more importantly is does the NEW card number show the original open date or teh date that you got the new card? for example, i had my wallet stolen several years ago. i reported all my cards stolen and got new ones. Discover and First USA both reported the old numbers as lost/stolen and teh new ones with a open date of when i got the cards. this decreased my FICO instatnly because i lost several YEARS of age on my TL. if you wish to see you current score, the ONLY place to get the real score is to go to MYFICO.com and pay for it. remember, if it does not SPECIFICALLY say this is a FICO score, then it is an inhouse score for whatever service you are using and may differ greatly to teh good or to the bad from you rreal scores that lenders look at.

Have you tried to comprehend the Medicare pharmacy "benefit"? In doing so, did you come across any conceivable way in which it's not a complete gimmee to the big healthcare companies? My mom's union insurance is not allowed to cover the 'donut hole' gap. Say what? All the propaganda about the primacy of private insurance, and then when you have it, they're not allowed to pay?? Bollocks. However inconvenient, annoying, or occasionally incompetent the healthcare system may be in countries where the govt takes care of it, it CANNOT BE WORSE than this moronic 'system' we have where poor people simply have to go without, and the F-ing president says airily, "oh, they can just go to the emergency room." As if there are still any emergency rooms left in poor neighborhoods, since they've been overburdened for years with people who need care but can't pay. And as if this very practice hasn't ended up increasing the cost of all health care and insurance, as the hospitals have to raise their other prices to try to make up for the shortfall (you don't think that Tylenol really should cost $12/pill, do you?) As one of the gainfully employed Americans whose employer carries health insurance, I'm part of the "system that works." I've seen the cost of premiums on my end go up anywhere from 5-12%/year (raises average 3%). Add to that increases in co-pays and exclusions, and it's well into double digits. Between my payments and my employer's the premiums (as of before the last increase) for 2 non-smoking adults with no chronic conditions to speak of (no diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc) are well over $6,000/year. And if you further add in the hassle cost (which Jim Jubak of MSN Money has done in several of his columns on various topics) of trying to keep up with a drug formulary that changes monthly, so your refills are suddenly disallowed, or arcane rules for coverage that are never fully disclosed, or phone calls 3 years on about whether the doctor was on the 'allowed' list or not....it's enuf to make you simply give up and quit trying. That's where I am now. I've already sent them one letter; it was after that that they called. At work. I refused to give my unlisted home number. I don't think there's any way for me to prove they were participating at that time. Not only has my company changed insurers multiple times since then, it's been bought and sold. So, who would have any records? And do I feel up to trying to traack them down? I'm already having enuf trouble trying to get my pension out of their hot little hands. OK, /rant. Thanks for the advice and the message board link. I'll try that out.

I had a bunch of credit cards opened in my name some years ago. I had rental property and had a Centruy 21 agent manage it for me. Apparently, since the mortgage statement went to that office, so did a bunch of those free offers for credit cards. The receptionist opened the accounts got the cards, and just kept paying the minimum payments on the cards. It went on for over a year and was only discovered when she went away on her honeymoon and my agent started opening the mail with my name on it--a bunch of Visa bills with over $20,000 total charges! This girl had charged her whole wedding and honeymoon in my name! The hardest part was cancelling the cards--when I called Visa they wouldn't believe I was me because the girl had given them _her_ mother's maiden name, information of course that I could not supply! It was pretty stupid, really, she thought she would never be caught, said she every intention of paying off the cards eventually. Stupid criminal. Stupid credit card companies. We all paid for that one. And yes, I do check my credit report now!

My score hovers around 800 or just under. My credit card companies provide free credit score info (FICO, Creditwise, etc.), and list the things that help or hurt my score. Inquiries from other companies will make it drop. Having a long history with zero late payments helps. Having a mix of types of credit helps too evidently. I actually have a number of credit cards I haven't used in a long time, and I understand that keeping the accounts open doesn't hurt my score, but helps, since I'm not using all my available credit, as FOAS pointed out. I keep a balance on a couple of 0% interest cards and pay off over time, which credit companies like, I believe. I always pay more than the minimum. I recall years ago learning that in the credit card business, people who pay off their balances every month are not well regarded. They want that interest! IMPE, it pays to call them on late fees and get them wiped, which I've done in the past - the only reason I had late fees was paper bills that went missing, and reminding them that I had no history of delinquencies prior to that was helpful in getting them to erase the charge and the record of it. I blame my hubby who would throw out what he thought was junk mail without checking for bills first - but that was back before I went paperless, so it hasn't been a problem for a long time now. Just wait and keep checking, you should see your score go back up over time, I think... P. S. I monitor all my cc accounts to make sure they aren't compromised - I have alerts set up to send email notifications.