Last month, Manuel and Luz Fausto won one of the biggest collection awards documented in the last couple of years under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) against Credigy Services Corporation. A California jury awarded the Faustos $500,000 in damages derived from harassment by Credigy collectors. Of the sum, granted $100,000 was for actual damages the Faustos experienced, while $400,000 was in punitive damages, granted for malicious and reckless disregard of the couples rights. According to one of the Faustos lawyers, David Humphreys of Humphreys Wallace Humphreys, P.C., and the case derived from a debt on a Wells Fargo charge card opened in 1992.

Humphreys stated that the Faustos routinely paid the account balance on the credit card, but the balance kept increasing. The Faustos then requested that the account be frozen, but their request was declined by a local Wells Fargo branch. Humphreys said the Faustos received help in paying the balance from a local business that promised to negotiate a discounted payoff of credit card balances. The Faustos were under the impression that the debt owed to Wells Fargo was paid off with two money orders in the late 1990s. In 2006, Credigy contacted the Faustos with a demand of almost $17,000. Humphreys noted that a Brazilian affiliate of Credigy made over 90 threatening calls and sent numerous letters to the Fausto home, even after a cease and desist notice was sent to the company.

Luz Fausto recorded the last phone call made by the debt collectors, which documents false claims that threatened the Faustos livelihood. Credigy counter sued the Faustos on the grounds that the debt collection call was confidential. Humphreys said that Credigys collection efforts did not cease until a lawsuit was filed. Humphreys claimed that the jury award was the largest given to a consumer in a case brought under the FDCPA.

Manny Newburger, an attorney for debt collectors fears that consumer lawyers may make the false assumption that all juries will award large damages because it was awarded in this case. The Fausto case is fact-specific, Newburger stated. In the vast majority of cases there is little or no evidence of actual damages presented by the consumer. This is one reason why other debt collection lawyers are not willing to let the verdict in this case affect their evaluation of other cases, he noted.

Newburger said that the defendants in this case sued for invasion of privacy, a standard defense but also, a theory that is asserted in a lot of the cases filed around the country involving alleged collection abuse and the jury ruled against the defendant in the invasion of privacy claim. According to Newburger, the verdict was based on state legislation. This is a California specific case, he said.

Newburger argues that the only thing the Fausto case means is that the consumer won. He does not think the size of the award will entice more consumers to sue debt collection agencies. I think this verdict is indicative of what this jury thought of this particular case, but not of anything else, Newburger said. As for the size of the jury award, Newburger said that he had heard of larger rulings in FDCPA cases.

The ruling for the judicial penalty is still undecided. Once decided, a judgment could be granted for any sum up to $1,000 for Credigys violations of the FDCPA. It is unknown if Credigy will appeal the ruling. The lawyers for the debt collection agency could not be contacted.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a credit debt collection agency.

Your credit score can be likened to your criminal record. Both will follow you around for a very long time, and both are supposed reflections of the person you are. Only you and perhaps your attorney will know your criminal record. But your credit score can be pulled when you apply for a credit card, or go to get a new car, or even try to move in to a new place.

For those not in the know, your credit score is based on a number system between 300 and 850. A secret formula (OK a mathematical algorithm) will determine what your number will be. Creditors and experts agree that your credit score is said to be a very accurate prediction of how likely you are to pay off your bills.

Your credit score is crucial. If you already have a credit card, the creditor will most likely take a look at your credit score to decide whether to decrease your credit limit, or give you a higher interest rate. Those lucky people with the highest scores obtain the lowest rates.

But don’t wig out yet if you have a low credit score; there are things you can do in order to improve your situation. Most importantly, try to pay your bills on time. Paying late or even worse, allowing a negative account to go to collection can have a negative impact on your credit score. It logically follows that the longer you pay your bills on time the better your credit score will be.

Attempt to pay off debt rather than move it around. It’s just the most effective way to improve your credit score. Don’t close your unused credit cards. Closing is going to close the gap between the amount of credit you are using, and the whole amount available. If you have a lot of credit, and only use a little, its good.

And for the love of God, don’t open new accounts. New accounts aren’t even useful in credit scoring because they will diminish your average account age. Which leads me to my final point. Longevity. Try to maintain your oldest accounts. Longevity has a lot of clout on credit reports, so the oldest account you have is the most available.

Mallory McGuinnessis employed bya debt collection company. Also, shewrites stories on consumer spending, business, financeand debt collection. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.

The new credit card bill that kicks in in the month of February will have large ramifications for both issuers and cardholders. Restrictions on fees and rate increases and increased disclosure requirements will bring about many changes for issuers. To protect their finances, borrowers should learn about the crucial stipulations in the law and the loopholes.

Despite the fact that the new rules will heavily confine retroactive rate increases, they will not stop all negative changes to card accounts. Even consumers with high credit scores may be affected by unwanted adjustments.

The best way for a consumer to maintain an adequate credit score and keep account provisions intact is to be on the defense. This includes paying on time, not closing accounts unless its necessary and keeping balances low.

Minimizing your outstanding balance will protect you against negative changes to your account, improve your credit score, and most importantly it will save you money. This is because a lower balance may help protect your credit score against credit limit reductions. This is a good thing because if your credit limits decrease, and your debt doesn’t decrease, your credit score may drop. According to the CARD Act, issuers have to give you the option to opt out of a considerably large change in terms.

In these situations, issuers must send out a notice 45 days in advance at the least from the date the changes will take effect. The purpose of this is to give you time to decide if you want to reject the proposed change.

It is crucial that you check your credit score, which is based on your credit report. Errors such as collection accounts or delinquencies will lower your score. This is why it is key to check on your credit reports at the three major credit reporting agencies on a regular basis. You can do this for free.

Any sweeping change in law that could affect your financial situation is an important thing to consider. Consumers should educate themselves as much as as they can to protect their credit report and finances.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. Also, she writes pieces about consumer spending, business and finance, and debt collection. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service