There is an institution in our society that impacts everything from your ability to buy a house, get approved for car insurance, and gain employment with certain companies. It's an element that affects every person in this country but it is something rarely addressed during formal education and is not completely understood by a huge percentage of those it impacts.

What we're talking about here is the credit system. This is the system where credit bureaus receive, organize and save personal and financial information about consumers provided by a variety of sources that is then purchased by lenders, employers, and others. This information is then used to make decisions about whether or not you are a dependable, credit worthy individual.

After a short time dealing with the financial community, most learn the rudimentary basics of the credit reporting system. They know their credit files contain information about them and they know it is beneficial to have a good credit score. But from there, their knowledge of credit tends to drop off and many of the things people believe to be true are in actuality incorrect or incomplete representations of the facts.

Many people do not know how their credit score is derived, what steps they can take to improve their credit rating, the myriad of resources they have for disputing questionable credit listings, and how the law protects their right to receive fair treatment from credit bureaus, creditors, collections agencies, and credit repair firms.

Much like how the pigs exerted control in Animal Farm, this lack of knowledge leaves people at the mercy of the companies whose revenues are tied to consumer credit. When left unchecked, even the most upstanding companies will err on the side of generating more money. As a result there are people are paying excessive interest rates that pad the pockets of lenders because these people are not informed enough about credit to do anything about it. They are allowing themselves to be taken advantage of by those who, intentionally or not, are taking more of their money than is just.

The more people understand about the credit system, the more empowered they become. Credit scores are a powerful and necessary tool, but as with all sources of power, it must be kept in check. Those people who learn how the system works are the ones who will be able to enforce their right to a fair and accurate credit score.