I bet many of you are going to get a kick out of it. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA was created in 1978 as a part of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, specifying strict guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defining consumer rights and providing consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining debt validation information in order to ensure its accuracy. The FDCPA also prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. Basically it gives you some ammunition against collection agencies, prohibiting them …

Q: A judgment was filed last February and I just paid it in full yesterday. Does a paid judgment affect credit scores? Can I remove a paid judgement from my credit report? I would like to buy a house in a few months.
A: Of course, paid judgment stays on your credit report for at least 7 years and affects your credit scores very negatively. You may still try buying your house if your middle score is at least 620. You can even get an FHA loan, but unless you …

As strange as it may sound to some of you, there is a whole range of credit score scales, and with that, many questions arise. So I decided to put a small guide with no pretending that it will be complete. Credit score scale business is quite profitable to many, just consider:
- FICO that used to include all three scores from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian
- the fact that Experian severed its 6 year deal with FICO
- the emergence of VantageScore
- FICO score scale for consumers differs albeit slightly, from one …

You can get a free Experian credit report but not the score from Free Annual Credit Reports as everyone is entitled for one copy per year. Your credit scores can be purchased separately. But the quickest way is to get your credit report and score directly from Experian. You can do it for free and this is how you do that.
Experian, like the other two credit agencies does nothing for free. But you can order a trial membership in Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring provided by Experian, get your credit …

Q: I need to fight an item in dispute with Equifax as soon as possible. There is an incorrect negative information on my credit report and few inaccuracies I need to change.  Out of all three bureaus, only Equifax is reporting this incorrect information.
A: Incorrect items on your Equifax report can be disputed by phone, by mail or online.  A dispute takes no more than 30 days (by law), but occasionally can last up to 45 days (until you have your results).  To dispute, however, there is a catch. To …