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Is your phone ringing off the hook for someone you do not know? If a collection agency has your telephone number in their records for debt belonging to someone else, you can become a target for endless harassment. In most cases, it does not matter if you tell a debt collector repeatedly that you are not the person they are looking for. They will continue to call you anyway. Luckily, there are ways to defend yourself and end the harassment by taking a few simple actions.

Stop Harassment at the Source

According to the Federal Trade Commission, you should initiate a debt dispute by obtaining the address of the debt collector and writing a letter in which you declare that you do not owe the debtor anything. You should also request verification of the debt and conclude your debt dispute by demanding that the agency cease and desist with any further contact. One caveat, however: if it is a debt you actually owe and the debt collection agency sends you verification of the debt with your name on it, they will be able to continue contacting you. Read more…

There is a Target store just a couple of blocks from my home and I am in there every week it seems. It also seems that I can’t get out of the store without spending at least $50 (and I’ve tried!). So when the clerk recently offered me a 5% discount every time I shop there* – without signing up for a Target Credit Card – she got my attention. She explained that Target offers a debit card that would allow my purchase to be deducted from my checking account.

Of course, my first thought was about safety. How safe is it to tie my checking account to one of these cards? What happens if the card is lost or stolen? But I had other questions as well. So I contacted Target’s public relations department where Molly Koenst provided me with some answers, via email, about this card:

A Target Debit Card can be a good option for guests who do not want a credit card, as it draws right from an existing checking account, just like writing a check. In additi

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While every American can receive at least three free credit reports per year from each of the major credit bureaus, consumers in some states are entitled to an extra copy.

Residents in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, and Colorado are all allowed receive to one extra credit report a year due to their states laws, according to WalletPop.

Still, many residents of these states dont take advantage of these services, despite the benefits that reviewing credit reports regularly can have. According to recent research, nearly two-thirds of all Americans dont review their reports even once during a calendar year.

Many financial experts say reviewing a credit report can be a vital part of achieving a good credit score.

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The FTC issued another report to Congress last week detailing progress made regarding a forthcoming study of credit report errors.

The study will involve roughly 1,000 randomly selected consumers throughout the nation.

Each will be paired with a so-called expert, who will review their credit reports with all 3 major credit bureaus to help identify potential errors.

Participants will be encouraged to dispute any errors on their credit reports that could affect their credit standing, and those with errors will be sent to Fico (formerly Fair Isaac) for rescoring.

The study aims to determine the proportion of consumers with one or more material errors on their credit reports.

It will measure their frequency and impact on a consumer’s credit score.

Errors will be categorized by type and severity in terms of credit harm and if deemed appropriate, the report may also include recommendations for legislative or administrative action.

Of course, it’s not due until December 2012, so until then you’re on your own.

My guess is that the most common and devastating type of credit report error will be medical collections.

Medical collections seem to be very common and detrimental, leaving even the most creditworthy consumer with a bad credit score.

If you think you’ve got an error on your credit report, it’s simple to execute a credit report dispute online, so don’t hesitate.

They take time, so be sure to act early if anything seems awry.

Now that the holidays are over, one consumer watchdog group is recommending that individuals check their credit reports for errors that may have occurred during the busy spending season.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says its important for consumers to make sure their accounts have been accurately charged for purchases, either by checking their accounts online or by calling a lender directly.

This can help ensure that inaccurate charges dont linger or end up creating long-term delinquencies that could end up on a credit report. Since credit reports are one of the primary tools lenders use to evaluate a consumers financial history, leaving an undisputed blemish on the record could cause credit score damage.

If left unchecked, such damage could lead to higher insurance premiums and interest rates on lines of credit, now and in the future.

The BBB says consumers should keep receipts from their online purchases and look for confirmation e-mails for their payments.

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Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report every twelve months. E ‘financial housekeeping to report only good you get a copy of each year and then sit down and go over it carefully to ensure there are no errors. Your credit score and report will perform a lot of energy in the modern world, and loans not only to receive. It can mean the difference betweento get a job and not find a job.

Order your free credit report, you should go and ask AnnualCreditReport.com. Once you have signed your credit report for you to be brought to each of the three collection agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

You go through each site, there are a good banner above shows you how to AnnualCreditReport.com may return the report as a result of the subsequent creditAgency agency after you are done with the first credit report.

It ‘s a good idea to get your report files while you’re at home, where you have access to any.

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