Be as “mad” as you want, but the only thing to do is to make sure you have a high score. There are ways to do that. And make sure that the score is correct. Challenge anything that is the least bit wrong, with certified letters and affidavits if necessary. Don’t tell yourself it doesn’t matter. If it’s wrong, and against your best interests (it always seems to be, doesn’t it?), then get it corrected.

As for companies on the verge of insolvency that cut your line of credit despite a perfect payment history (yeah, that one is ironic, isn’t it — you are in better financial health than they are, but they can ding you), see about getting another card you already have to increase your credit limit modestly. Don’t use it, just keep it, so that your percentage of available credit being used doesn’t go up. This may cause a small, temporary dip in your score (if it is counted as an “inquiry”), but it will go right up again very soon.

Seek out other sound strategies, and play the game to get your score up. It’s only numbers. Sucking up to an incompetent boss is much harder than this.

My FICOs (there are three of them, or were until Experian pulled out recently) are low, partly because I’ve been late on several bills, but some of it is because I don’t have an active credit card account. In fact I would say that probably weighs at least as heavily as the late bills. Meanwhile a credit card I had during my marriage, which ended 10 years ago in all but legality, wound up being charged off but because aspects of that transaction have dropped off my credit report, it parses on the report as “paid on time.” It’s bizarre. Real-life logic says I should be dinged for the charged-off credit card and should be applauded for being sensible enough not to get another one. FICO, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to operate on real-life logic, at least not completely.

FYI, there is a way to establish a payment history on a credit report without racking up debt. Try prbc.com. They started in 2002 or so and they help you track things like rent and utility payments, and will work with you to establish a payment history that lets you get a mortgage later on. FICO has set up a score with them too, although you can’t get that through FICO’s site. On the other hand this is the one credit bureau I know if that will give you a free report any time you ask because they already get paid by potential creditors to look at your info. I wish the Big Three saw things that way.

Frugal Dad, you seem to me to be unusually pre-occupied and obsessed with your credit score, and very very much in favor in taking on loads of debt in order to improve your FICO score. May I ask why? Are you planning to take on more debt in the future? It does not seem healthy to me to get so much in debt like you advocate. I do not advocate getting in debt like you do just to improve credit score like you are saying, for no other purpose besides getting more in debt like you advocate.