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NEWARK
– The Office of the Attorney General
and State Division of Consumer Affairs are
offering seminars and tutorials to help
college students understand credit, and
avoid a history of bad credit that can cause
long-lasting harm as they begin their careers
and adult lives.
“It
is important for students to know that decisions
they make today about how they borrow money,
pay their bills and manage their finances
will affect them in the future. A bad credit
history can follow a person for seven years
or more. We are offering this awareness
campaign to help stop potentially life-changing
problems now, before they spiral out of
control,” Attorney General Paula T.
Dow said.
“Credit
cards are so aggressively marketed toward
young people, and they are so easy to abuse
if someone lacks practical awareness and
experience of managing their finances. This
combination can harm the financial security
not just of young people, but of the parents
or adult relatives who co-sign with them.
We are offering basic education that will
help students become smart consumers able
to develop and maintain good credit,”
Thomas R. Calcagni, Acting Director of the
State Division of Consumer Affairs, said.
The
Division of Consumer Affairs this week reached
out to the presidents and directors of 70
New Jersey colleges and universities, offering
to hold the seminar “Credit: What
Is It and Why Is It Important?” free
of charge for students.
The
seminars grew out of the Division of Consumer
Affairs’ educational program about
the importance of good credit, the legal
and free ways to repair bad credit, and
the risks of working with companies that
claim to “erase bad credit.”
The Division of Consumer Affairs outreach
campaign is primarily funded by a grant
from the Sears Consumer Protection and Education
Fund. Educational materials related to the
campaign can be found at http://www.nj.gov/oag/ca/creditrepair/.
Colleges,
universities and other groups who would
like the Division of Consumer Affairs to
hold a “Credit: What Is it and Why
Is It Important?” seminar should call
973-504-6214.
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