DOGGING YOUR CREDIT

Fido's expired rabies tags could take a bite out of your credit score. An unpaid ambulance ride to Jackson Memorial Hospital could cost you a trip to a debt counselor.
Throughout South Florida, local governments are wielding a big stick in the battle to collect the hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid fees and fines from residents - and taking a whack at their credit scores.

Depending on the locality, everything from unpaid solid waste bills to fees for cremation documents from the medical examiner could end up knocking points off that highly guarded three digit number - which marks an individual's credit worthiness - forcing borrowers to pay higher interest rates. READ MORE