e-QuickPay Cards Begin to Expire

Child Support recipients who have not updated contact information will not receive renewal e-QuickPay Cards

Ohio’s e-QuickPay MasterCards, which directly deposit child support payments, will begin to expire this month,Ohio’s e-QuickPay MasterCards, which directly deposit child support payments, will begin to expire this month. Those whose addresses are not up to date with the Athens County Child Support Enforcement Agency may not receive replacement cards on time.

“We’re prohibited from forwarding these replacement cards, so if your address isn’t up to date you’ll experience some delays in receiving your new card,” said Randy Galbraith, director of the Athens County CSEA. He encouraged anyone who has moved since their last card was issued to call the CSEA at (740) 593-5046 to make arrangements to change current address information.

First implemented in 2004, e-QuickPay MasterCards are automatically loaded each month with child support payments and can be used as Debit cards at stores and ATMs. The State Office of Child Support offers this option to make accessing payments an easier, faster process. Guardians can enroll in e-QuickPay without having a credit check conducted and can then access deposits without having to pay check-cashing fees and without needing a separate bank account.

Renewal cards will be issued by the 20th day of whatever month is listed as the “Valid Thru” date on current cards. Cardholders can use current cards until the end of that month, and if they do not get a new card in the mail by the 20th, they should call the Ohio e-QuickPay customer service center at 1-800-503-1283.

Activation instructions will be enclosed with the renewal cards, and any current balances in child support accounts will not be affected by the card replacement.

The expiration of the first-issued e-QuickPay Cards falls in August, the month recognized statewide as Child Support Awareness Month. The Athens County CSEA has sponsored billboards and parenting-focused public service announcements and will continue to feature tips, data and suggestions based around the theme: “Child Support: It’s more than just money.”

The Athens County CSEA maintains approximated 4,500 cases each year and reported collections of more than $7 million during FY06. The agency also recently received an award for the highest percentage improvement for collections on current support among counties with similar caseloads in the state.


For more information about the Athens County Child Support Enforcement Agency, visit http://csea.athenscountygovernment.com, or call (740) 593-5046.

[where: Athens, Ohio 45701]

Squeezing Blood from a Turnip, Part Two

As a follow up to the June 25 post, here's a little more information about businesses that target low-income families and potential alternatives that can save a lot of money. (For a recap of how we got on this topic, check out this Business Week article.)

Taxes
Similar to a payday loan, instant tax returns from tax preparation companies can be an enticing and quick way to get back money. Low-income workers are often entitled to the Earned Income Tax Credit and can get a pretty substantial amount of money back—but if they get their refunds instantly rather than waiting a week or two, they can incur substantial fees. One available alternative for people who just need to file simple 1040 forms is the Athens Fast & Free Tax Assistance Center, operated by Job & Family Services. All Athens County residents, no matter their income, can get their taxes done for free from this service. With E-Filing, returns come back in as little as a week—and you get your ENTIRE return, with no fees deducted.


Appliances
Another need that often arises in low-income families is for furniture and appliances. A $700 refrigerator is almost always out of the question when income barely covers rent and food, so paying $17.99 a week for a Hotspot refrigerator from Rent-2-Own seems like the only reasonable measure. Compare the refrigerator's posted retail price of $709.99 the total 78 weeks of $17.99 payments you'll make, though, and it's not so much of a deal: $1403.22. That's just under double what that refrigerator is worth.

Rent-2-Own's slogan is "Because we should all have nice stuff." This clearly encourages those who can least afford it to live beyond their means. Yes, in an ideal world, it would be great if we could all have leather recliners and dishwashers—but in the real world, where we don't all even have food on the table every night, it's ludicrous to encourage people to buy what they really can't afford.

The alternatives aren't always easy, but that's the way life is for low-income families. Thrift stores such as ReUse Industries and New to You are often inundated with furniture—especially futons, after the students move out at the beginning of summer. It may not be a pine bunk bed, but it's somewhere for your kids to sleep that doesn't come with the instability of a potential repossession if you can't pay the eight bucks in week 43 of your payment plan. Even local charitable organizations like Good Works offer—with limited resources, nevertheless—the chance for people to volunteer in exchange for furniture and appliances.

Computers are another thing people buy on payment plans at rental stores. Certainly an important tool for homework, job searching and other household uses in the modern age, computers don't come cheap. [Please see comments for a correction regarding this eligibility information. Thanks!]Job & Family Services offers FREE computers, to below households with children at or below 200% of the poverty level and be TANF eligible, which can also mean cooperating with CSEA or pregnant, along with training and a year's internet connection. Since its founding in 2001, the program has provided more than 2,000 computers to local households.

The BW article describes the increasing struggle low-income families are experiencing more and more across the country, and Athens certainly isn't immune from this problem. There are few easy answers for alleviating this problem, but it starts with a need for financial literacy and an increased awareness of just what strings are attached to seemingly great offers.

Squeezing Blood from a Turnip

In Athens as nationwide, companies are finding ways to squeeze blood from a turnip.

Previous entries have pretty thoroughly driven home the point that low-income families have to make a lot of difficult decisions on how to spend their money. This constant position of never adequately meeting all of a family’s needs, often coupled with inadequate financial literacy, can make a tough situation increasingly worse. Unfortunately, when money runs out before the next paycheck or paying eight bucks a week for a children’s bunk bed seems the only reasonable solution, there are many companies that are all too eager to help low-income families part with their money.

An interesting article in the May 21 issue of Business Week describes a number of types of companies that target low-income consumers, including payday lenders, car dealerships that offer credit to anyone, rent-to-own furniture and appliance stores, and high-interest credit card companies. Credit is becoming easier and easier to obtain, but it often comes with interest rates that at times might as well demand your firstborn child as part of the payback.

Payday Lenders
In an area with such high poverty rates as Athens County, it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that many companies fall into these categories. On East State Street alone, there are three payday lenders and two rent-to-own furniture and appliance stores (a fourth payday lender is on Columbus Road.)

Of course, payday lenders and rent-to-own stores aren't charities and shouldn't be expected to operate as charities. And sometimes, unexpected expenses arise that require people living paycheck-to-paycheck to resort to companies like this—indeed, a payday loan might be a lifesaver once in awhile. But frequent use of services like this can turn those who have very little money into those who have a great deal of debt. "Unsophisticated" consumers, as the Business Week article refers to them, might not understand interest rates or realize just how much debt they are incurring.

For the purpose of this example, take local payday lender Advance America Cash Advance, located at 971 E. State St. The company's online fee schedule indicates that if you borrow money from them, you're going to pay about 15 percent in fees. If you borrow $250, you cut the company a check for $287.50. To their credit, the company's Web site. explains that this shouldn't become a habit:

"Since a payday advance is a short-term solution to an immediate need, it is not intended for repeated use in carrying an individual from payday to payday. When an immediate need arises, we're here to help. But a payday advance is not a long-term solution for ongoing budget management. Repeated or frequent use can create serious financial hardships."

That's where financial literacy and common sense should come in on the part of the consumer, but circumstance doesn't always allow for that. And taking $37 out of an already meager paycheck every week just because you can't afford to wait for it can cost you substantially.

...Stay tuned for: Tax preparation and rent-to-own appliances and furniture!