* 218 Saturday, March 21 1992 @ Painless purchases a credit card curse We live in a world of cred- it where every day we are ex- horted to use our handy cred- it cards to buy the things we want, whether we really need them, or can afford them. Cc purchase painlessly: we get what we want immediately, but we can delay paying for several months. But credit cards can be a curse too. We can easily out- spend our ability to repay, and high interest rates com- pound the problem. exception to that: a renewal or replacement: card. Al- though you don’t specifically request the renewal card, it is not considered to be an un- solicited card. Your legal liability only knowledge to the sender in writing your intention to ac- cept the card. You could ex- press that intention in sever- al ways. First, by sending a notice to the bank or busi- ness, stating that you intend to accept the card. Second, by using the card to make a pur- ‘What’s your liability if a thief goes on a spending spree with (your credit cards)?’ Then there’s the constant danger that we might lose our credit cards, or they might be stolen by a thief who goes on a spending spree with our credit cards. So the government has had to step in to regulate dis- tribution and to limit card- holders’ liability. The provin- cial government has acted in two areas: unsolicited credit cards, and lost or stolen cred- it cards. At one time banks and businesses mailed out credit ~ cards to potential customers, quite unsolicited, in the hope that the recipient would sign the card and start using it. That practice led to a number of problems and abuses and eventually the government stepped in with legislation that said if you are sent a credit card you have no oblig- ation for any purchase made with it unless and until you indicate in writing your in- tention to accept it. An unsolicited credit card is defined in the Consumer Protection Act as a credit card that has not been re- quested in writing by the per- gon named on it.-There is an chase. By using the card and signing your name, you are in effect telling the sender that you are accepting it. Now let’s assume you have several credit cards that you personally requested, and you have been using them for several years. One day you discover that they are miss- ing, either lost or stolen;-you don’t know which. What do you do? What’s your liability if a thief goes on a spending spree with them? In this situation, provin- cial law says that you are not liable for any debt incurred through the use of your lost or stolen credit card after you have, in person or by regis- tered mail, notified the issuer of the card that is lost or stolen. So, the first thing to do, if you discover that your credit card is missing, is to phone the issuer immediately and report it. The Consumer Pro- tection Act limits your liabil- ity. You are responsible for a maximum of $50 debt on a lost or stolen credit card by an unauthorized person pri- or to the date on which you notified the issuer. Rossland pair honored at B.C. Mining Week Awards Two British Columbia men share the 1992 Mining Person of the Year award presented by Premier Mike Harcourt at the Mining Week Awards Lun- cheon held at The Hotel Van- couver on March 13. Roger Terhune and Jack McDonald, both of Rossland were jointly nominated by Marten Kruysse, Director, Re- gional Economic Development Commission of Kootenay Boundary, for their almost 50 years (combined) of dedication towards the development and operation of the Rossland Gold Mine and Museum Complex. Over the past 25 years, Ter- hune and McDonald have worked tirelessly to promote both the mining heritage of the Rossland area and the mining industry in general through the development and operation of this $1.6 million complex which includes min- ing equipment, machinery, an archive, tours of the old LeRoi mine and more. Terhune and McDonald were selected out of a total of five nominees (two jointly) for the 1992 Mining Person of the Year award. 2 The other candidates were Dorothy Chisholm, Vancouver, nominated for her dedication to the mining industry’s fundraising efforts for B.C.’s Children’s Hospital; Bruce Kiloh, Langley, a teacher at Terry Fox Senior Secondary school in Port Coquitlam, nominated for his work in the production of educational units on mining for B.C.’s school system; and John Spry, Career Development Coordi- nator for School District #72 in Campbell River, nominated for spearheading a “Partners in Education” program and work experience programs be- tween Campbell River schools and Westmin Resources’ Myra Falls Operation on the Island. @ Saturday, March 21 1992 198 Consumers cautioned on personal loan scams Consumer and Corporate Affairs fees for finding lending institutions. Minister Pierre Blais today warned The warning comes following a consumers to exercise caution indeal- number of recent instances of con- ing with private companies or individ- sumers losing hundreds of dollars. uals offering to arrange a personal They had paid deposits to “brokers” loan. who claimed to be able to obtain loans Some of these companies orindivid- for them: These consumers then lost uals engage in questionable business out on both a loan and their deposit. practices, notably in the charging of This is the time of year when some consumers find themselves short of cash, Blais advised consumers who de- cide to borrow money always to seek credit or refinancing from reputable fi- nancial institutions. He also reminded consumers that they should not have to pay a fee or make an advance deposit with a com- pany or individual attempting to ob- tain a personal loan for them. When such loan “brokers” demand a deposit, the pitch is almost always the same. The consumer is asked for $250, $300 or $400 up front. In return, the broker promises to try to obtain a loan. In such cases, con- sumers may never see their money Coupons Invalid Coupons with an expiry date ‘of Dec. 31, 1992 are invalid. The expiry date was a misprint. 2592 Highway 97 N. KELOWNA 1-800-563-0991 6.8 C228 Ce eee y SRA Because Children Matter It's New! It’s Simpler! It’s Fairer! It's More Generous! It’s More Responsive! It’s Easier! It’s Up to You! =~ 7 of YES Canada The Proposed Child Benefit ® The proposed Child Benefit will, if passed by Parliament, go out to over 3 million Canadian families starting in January 1993. b> The proposed Child Benefit will replace today’s patchwork of measures — Family Allowances, Child Tax Credit and Dependent Child Credit — with one monthly payment. > The proposed Child Benefit will go to those families with children who need it — those with_low and modest incomes. What's more, it is based on family income, which is a fairer way of determining the amount of assistance that children actually need. The proposed Child Benefit will include an earned- income supplement to increase support for low- income working families. »> The proposed Child Benefit will increase federal support for children by $2.1 billion over 5 years. For example, a family with one child, earning $20,000, can receive as much as $1,733 per year — an increase of 40%. What's more, it would be tax-free — you wouldn't be taxed on the proposed Child Benefit! > Once fully in place, the proposed monthly Child Benefit will respond to changing family circumstances, such as the birth of a child. > The proposed Child Benefit will automatically be sent to you each month. If you file a tax return, there’s no need to apply unless you have a change in family circumstances. At tax time, as well, you would find your tax return easier to prepare. ® Watch for information with your March Family Allowances payment or fill out the coupon below and we'll send you more information. Children Matter P.O. Box 8176 Street Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H7 0 in English City, O in French Postal Code. Province. f-f Government of Canada Gouvernement du Canada Health and Welfare Canada Santé et Bien-étre social Canada A has money to spare The Board of Governors of CGA-B.C. has announced an annual scholarship. The Adult Secondary Com- pletion Scholarship will be made available to mature stu- dents who have completed work for an Adult Secondary Diploma or passed the Gener- al Education Development ex- aminations and wish to ex- pand their career opportuni- ties and achieve a further edu- cational goal by entering the CGA program. The first scholarship will be awarded for the 1992-93 acad- emic year, in the form of a $500 credit toward the first year of study in the program. The Adult Secondary Com- pletion Scholarship extends the CGA Association’s long- standing commitment to sup- port and encourage advanced education or British Columbia students who plan a career in accounting, financial manage- ment, or related fields. CGA-BC annually awards 20 Grade 12 Graduate Contin- uing Education Scholarships, | valued at $500 each, to grad- uating secondary school stu- dents. In addition, CGA-BC funds approximately $20,000 in scholarships awarded through the financial aid of- fices of B.C. post-secondary schools. Bluetop DELUXE BURGER & FRIES $35 ‘All Our Prices include the G.S.T. , NEW HOURS - 10 a.m.-8 p.m. 1521 Columbia Ave. 365-8388 Call Ahead Drive Through Service b ot 2 — F sh lume Disco Passed on to YOU! PALLISER mw, (deal seca ee, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Mon-Thurs & Sat: 10 am - 6 pm iday: 10 am - 9 pm Sunday: Closed Cas i: 4445 Minto Road 365-6433 Huge Selection of Famous Brand Name Furniture « Mattresses for every room in your home at major savings. 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