Exactly who is trying to get me to pay up? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was unleashed in the 1970s and provided many protections for consumers. There are strict rules and regulations that a debt collector must abide by, and if any of these regulations are violated, there is a good chance that you could sue that agency. But what about that friend of yours who owes you five bucks? Do you have to grant them thirty days to refute the claim? Clearly, you do not.

The point is that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is applicable to debt collectors, and only debt collectors. Consider Morency v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp, a district court case in Illinois from 1999. In an attempt to collect debt, a hospital mailed out pre-collection notices, which is a no-no for third party collectors. But the court ruled that the hospital was only a creditor, not a collection agency, so the FDCPA did not apply to it.

Courts take many factors into consideration to figure out whether the creditor should be deemed the actual debt collector. A collection agency’s participation in the actual debt collection would have to be minute. Is the collection agency a mere mailing service? Do the letters state if the debtor does not pay the debt will be referred for collection? Is the collection agency paid only for sending letters, rather than commission?

If the collection agency does not receive any payments or forward any payments to the creditor, that is suspicious. If a debtor fails to respond to the letter and the collection agency has no further contact with the debtor, or if it does not get the files of the debtors, they probably aren’t going to be considered debt collection agencies.

The lesson is that it is important that you know who you are paying your money to. It’s always wise to be vigilant when it comes to your finances.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also, she does stories on consumer spending, business and finance, and debt collection.

Your credit history. It could be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Generally it’s like a nosy mother in law coming to visit for an indeterminate period. You know that she’s coming, and that’s always bad news, but you are too afraid to ask or even consider how long she will be staying. Even though that was the worst analogy ever, read on to find out how long negative marks will stay on your credit history!

In my opinion, there are two records that really count. Your criminal record and your financial record. Unlike your criminal record which will loom over your head for a very long time, your credit report and scores are not permanent. But how long can these negative records exist on file?

First, errors in your credit report will be removed immediately. It you find a mistake, or a negative account that doesn’t belong to you, contact the credit reporting agency and the creditor. You should be able to have the negative account removed within 180 days.

Anytime your credit report is pulled at your request, something called an inquiry is put on your report. An occasional inquiry couldn’t hurt, but if you have placed a large number of inquiries within a short time period, this usually lets prospective creditors know that you need the dough and you need it fast. The bottom line is that the more inquiries that show up on your report, the lower your score will drop. These will usually last only up to two years.

But here’s the scoop about inquiries. Not all inquires will negatively affect your credit score. Soft inquiries, like when you get your credit score, or when companies check your credit for purposes of making unsolicited credit offers do do any harm. When you apply for a credit card, the creditor pulls your credit report that will result in what is a hard inquiry. This may potentially lower your score.

Mallory McGuinness-Hickey is employed bya debt collection agency. She also does articles on consumer spending, business and finance, and debt collection.