Card Rebate

In the middle of an American economic crisis, one industry seems to be booming: the collection industry! That’s right, according to the most current research more than fifty five percent of the participating collection companies are planning to add to the amount of staff that they already employ this fiscal year.

Research recently collected by RealtyTrac Year-End 2009 Foreclosure Market Report indicates that 3,957,643 foreclosure filings were reported on 2,824,674 United States properties in 2009. Included in this research was scheduled foreclosure auctions, default notices and bank repossessions.

Think that paying your credit card balance in full is good for your credit, even if you are using most of your credit limit every month? Think again! You don’t get extra points for paying in full, even though it’s an intelligent move. Your credit score is based on information in your credit report, and that credit report does not show that you have paid off the balance. What the report does show are monthly balances as reported by creditors.

She utilized her debit card at a motel in Milwaukee for charges and discovered on her next month’s bank statement that someone had spent a $3,500 bill at another hotel of the same brand in Chicago. At first her bank could not, (or would not) fix the problem, and the hotel accused her of running up the charges herself. Only after threats of going to the authorities and offers of proof that she had been out of town for the time did she have the ability to get the charges reversed.

Your credit history. It could be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Most of the time it’s like a nosy mother in law coming to visit. You know that she’s coming, and that’s always bad news, but you are too afraid to ask or even consider how long she will be staying. Even though that was the worst analogy ever, read on to see how long negative marks stay on your credit history!