Many consumers are being surprised by what is becoming known as 'zombie debt' showing up on their credit reports. This negative mark can cause serious damage to a credit score and is often an illegal tactic used by debt collectors. A zombie debt can possibly prevent you from qualifying to buy a house, car, or even a credit card. A Zombie debt "happens when your credit-card company sells off its bad debts. The buyer pays pennies for every dollar you owe and tries to turn that investment into a few nickels. They track you down and demand payment. Often, bad dept buyers or their collection agencies will do one more thing that is especially harmful to your credit rating. It often happens in secret. And it's illegal. They re-age the debt, and report the old debt to the credit bureau as a new obligation." In 2003, re-aging was made illegal through amendments by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://glclk.about.com/?zi=14/2S%5Dq Pam