1. Know your score:
   In order to improve your score, it’s important to know where you stand currently.
2. Pay down order:
   Always pay off auto loans and mortgages before credit cards and student loans.
3. Use your credit sparingly:
   Regardless how you pay, big balances can damage your credit score and make it harder to secure new loans.
4. Check your limits:
   Your score might be low because the lender is showing a lower limit than you really have.
5. Old credit cards:
   Do not close old accounts but use them once in awhile so the lender will not cancel it. The older the card the higher the score.
6. Dispute old negatives:
   Most old small accounts that show on your credit report rather real or not if you dispute them the credit agency may not take the time verify them so they will just drop off. If lenders have merged with other companies you may get lucky there also.
7. Things to work on are:
   1. late payments, 2. charge offs, 3. collections, 4. judgments, 5. accounts listed as settled, 6. paid charge offs, 7. accounts that still show open that were paid or were in a bankruptcy, 8. accounts that are over 7 years old or older, 9. never ask a lender to lower your credit limit
8. Things not to worry about:
   1. Misspelling of your name, 2. most inquires, 3. out dated address information, 4. old employers listed as current, 5. closed accounts listed as still open

A recent court ruling out of South Dakota held that it is not a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for a collection agency to electronically debt your account for the “service fee” that is routinely charged for bounced checks, but this can have far reaching consequences for you and I as consumers.

Example : You go to the local store to buy things for dinner. The typical signs are posted that say the returned checks are subject to a service fee. Usually between $25.00 to $40.00 according to your state law. These signs now say that this service fee my be presented against your account electronically, even if you did not give permission to have your account accessed.

Due to circumstances beyond your control, your check bounces. Not only is your check represented to your bank electronically (this is standard in the industry), but the returned check fee is assess as well. You have no control over when these charges hit your account, so if your balance is not sufficient to allow these items to clear, you will be assessed additional fees by your bank every time an item is presented against your account, thereby further depleting your account.

I received this information from Nancy Kelly and her super great website called About.com

Bankruptcy risk score?

Credit reporting agencies Analysts say that with advanced mathematics and data analytics are used to determine the complex bankruptcy score which is different from your FICO score.

For the conventional FICO credit score the higher your score (they range between 330 and 850) the better, but for the bankruptcy score you want a low number. To make it even more difficult for the average consumer to understand the numbering system in completely different and much more complex. These numbers start in the negative numbers and end with a possible 2000.

The bankruptcy score has been pretty much a secret and hidden from the American public but used to determine an individuals risk of going bankrupt.

Automobile financing lenders and bankers use the bankruptcy score in addition to the FICO score to determine not only the interest rates and terms you may get but if they should give you a loan at all. Lenders are not in the business to give a potential bankrupt person an auto loan if they feel the risk of repossession is great or possible not getting their investment back plus the agreed upon interest profit.

Zombie debt collectors digging up your aged mistakes.
A hot new growth industry: companies that buy bad debts for pennies and puts the squeeze on you to pay.

Even after a debt has been removed from your credit report and the status of limitations (the amount of time a creditor can sue over an old debt) has expired Zombie debt collectors may come into your life with a new slant on an old debt.

There is gold in those old debts

10 years ago, if you didn’t pay a bill after a few years passes you could be confident that the lender just wrote it off and forgot who you were, particularly for amounts under $1,000.

Today however, collecting old forgotten debts is a faster than fast growing industry. Aggressive debt recovery companies can purchase charged-off credit card accounts and other debts from the originating lenders for just pennies on the dollar. Then, they use credit scoring and new technology to identify who will be most likely to pay.

This is a business that barely existed 10 years ago. But in the last 3 years, it’s been growing at a 30% annual rate, according to credit industry analyst Sean McVity of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Among the signs of the industry’s maturity:

1. Four debt-buying companies have gone public in recent years, including Asset Acceptance of Warren Michigan, which had its $150 million IPO in February.
2. Some buyers have attracted major funding from investment banks such as Bear Streams and Goldman Sachs.
3. Last year more than $75 billion in old debts were sold.

The amount that companies pay for bad debt depends on the type of account and its age. In general McVity said:

1. Debt that has recently been charged off; 6 to 7 cents on the dollar
2. Accounts that are slightly older and on which a collection agency or two has already taken a whack; 1.5 cents to 2 cents on the dollar
3. Years old, out of statute debts: A penny or less.

A growing number of companies are discovering that these very old accounts, once thought to be uncollectible, are just the opposite. Squeezing even a small payment from these debtors can make collection activities worthwhile.

The economics are pretty simple. For every $100.00 of old debt, they pay .25 cents, a shiny quarter, said McVity, whose investment banking firm tracks debt buying trends. If you get the debtor to pay you a dollar you got your money and covered your costs.

1. Know your rights
2. Sometimes it’s just smarter to hang up
3. Know the statute of limitations in your state and any state that maybe involved
4. Consider ignoring the call and caller
5. Write to them
6. Negotiate carefully
7. Keep an eye on your credit report

This information is for your information and not to be considered as legal advice. Again, an attorney experienced in debt collection law might prove helpful in most cases.