Wells Fargo & Co said it will launch two initiatives to encourage consumers to take charge of their credit situations.

Sometimes, people make bad decisions and they end up losing their house, car and credit cards that ruin their credit history.

If the lender has not followed your state’s car repossession laws to the letter, they can be prohibited from collecting any judgment in court or wage garnishment for that matter if a lawsuit is brought against you for the deficiency. You have rights as a consumer before, during and after repossession and it is up to you to exercise them.

Collection agencies can be found in two different forms: in-house collection and third-party collection. The in-house collection agencies are most often the billing department for a credit agent or large firm which offered time payments. These are used to collect money while keeping the collection costs low and within the company. Most often this will be the first collection attempt you will come across.

The FICO credit score ranges between 300 and 850 which is used often by banks, lenders and financial institution to determine whether to provide you with financial solutions and at what interest rate. A rule of thumb is the higher the credit score, the lower your rate will be.