Credit and Money Matters

Doug Walsh, chief of our Consumer Protection Division, and other experts were interviewed by KING 5 TV for “Secrets of the Contractor Trade Uncovered." If you missed Monday’s broadcast, you can watch online....

We recently announced on this blog that Trans Union plans to allow consumers to freeze access to their credit reports starting Oct. 15. Now Experian says it will do the same beginning Nov. 1. Equifax is...

Should you close out old credit card accounts? When it comes to your oldest account, the answer is no. Closing old accounts could harm your credit score. That's because your credit history is based on...

Are you getting more phone calls and mailings about donating to charities? Today’s News Tribune has a good reminder for anyone, especially seniors, considering where to donate. You should always ask how...

Avista customers in Eastern Washington will be able to tell state regulators on Tuesday, Oct. 2, what they think about the company’s request to increase electric and natural-gas rates. If the proposed...

A couple of interesting tidbits from our local consumer news reporters: You can’t put a price on love, but apparently you can insure it. KOMO TV reports that because of all the things that can go wrong,...

Actor J.K. Simmons  (“Law & Order” and “Spider-Man”) and Montana State Auditor John Morrison teamed up to film a documentary aimed at preventing investor fraud, the Missoulian newspaper reported. Their...

Consumeraffairs.com posted a troubling story today about an English woman whose credit card was used by an identity thief. While the scenario isn’t new, the outcome includes valuable advice for consumers....

MSNBC.com has a helpful article today about 10 things that most travel insurance programs don’t cover. Chances are you haven’t thought of some of these scenarios, including pregnancy, death of a pet, local...

Don’t be fooled. There’s only one official Web site where you can order your free annual credit report, but many copycats. Consumer Reports WebWatch recently examined Web sites that advertise “free” credit...