring many cashes, it also unsave for you. The last is creates a record of purchases. In the end of the month, you will recieve a list of what you purchases. This system can help you to maintaining your money in the following month.

The disadvantages are interest, may require additional fees, and increased impulse buying may occur. When you buy something with credit card, sometimes the company will be adding an interest for it. As example, using your credit card you buy a handphone for 10 months. The price is 10 million rupiahs with the interest 10% each month. So, each month you must pay 1 million rupiahs and 100 thousand rupiahs for the interest. The second is the additional fees. That additional fees sometimes called surcharge and it will be seen on your bill. The last is your impulse buying may occur, or you can say that you will hard to control your wants to buy something.

Before you decide to make a credit card, you should think about threeCs. There are character, capital, and capacity. The first is character. The questions that describe the meaning of character are will you repay the debt? From your credit history, does it look like you possess the honesty and reliability to pay credit debts?

After character is capital. The questions that describe the meaning of capital are what if you don’t repay the debt? Do you have any valuable assets such as real estate, savings, or investments that could be used to repay credit debts if income is unavailable? The last is capacity. The questions are can you repay the debt? Have you been working regularly in an occupation that is likely to provide enough income to support your credit use?

After you decide to make a credit card, you should know that using credit card means that you borrow some money from the bank. Because of that, you have a responsibilities. There are borrow only what you can repay, read and understand the credit contract, pay debts promptly, notify creditor if you cannot meet payments, report lost or stolen credit cards promptly, and never give your card number over the phone unless you initiated the call or are certain of thecaller’s identity. If you can follow it, you will not get blacklist from the bank and you can feel the advantages more. Sometimes, the bank also give a prize to the good client.

REVOLUTION OF BANKING SYSTEM

This meeting is discusing about revolution of banking system in 2016. Revolution of banking system divided into three types, there are intellegent multichannel bank, socially enggaging bank, and digital ecosystem bank. From that three types of banking system, i will explain about socially enggaging bank. But before that, i will explain the other two types briefly. Intellegent multichannel bank is focused on analize customer, such as needs and expectation. Digital ecosystem bank is focused on daily deals.

Like i said before, i will explain about the socially enggaging bank. Socially enggaging bank use social media to increase the customer and gather information about customer's behavior, interest, expectation, and preferences. As a result, from facebook, bank gets 400% increase in 2009-2010. One example is like American Expenses who use facebook, foursquare, and twitter to make a program named link>love>live, and the result of this program is 30% increase in 2009-2010.

From that three types, i choose socially enggaging bank as the best system. The reason is because i think this type is more related to the customer, and easier for the bank. The bank can know more about customer just from the media sosial and they don't need to analize customer directly. So, what will your bank be in the future?