Debt

Gambling with Your Future

Over the past ten years, poker has become big business. An average episode of the World Series of Poker (WSoP) gets more than 1 1/2 million viewers, many of them college students who have been encouraged by the success of young amateur players. Recent studies show that Read more...

Going Postal Five Days a Week

Ben Franklin, the very first Postmaster General, would be rolling in his grave, or at least rolling his eyes. No longer is the USPS de facto motto "neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night," now it may be adding, "nor Saturday's. Depending on Congress." The United Read more...

Is Your State Out of Money to Pay Unemployment?

One by one state unemployment agencies are going bankrupt. Of course, with so many people out of work and a record number of people collecting unemployment benefits it should be no surprise. So far, there are 25 states that have hit the bottom of the unemployment barrel Read more...

Credit Accounts Bought By New Collection Agency

Dear Melissa, I have several accounts on my credit report that just got reopened by new collection agencies that bought the existing account. The accounts are 5 years old now. How do I get these accounts removed from my credit report without having to pay a cre Read more...

Statue of Limitations & Time Debts Stay on Credit Report

Dear Melissa, I want to repair my credit and raise my score and was reading about states having a statue of limitation. With this being the case can I have accounts that have reached the statue of limitations removed from my credit? And with this statue of limitati Read more...

Does the Collection Agency Have to Remove An Error?

Dear Melissa, About 2 months ago I received my quarterly credit report to discover it had dropped by 100 points—from a 750 to a 650. I discovered I had been turned over to a collection agency for a bill, which I thought my insurance company had paid, as it was for Read more...

$700 Billion in Debt Payments Per Year

We all know the country is in big time debt. But believe it or not, it's about to get worse. Treasury Officials borrowed a lot of money on short-term loans with low interest rates. Those short-term loans are about to come due. According to the New York Times, "With t Read more...

Dealing with Gym Membership Dues is a Workout

Dear Melissa- I recently signed up for a gym membership. I go to the gym daily and have been going for the last nine months. I signed up for a two-year agreement and started a month-to-month payment plan of $20. In April, my debit card number was changed due to an Read more...

Can They Send Me to Collections?

Dear Melissa, I have been making my scheduled, contracted, monthly payments to a medical office since December of 2003. I have never been late and have never missed a payment. They recently, out of the clear blue, sent my account to a collection agency because Read more...

Do I Have to Pay Interest & Fees on My Debt?

Questions About Collections Dear Melissa, Some of my past debt has been turned over to a collection agency. The agency has added interest and fees to the original amount, am I obligated to pay these? The original balance is all that shows up on my credit report Read more...