Associated Credit Reporting, Inc.

With all of the data breaches happening lately it is imperative to protect your credit report data. This is a helpful article on how to freeze access to your credit report with all three credit bureaus. This will prevent unauthorized access to your data and hopefully prevent anyone from obtaining credit in your name!

How to Freeze Your Credit in Three Steps Freezing your accounts at the three major credit bureaus is the best way to prevent thieves from opening new credit accounts in your name.

Today we are celebrating the emancipation of African Americans who had been enslaved in the United States. We are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL. Love and understanding through education will bring everyone together as one! Be the change you wish to see in the world!! Happy Juneteenth!

Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year!

We are so happy to announce that our office will be closed from Christmas until New Years Day so our staff can enjoy some much deserving time off to relax, refresh and be ready to seize 2024 with vim and vigor to happily assist you in the new year!

Thank you for your continued loyalty and trust. We truly appreciate your business and wish you the happiest, healthiest holidays!!!

From the Staff of Associated Credit Reporting, Inc.

In observance of Thanksgiving, our office will be closed from Thursday, November 24th through Sunday, November 26th. We will resume normal business hours on Monday, November 27th. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday with Family, Friends and Loved Ones. Happy Thanksgiving from the staff of Associated Credit! We are so grateful for YOU!

Another huge data breach!

Cyber criminals will do anything to get your data!

Another reason why you should always freeze your credit reports and be careful who you share your information with.

An entire state's population just had its data stolen by a ransomware group The data breach impacts about 1.3 million people.

We are closed as we are celebrating Labor Day today! We hope you all have a safe and happy holiday! Thank you for your business!

Did you know?

You can check your credit report regularly, which you can do free weekly through 2023 from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com:
https://lnkd.in/gBfKCVRw

As you know Governor DeSantis passed Bill 735 and these are the details of the proposed changes being made:

Florida House Bill 735: Preemption of Local Occupational Licensing House Bill 735 prevents Florida counties from issuing and requiring their own contractor’s license for trades which do not fit within the scope of currently regulated state licenses. This law will take full effect in July 2023. After this date many county contractor licenses will no longer be requ...

Happy Memorial Day! May we never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Enjoy the day with your loved ones, and don't forget to think about those who served and sacrificed. Happy Memorial Day!

We will be closed on Monday.

We will be closing early Friday the 23rd and will be closed on Monday the 26th in observance of Christmas! Happy Holidays from all of us to all of you!!! Thank you for your business, we truly appreciate you!!!

Google is very helpful by providing a way for customers to leave feedback regarding our services. We appreciate everyone that has taken the time to provide a review!

Associated Credit Reporting, Inc. would love your feedback Post a review to our profile on Google

Our office will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday! All emails and phone calls will be answered in the order in which they were received as soon as we return to the office on Monday.

We truly appreciate your business and we are very thankful for all of our wonderful customers and clients!

From our work family to yours... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

With the housing market continuing to cool down, consumers of all ages should review and improve their credit to prepare for their home-buying future for when the interest rates come back down.

Perspective | Credit and home buying: What each generation should think about How each generation thinks about building credit and wealth varies, particularly with respect to homeownership.

Attention contractors: Please follow the guidelines as outlined below. Out of state contractors must be registered with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation prior to working in our state. Follow this link for additional info: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pro/cilb/documents/2022-10-03_DBPR_EO_2022-03_Fact%20Sheet.pdf

ATTENTION CONTRACTORS!

This is great news!

We are prepared to assist out of state contractors coming here to help storm victims! We can process the credit reports necessary for the registration process with the DBPR very quickly.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the people on the SW coast trying to salvage and repair their property.

Together, we can rebuild!

This is a direct link to our website for instructions and forms: http://www.associatedcreditreporting.com/

DBPR Issues Construction Contractor-Related Emergency Order to Assist Hurricane Ian Recovery Efforts Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Melanie S. Griffin has signed DBPR Emergency Order 2022-03.

Associated Credit is open today but as we count our blessings that we are fortunate enough to have not been hit directly by Ian our thoughts and prayers go out to our clients who are going to experience this monster of a storm on the west coast. Please be safe and follow government issued instructions.

LIVE: Ian almost at Category 5 strength as it nears Florida Hurricane Ian strengthened and was packing sustained winds of 155 mph — just shy of Category 5 force — as it inched closer to Florida, where it's expected to bring catastrophic impacts from Tampa to Naples.

Great info from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

To be clear, the CFPB fully expects Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to review and respond to consumers’ complaints, regardless of whether the consumer or their authorized representative filed the complaint with the CFPB.

NCRAs often complain about the insertion of credit repair companies and other third parties into the complaint process. And the CFPB has certainly taken action against companies that charge prohibited fees or make deceptive promises to consumers about fixing their credit. But this trend also reflects the failure of our nation’s current credit reporting system to serve consumers who are frustrated by a credit reporting system that is unaccountable to them, where consumers are the product, not the customer.

The NCRAs’ deficient complaint response procedures are not just harmful for consumers. They result in uncorrected errors in credit reports that also harm communities, small businesses, and hold back our economy from a full and equitable recovery.

The CFPB remains committed to protecting families and communities. Below are some tips you can use to navigate inaccurate credit reporting, as outlined by Darian Dorsey from our Office of Consumer Response:

Check your report. You should check your credit reports at least once a year to make sure there are no errors that could keep you from getting credit or the best available terms on a loan. Learn more.

TIP: You can now request your credit reports for free annually and at this time can check them weekly for free from each of the NCRAs through December 31, 2022, by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com .
Dispute inaccurate or incomplete information. If you identify an error on your credit report, you should start by disputing that information with the NCRAs and also the company that reported the inaccurate information to the NCRA, such as a credit card company. Learn more.

TIP: Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have a legal right to dispute credit history errors yourself for free. You don’t have to pay a credit repair company to do it for you. Learn more.
Submit a complaint. Consumers who have a problem with credit or consumer reporting can submit a complaint to the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372). We use complaints to hold companies accountable in our enforcement and compliance work.

TIP: Submitting a complaint is free. When submitting online, we recommend telling us about your problem in your own words. If you have supporting documents, include those when submitting your complaint.
Take steps if your dispute is ignored. If an NCRA doesn’t respond to your dispute or doesn’t respond adequately, you have rights. Learn more.

TIP: Some of these rights only apply under certain circumstances. There are also time limits on exercising your rights.

As part of our ongoing commitment to racial equality, Associated Credit observes Juneteenth as a company holiday with limited staff available for part of the day. We encourage our employees to take the day for reflection, volunteerism, education, and activism to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S.

Be safe everyone!

Heavy Rain Spreads Into Florida and Tropical Storm Warnings Issued Due to Potential 'Alex' | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com Here is the very latest on the first tropical system of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season. - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com

Our Miami-Dade clients should be aware of the changes regarding landlord-tenant ordinances that will affect owners that choose to rent out their units.

As soon as the Tenants Bill of Rights are available, we will be sure to post the link to obtain it, or the actual document required for signature.

The MIAMI REALTORS® have contacted the County Commissioners regarding this new ordinance, see details below:

LEGAL UPDATE: NEW TENANTS’ BILL OF RIGHTS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

On May 3, 2022, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to create a Tenants’ Bill of Rights. The ordinance is effective as of TODAY, May 13, 2022. Below are key highlights about the new changes to landlord/tenant laws in Miami-Dade County. For questions, you should contact the new Office of Housing Advocacy at [email protected] and (786) 469-4545.

This morning, MIAMI REALTORS® sent a letter to the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, the Mayor, the County Attorney’s Office, and the Office of Housing Advocacy to express our concerns that have not been resolved. See a copy of that letter HERE. We are waiting for the County to comply with its responsibilities under the Tenants’ Bill of Rights. As always, we will keep you informed as soon as we have more updates. This ordinance:
• Creates a private right of action for tenants to sue landlords

Tenants can now sue landlords for violations of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights that have occurred or are about to occur. Statute of limitations is two years. Tenants can seek their costs and attorneys' fees, interest, damages, equitable relief, and injunctions.
“Landlord” is defined as the owner or lessor of a dwelling unit, their agents, and employees. Be mindful about how you are completing contracts with customers and tenants to mitigate the risk of liability.
• Allows tenants to now make repairs and deduct them from the rent after:

(1) Tenant has provided landlord with 7 days' written notice that repairs are needed;

(2) Landlord has failed to make repairs in accordance with Fla. Stat. § 83.51 and Chapter 17, Article II of the Code;

(3) Tenant has obtained minimum of two estimates from licensed professionals;

(4) Tenant has evidence of the repairs (receipts, before and after photos, etc.);

(5) Tenant withholds rent after sending a 7-day notice of landlord's failure to maintain the unit in accordance with Fla. Stat. § 83.56 or 83.60.

Important: Tenant may not repair-and-deduct if tenant, tenant's family, or someone on the premises intentionally or inadvertently caused the damage to the unit

• Creates other new rights for tenants

o Landlord must get tenants to sign and return a copy of the Tenants’ Bill of Rights using the County’s form – but note that the County has not yet prepared the forms that landlords are required to use
o If a landlord gets a notice from a government agency or condo association that a building might be unsafe, the landlord must give the tenant a copy of it within 14 days
o If there is a change in ownership, and it might lead to the termination of a month-to-month tenancy, then tenant must get 60-day notice of the change in ownership (prior to the change or with the change of ownership)
o Landlords cannot ask about or require disclosure of evictions until the prospective or current tenant has otherwise been determined qualified to rent the unit, but rental screening and searching public records on your own is still allowed
o Landlords cannot retaliate against tenant for using hotline, or any agency they were referred to, and creates a rebuttable presumption that landlord is retaliating if landlord takes an adverse action, and the tenant used the hotline in the past 60 days
o Landlords cannot retaliate, coerce, intimidate, threaten, or harass a tenant, or anyone assisting a tenant in exercising these rights

• Reiterates existing tenants’ rights under state and local laws
o Landlords cannot terminate or interrupt utility services per Fla. Stat. § 83.67
o Landlord cannot collect rent from tenant or take adverse action if tenant lives in a condo, landlord is delinquent on condo assessments, and tenant pays rent to condo per Fla. Stat. § 718.116(11)
o Landlords cannot discriminate against tenants, including on the grounds in Chapter 11A of the Code
o Landlords must comply with 60-day notice requirement for rent increases more than 5%
o Landlords must comply with 60-day notice requirement to terminate month-to-month tenancies
o Landlords must comply with Section 8-5(f)(2) of the Code, which requires owners to make necessary arrangements to relocate residents within 8 hours of when building official orders units to be vacated for safety issues (that were intentional or due to neglect) and to continue those arrangements at owner's expense until building is safe for re-occupation

• Creates the Office of Housing Advocacy

The website for the Office of Housing Advocacy is HERE. The Office of Housing Advocacy is not fully staffed or operational yet, but it is supposed to be a resource for landlords and tenants, providing forms, a helpline, a website with resources, outreach, and education.
You should direct your questions about the new Tenants’ Bill of Rights and the new ordinance that requires 60-day written notices to tenants when the rent is increasing more than 5% or when terminating their month-to-month tenancies. Their contact information is: [email protected] and (786) 469-4545.
https://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/legistarfiles/MinMatters/Y2022/221055min.pdf

Legislative Matter matter

Very glad to see the Florida Legislature passing this new law, Miya's Law. I highly recommend having your current and new employees get a LiveScan fingerprint background check. Once that is complete you have performed the necessary function to ensure the safety of your association staff and residents.

What is a Live Scan background check? LiveScan is a device that electronically takes your fingerprints and other information, then uploads that information to the FDLE (Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement) who in turn sends them to the FBI for a fingerprint background check.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-legislature-passes-miyas-law-mandates-background-checks/story?id=83409071 #:~:text=%22Miya's%20Law%2C%22%20which%20passed,repairs%20need%20to%20take%20place.

This will boost credit scores for those who had medical collections on their credit reports, once they are removed.

Most medical collection debt is about to fall off of consumer credit reports Equifax, TransUnion and Experian said in a joint statement they would remove nearly 70 percent of this type of debt.

We would love your feedback regarding our services! Thanks in advance!

Associated Credit Reporting, Inc. would love your feedback Post a review to our profile on Google

There is no bigger compliment than a referral by someone. Let's keep our local businesses thriving by referring locally. I thank each and every client that takes the time to say good things about our service and staff. We humbly appreciate each of you and strive to do our very best every single day!

For the customers that take the time to leave us a Google review or recommendation on Square, we know how busy you are and how valuable your time is. Please know that we all appreciate your kind words and look forward to serving you again in the future.

Let's make 2022 the best year ever...for all of us!!!

Our office will be operating at minimal capacity from December, 27th to the 31st!! We will resume regular business hours on Monday, January 3rd.

We are giving our hardworking staff this paid time off to spend the holidays with their families and to recharge. We will return refreshed and ready to serve you even better in the new year.

Wishing you and your families a safe and spectacular Christmas.

Thank you all for entrusting us with your business!!

Here's hoping that 2022 brings us all greater joy, good health, new motivation, and a healthy perspective on life, friendship, and business!

It's about time the automated companies are held accountable for their sloppy reporting practices. We verify every single record in our reports and adhere to the FCRA in terms of reporting criminal background data and eviction data so it's fair to both the applicant and the client.

Brown Calls On Newly-confirmed CFPB Director Chopra To Review The Tenant Screening Industry | United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The Official website of The United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

With so much identity theft going on in the world it's good to know who to contact if it should ever happen to you!!

Below are steps you can take if you believe your identity has been compromised:

Contact your financial institutions and creditors

Speak with the fraud department and explain that someone has stolen your identity.
Request to close or freeze any accounts that may have been tampered with or fraudulently established.
Make sure to change your online login credentials, passwords and PINs.
Check your credit reports and place a fraud alert on them

Receive a free copy of your credit report when you visit annualcreditreport.com or call 877.322.8228.
Review your credit report to ensure that unauthorized accounts are not opened in your name.
Report any fraudulent accounts to the appropriate financial institutions.
Place a fraud alert on your credit bureau by contacting one of the three credit bureaus. That company must tell the other two.

- Experian: 888.397.3742 or experian.com

- TransUnion: 800.680.7289 or transunion.com

- Equifax: 888.766.0008 or equifax.com

Contact ChexSystems at 888.478.6536 to place a security alert on the compromised checking and savings accounts when a deposit account has been impacted.

Contact the Federal Trade Commission to report an ID theft incident: visit ftc.gov/idtheft or call 877.438.4338.

File a report with your local law enforcement

Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.
Replace your stolen identification

If your driver's license has been stolen, please contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles to report and replace it.
To report a stolen Social Security card, please contact the Office of the Inspector General at 800.772.1213.
For a stolen passport, the theft should be reported to the Department of State either by visiting their website layer, by mail or by phone at 877.487.2778.

Identity Theft Identity theft tops the list of complaints to the FTC by consumers nationwide.

Associated Credit Reporting, Inc. updated their phone number.

We are all settled into our new location and look forward to providing you with exceptional service from the comfort of our new office condominium.

So proud to make the list of Top Women Owned Businesses in Florida!!