If you've ever fallen a couple of payments behind on your Penny's charge or maxed out your Clout Visa, chances are you've encountered phone calls with unfamiliar voices on the other end calling you by your first name. Your credit score's average is off the charts, mostly because there's no rating of -245 isn't in the 300-850 credit score range. Of course, since you're indebted to them for buying one too many pairs of Manolos last month, you have to put up with, "Get out your checkbook and pay your bills," or "I can promise you we're not the ones that you want to have problems with," right?

Quite the contrary, no matter how many overpriced Italian shoes you bought with no means of paying for, collectors have a set standard that they must adhere to in their effort to get the bill paid. In fact, said set standard has a name, it's called The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; think of it as law enforcement for vultures-or bill collectors-which ever they prefer.

There are even ways to boost your place on the credit score range from bad to, dare we say it, an average score! Ok, ok, so average credit may not get you your beachfront house in Malibu anytime soon. But with Mel Gibson being from Malibu and all, it's only a matter of time before that neighborhood goes. A good credit average can get you out of that 1974 Ford Pinto and into something manufactured in the last decade or so.

Ways to Raise Credit Scores

According to the experts, countless Americans know about as much about ranges, scores, credit averages and how they stack up in it all, as they do about the War of 1812. Not very much, and what you don't know can hurt you.

Understanding were you score on the credit score range is the first step to raising your credit. Be advised that anything above 713 on the 800 point scale is considered good credit, anything below 600 could make getting a loan for a new condo iffy, at best.

You are entitled to one free credit report every year, although the concept of having to pay for a document that contains information about you smells a bit like a warped form of extortion, take advantage of the opportunity. There may just be something there that wasn't there before (Yes, that was a song featured in Disney's Beauty and the Beast). You won't know if you report contains a mistake unless you take a look at it. So get on the phone with Equifax, TransUnion or Experian.

A bad credit score would be a lot easier to stomach if everyone had one, and contrary to popular belief, most people don't. In fact, the average American falls in the 750-799 range, that's roughly 27%. Pay your bills on time: Late payments can lower a credit score by a much as twenty points. Having a $10,000 credit limit doesn't mean that you have to use it. Average scores can go up seventy points just by keeping those balances low.

Yes, all of those pre-qualified cards you get in the mail are tempting, but the more accounts you open, the lower you credit score becomes.

Credit cards are good for establishing credit....as long as their sole purpose isn't financing a daily shopping spree at Bebe. Manage your credit cards responsibly. A responsible cardholder has more options at their disposal than someone who has never had a credit card a day in their lives. How will they prove that they're capable of making payments.

Ask for a payment plan. If you owe American Express $3,000, and you've got $2,500, AE may be willing to settle the debt for that amount. It'll certainly save them legal fees and the pressure of securing a collection agency. Talk it out.

Closing an account that's been pestering you to death doesn't help anything, in fact they're often times still factored into your credit score. The key is dealing with debt. Chances are you're not David Copperfield and that's going to make playing a credit card disappearing act, a difficult feat.