Credit reporting errors can prevent you from buying a house or a car, take you out of consideration for that job you applied for, and cause you serious stress and aggravation. 

If you notice an error on your credit report, you can dispute it under the provisions of a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA").  You can help yourself by taking the following steps:

The purchase of distressed consumer debt is a 100-billion dollar industry in the U.S. today. Debt buyers purchase charged-off consumer debt (usually from credit cards) for pennies on the dollar and then attempt to collect the original balance plus whatever interest they charge on that principal. 

By Order dated August 10, 2009, a federal judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Final Approval to a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) class action settlement that benefits nearly one thousand Pennsylvania consumers. The class was represented by consumer advocates Cary Flitter, Ted Lorenz and Andy Milz.

Auto finance companies are allowed to privately repossess your car if you default on your auto loan.  And, with the economy in the dumps, auto repossessions are on the rise:

The state attorneys general for Pennsylvania and New Jersey recently announced $9.75 million multi-state settlement with TJX Companies, Inc. the parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls stemming from a massive breach of consumer information at the retailer's stores.  The breach resulted in the accounts of millions of consumers being potentially accessible to hackers and ID thieves.