When a woman received a letter from a debt collecting agency for an $8.97 debt, she began to wonder if it would hurt her credit score. She explains, “Today I received a letter in the mail from a collection agency stating that a DVD I rented from Family Video (probably 5 years ago) has gone to collections. The total that I owe is $8.97. Am I going to get a bad credit score for an unpaid bill of $8.97?! Help would be greatly appreciated — Jillian”

Did you get a parking ticket in another state or what about a speeding ticket or other citation?

The credit limit is the maximum amount of money you may charge on your credit card. This limit is mainly determined by your credit risk. So, it depends on the terms of your card, on your income and may be changed according to your credit history.

Can’t make your monthly credit card payments. It is important to understand what you can do in order to avoid late charges, increased interest rates and avoid having your credit score lowered. Taking the appropriate action can increase your ability to make future payments.

You know that having bad credit can increase your auto loan’s interest rate, but did you realize credit problems can in some cases nearly quadruple your car insurance premiums, too?