I know that these days, the wonderful journalists who like to bring us the daily news like to push the limit on the truth and exaggeration. We have all adapted to that, its the world that we live in I guess. I mean just look how much attention a pop star who shaved her head and went crazy got! More attention than the war and the economy combined I'm guessing. I do have to admit, however, that even I was suprised by the front page piece in the Dallas Morning News Business Section. It was about Debt Collectors; their increase in revenue, ever increasing numbers of collection companies, and what consumers can do to help protect themselves. It was a very interesting piece, as I deal with the issue of credit every day just as most of you do, and I think that it points to how the economy is really going at this point. Now don't get me wrong, I know that the economy is in flux and is swinging up right now more than down. Our clients however, don't have the same insight that most of us do because they aren't in the financial industry. We all have clients with some form of credit hiccup or collection or something, but some of the scare tactics that I was reading suprised me (and I deal with these guys everyday). Some debt collectors demand larger payments, threaten rediculous and "dire" consequences and even reveal the debt to third parties to try and coerce the debtor into paying. All of these are not only silly, but also illegal. I'm glad that Pamela Yip chose to write a story about something that affects such a large majority of consumers around our country. Make sure that when you confront this issue in your clients' reports that you try to give them the most up to date information regarding the repayment and how it's going to affect their scores. It's up to us to be their guide because I guarentee that someone else is feeding them false information to not only hurt the customers credit profile but also to make all of us in the real estate and finacial markets look bad! To all my Active Rainers, keep up the good work and keep leading the people who trust you with their homes and financial futures into the right direction. I promise you will be rewarded with repeat business and quality referral sources for life!