Just a reminder to those heading off to college... You know those booths set up on the quad where you are offered gifts just for filling out a credit card application? Many students fill them out to get the goodies knowing full well they will not be approved, or planning NOT to use the card if they are.... Please be aware that just filling out too many applications can hurt your credit rating. When you apply for a loan, an apartment lease or credit card(even a cell phone, in some cases) one of the bits on information the credit report shows is how much credit you've applied for, and how many applications were approved or denied....getting T-shirts or toaster ovens just for filling out a form seems like a cool deal, until you apply for a car loan next fall and find that all those applications deducted too many points from your overall credit score...

What agency actually collects and manages these records of your credit habbits?

Experian(formerly TRW) Equifax and TransUnion are the three national credit reporting agencies...Also, ChexSystems tracks bounced check information, which can(when reported to the agency) haunt you for a looooong time, even after you make good on the check.

Excellent information, MrsS. I had NO credit cards going into college, so I filled out an Discover Card application (for a free T-shirt) and figured I'd see what I thought of it when I got it. Well, I never got a card or any information at all and I forgot about it (ended up getting an MBNA card, which I still have) but then two years ago I was checking my credit report and, lo and behold, there was that card -even though I'd never activated, used, or even received it.
So yes, BE CAREFUL.