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Ever notice how your mailbox seems to be flooded with credit card offers every week? If your residence is like the average U.S. household, you probably get dozens of credit card solicitations in the mail each year. To put an end to them, simply call 888-5-OPT-OUT or go online to www.optoutprescreen.com.

The toll-free number I’ve given you, 888-5-OPT-OUT is an automatic phone service that’s run by the four main credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, and Innovis. (Many of you may be thinking: “What is Innovis?” I’ll tell you more about that company – and the credit report you’ve probably never even heard of – later, in Day 4. For now, though, let’s stay with this OPT-OUT number).

The reason this number works is because it takes you out of the credit bureaus’ databases for pre-screened mailings. This will force the credit bureaus to stop selling your name and address to banks and other institutions that send you credit card offers each month.

Research companies and public-interest groups, such as the Consumer Federation of America in Washington D.C., track the rate at which banks and other credit card issuers send out credit card offers. What they’ve discovered is that some six billion credit card solicitations are sent to people like you and me every year. Imagine that: a whopping six billion credit card offers, or roughly 60 per U.S. household! And the numbers keep rising every year. According to the Mail Monitor report from Synovate, a Chicago-based research company, 90% of credit card mail comes from the 10 largest credit card issuers. If you’re wondering why in the world banks send out so many darned solicitations, the obvious answer is because they’re hunting for new clients. But the less obvious reason is that financial institutions are also responding to changing customer demand. When interest rates rise, banks often increase their mailings because with higher interest rates, people often start looking for fixed rates products on things like credit cards and mortgages. As a result, consumers are more likely to be receptive to new offers for credit. Still, if you’re like most people, you probably tend to give credit card offers the cold shoulder – perhaps tossing them in the trash can without even opening them. That’s why the average response rate to credit card solicitations is miniscule – just 0.2% in 2006 – a record low, according to Mail Monitor and other industry trackers. For all the mail being sent out, direct mail doesn’t seem to be the most profitable way for credit card companies to do business. For starters, they have to send out more than 250 solicitations just to acquire one new customer. That means up to $200 spent to attract every new cardholder.

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If you are already more than 30 days delinquent in paying a debt such as a credit card bill, chances are the account has already been reported to the three main credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. But you don’t have to do any guesswork about this. Nor do you have to take the collection agency at its word — regardless of whether or not it’s saying the report has been reported or hasn’t been reported. There’s a sure-fire way to know what’s on your credit report. It’s simply by taking advantage of your rights to get a free copy of your credit files from each of the “Big 3″ credit bureaus I previously mentioned. Just go online and get your credit reports and see for yourself. Look particularly closely at any records for “collections” or “public accounts.”

To get your free credit files, just go to: www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Regarding your other question, I think it’s usually faster, easier and sometimes less financially costly to deal directly with creditors — as opposed to collection agencies. Those bill collectors often tack on additional fees, penalties, and other charges – expenses your creditors may be willing to waive.

If you’re having trouble paying your bills on your own, yes, a debt management company can help. And contrary to popular opinion, simply enrolling in a debt management plan does not impact your credit score. Read this article on the differences between debt management and debt settlement companies, and learn why I strongly recommend debt management firms. One excellent non-profit organization is the National Foundation for Debt Management (www.NFDM.org).

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The two absolute fastest ways to significantly boost your credit scores both involve getting negative information deleted from your credit files. If you have anything negative on your Equifax, Experian or TransUnion reports that is outdated, inaccurate or that can’t be verified, try contesting that information directly with the credit bureaus. Use their online credit dispute services for the fastest possible results. I’ve disputed information online and had erroneous information removed in just a day or two. Here are the direct websites for the credit bureaus to initiate an online dispute:

www.investigate.equifax.com

www.Experian.com/disputes

www.Transunion.com/investigate

Additionally, since you are trying to get a mortgage, you can utilize a service known as “rapid re-scoring” also known as “credit re-scoring.” Read this post about rapid re-scoring to learn how to get errors removed from your credit report in just 48 hours.

There’s no guarantee that either of these methods will boost your credit score by the 75 points you are seeking, but it’s certainly worth a shot. And if there is negative information that gets removed, you will likely experience some boost to your FICO scores.

However, if there are no mistakes to dispute, trying paying off some or all of your credit card debt. That will usually improve your credit scores. Even though it may be a hardship to come up with the money to pay off credit card bills, it’s helpful to become debt-free. Not to mention the short-and long-term savings it will net you from snagging that better loan when you are able to refinance.

You should start by taking control of your finances and being honest about what is going on. You are the victim of identity theft, pure and simple. And it’s well past time you started letting others know that you did not authorize or open those utility accounts and that you are not responsible for them, period. End of story. Start monitoring your credit every month to make sure nothing else unexpected pops up there. Put a credit freeze and a credit alert on your credit reports to prevent further damage from this person who has blatantly taken advantage of you.

Lastly, you need to confront this person directly. It doesn’t matter if that person is a “close” family member. I don’t care if it’s your sister, a cousin – or even your mother. Let this individual know that they have totally crossed the line and damaged your finances and credit rating in a way that is completely unfair, disrespectful to you, and that has long-lasting implications. Tell the person that they have exactly 1 week to contact every creditor in which they used your name to cut off service in your name — and put it in their name.

If that person’s credit is bad (which I suspect it is) and they can’t get a phone, electric service or cable in their own name, that’s their issue to deal with; not yours. A week’s time is plenty of notice for them to take action. Tell them that if they don’t handle it in a week, you will be forced to contact those utilities directly and advise them of the situation. Hopefully, you will be stern and straight-forward enough in your approach to this person that he/she will know that you mean business. I’m not saying that you have to turn the person in (although they do deserve it). But neither should you be held continually responsible for someone else’s financial mess.

If the person doesn’t act quickly, and follow through as you’ve told them to do, don’t hesitate to get those services cut off. If push comes to shove, and you “have to” tell who the culprit is, I would go ahead and do it. Why would you go through unwarranted financial stress for this person when clearly they’ve shown you absolutely no personal or financial consideration whatsoever?