10 Things You Must Do If You Want To Repair Your Credit Report

Credit problems bedevil a large number of people. If you have a credit problem I'm sure you know what I mean. Suddenly everything financial becomes much more difficult and it seems that everyone is out to get you. But a poor credit report is not a permanent situation. There are some things that you can do to fix it. Many things in fact. Here are 10 of the most important. Learn these things and everything else will fall into place, in time.

1. Take Responsibility.

Only you can repair your credit, and only you can take responsibiliy for doing so. Don't expect anyone else to do it for you. A good credit report will only result from responsible money management.

2. Learn About Money, and Debt.

The ability to handle money, and debt, is a learned skill. If you don't have the skill now you can learn it. However it takes time and effort. If you are not prepared to invest the time and effort to learn the skills then they won't find you.

3. Don't Expect Immediate Results.

Credit repair doesn't happen overnight, despite what the credit repair companies may like to tell you. It is a slow process and can take years. Credit repair is a process which is ultimately designed to convince institutions to trust you with their money, and they take some convincing. Don't expect a little effort to produce an immediate result.

4. Be Prepared For Some Pain.

Remember the old adage, you can't keep doing what you are doing now and expect different results? This applies to your financial habits as much as anything else. Your past financial habits have got you to where you are now and if you keep handling your money as you have been nothing will change. You must change your money habits, and this will hurt. You must be prepared to embrace the fact that now you will do things differently, and accept the painful consquences. The pain comes before the result.

5. Live Within Your Means.

One of the most common causes of poor credit is living beyond your means. Learn that you can only have what you can afford, and that it is more important to live within your means than to try and have what you cannot afford. Don't try and keep up with your friends. If they have a new car and you can't afford it you can't have it. Period. Learn this.

6. Check Your Credit Report.

You are entitled by law to check your credit report each year for free. Take advantage of this. It is not unheard of for incorrect information to appear on your report, but if you don't check it then you don't know it's there. Once you know you can do something about it.

7. Learn About Credit And Credit Repair.

There are many well known steps to credit repair. There are no "secrets" that others know and you can't. There is a well worn path that usually involves most of the above, as well as a whole series of other things that you can do that are too numerous to mention here. If you know what to do you can do it, if you don't you can't. You need to educate yourself about the individual things you can and must do to fix your credit report.

8. Pay Your Bills On Time.

This is one of the most important habits you can learn. Many people assume that there really isn't much harm to paying late. There is. Learn that a bill is important. It needs to be paid in time. If you can't learn to pay your bills on time then companies who are approached for a loan can reasonably expect that you won't pay them on time either, or at all.

9. Address Specific Lifestyle Issues.

Most people who have credit problems will, if they are honest enough with themselves to admit it, have specific lifestyle issues that aggravate the problem. Are you a smoker for example? Smoking is an extremely expensive habit, and many people cannot afford it. Take the hard decisions and give up, it will give you so much more disposable income each week to apply to the more important things, and make you healthier at the same time. Have a look at yourself and find out which are your lifestyle issues that contribute, and what you can do about it.

10. Don't Expect A Credit Repair Company To Do It For You

Credit repair companies cannot do anything you cannot do yourself. Don't expect a credit repair company to wave a magic wand and fix the problem. Getting a credit repair company to work on it for you may take the immediate responsibility away from you but this is illusory.

If you do not fix some of those things listed above there is no point in trying to fix your credit report because even if you manage to do so it won't be long before the same problems reappear. You cannot have a good credit report if you are not credit worthy.


I'm sorry if you have read some things here that you would rather not read. Credit repair isn't easy, or fast, and there are no simple fixes. Credit repair is all about proving to potential creditors that you are worthy of being offered credit. If you aren't worthy of credit you probably won't get it.

So learn about what to do to make yourself credit worthy and prove to them, and yourself, that you are now responsible with money and credit. And if you do that your credit problems should reverse.


Visit Peter's website - Credit Repair Answers where you can find out much more about credit repair, including a book about credit repair called "101 Powerful Ways To Legally Improve Your Credit Score" at: http://www.credit-repair-answers.com/

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Overcoming a Bad Credit History

Establishing new credit

One of the first steps to overcoming bad credit is to work on establishing new credit lines to begin supplying your credit history with positive reports. Often this new credit line can come in the form of a low credit limit credit card, and you should take quite a bit of care to make sure that you stay up to date on your payments for the new card. As you continue to make on-time payments, you'll begin to build up a comfortable amount of positive reports in your credit. It will still take some time until your credit begins to show the effects of this, but every little bit can help in the long run.

Repaying older debts

After you've begun building up some positive credit reports, it's time to start working on getting rid of older debts so that they don't add any additional negative reports to your credit history. Request a copy of your credit report, using it to find any outstanding debts that you might have so that you can contact the debtor directly in an effort to work out a payment plan to get the remaining debt paid off. As you gradually pay off your older debts, you'll find that the lack of new negative reports and the buildup of positive reports will start to show some small improvements in your credit score.

Repairing your credit

Of course, there's more to credit repair than simply paying off your old debts. Negative reports take time to expire, sometimes years... though once they do begin to expire you might begin to notice rapid improvements in your credit score. In order to help the process along, you should also take the time to review your credit report for inaccuracies or errors and report any that you find to the issuing credit bureau. They will investigate any claims that there may be errors on your report, and if they find in your favor or do not receive a response to their inquiries then the questionable entry will simply be removed so that it no longer negatively influences your credit report.


John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.


Find out how you can buy a home, even if your credit is so bad that you can't get a mortgage loan at http://I-can-buy.com now! Read more on this article...

Credit Repair Myths Exposed

by: Jim Eastman

If you’ve done any searching on the Internet for information pertaining to “Credit Repair,” you’ve no doubt found that there’s a great deal available. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of misinformation as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common misstatements you’ll come across and examine them in detail.

MYTH #1

“Credit repair doesn’t work!”

While it’s true that credit repair is more “art” than “science” that’s not to say it doesn’t work. If you undertake to repair your bad credit score, there’s never any guarantee you can restore it to “perfect” status. But sometimes you can, and in almost every case you can at least affect some improvement in your credit score, and often major improvement at that!

First of all, credit reports for the most part are filled with errors. While there seems to be no general agreement, it’s estimated that anywhere from 1/3 (Attorney General of NY) to as many as 90% (Charles Givens Organization) of credit reports contain errors.

Removal of erroneous negative information alone will go a great way toward improving your credit score. But there’s more to the story, which brings us to myth #2.

MYTH #2

“Negative information that can be verified cannot be removed”

This is one of those statements that are “almost” true, but taken literally is misleading. As is often the case, the inclusion (or exclusion) of one seemingly small word makes the difference in a truthful statement, and one that’s not (or not necessarily) accurate.

Let’s take an analogy. Suppose it’s the middle of summer, and your grass has grown unusually high. Let’s also suppose that you own a lawn mower, it’s in good working condition, and has plenty of gasoline in the tank.

Now let’s say that you’re sitting on your couch and say to yourself “My grass will get cut today because I ‘CAN’ go outdoors anytime and cut it.”

So will your grass get cut? Not necessarily! Just because you “can” go outdoors and cut your grass doesn’t mean it’s going to get done. You can repeat this statement to yourself all day long, but your grass isn’t going to get cut until you actually go outside and DO it!

Likewise, because a negative item on your credit report “can” be verified doesn’t mean it will be. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a credit bureau must investigate and verify “within a reasonable period of time” any item in your credit report that you dispute. If the “information is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall promptly delete such information.”

Now in this context “can be verified” clearly means verified by the credit bureau’s investigation of the item, and the “reasonable period of time” has been established (by subsequent rulings) to be 30 days. So if the credit bureau doesn’t complete its investigation of the disputed information within 30 days, or if for some reason the creditor fails to respond and verify the information, by law the disputed data must be deleted from your credit file.

MYTH #3

“Credit repair agencies are all scams”

It’s true that there ARE a good many unscrupulous credit repair agencies. But there are also some corrupt police officers, lawyers, and politicians. Yet we don’t label all members of these professions as “corrupt.”

If you’re looking for help to repair your bad credit you do need to be careful and do your “homework” when selecting an agency. There are many honest credit repair companies that are not “scams.” But beware of any who make promises as to results!

As stated above, it’s not always possible to restore your bad credit history to perfect status, and no one should be making any promises to that effect. Beware of any company that does! And while an agency will in all likelihood be able to improve your credit score, if any agency makes this promise, be sure it’s accompanied by a money back guarantee. Otherwise, look elsewhere. And don’t forget to ask for references and follow up on them.

MYTH #4

“You have to hire a credit repair agency or lawyer to fix your credit”

Going back to the analogy above, you can always hire someone else to cut your grass (or to do just about anything else) for your. And if fixing your own credit seems an intimidating task, you might prefer to hire a credit repair company to do it.

But it’s not really necessary that you do. First of all, credit repair agencies aren’t cheap. You can expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 or more. Plus, you’ll be paying a high fee for something you can just as well do for yourself, which brings us to myth #5.

MYTH #5

“It’s too difficult or complicated to fix your own credit”

A credit repair company isn’t going to do anything for you that you can’t do for yourself! Credit repair isn’t rocket science. It involves writing letters to credit bureaus and to creditors. If you’re able to write a letter, put a stamp on it and mail it, you’re able to repair your own credit.

“Given the proper knowledge, you can fix your own credit”

This statement IS true! You‘re entirely able to repair your own credit, given the proper knowledge. And given the proper knowledge, you can fix your own car, repair your own plumbing, or for that matter perform brain surgery.

While fixing your own credit is relatively simple and straightforward, you do have to know how to go about it. Essentially it involves getting a copy of your credit report and writing letters to the 3 major credit bureaus disputing negative information in your file.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. In fact even some of the high priced credit repair agencies get it wrong, which brings us to myth #6.

MYTH #6

“You improve your credit score by getting all the negative items on your credit report removed”

It’s possible to get all the negative items on your credit report removed and actually see you credit score go DOWN as a result! The reason? Your credit score depends on a number of factors, one of which is the length of your credit history. In some cases, you’re better off to NOT remove some negative items on your report, especially if they involve a few late payments in the distant past, but show timely payments during recent years.

While the “nuts and bolts” of credit repair is beyond the scope of this report, there are a number of sources of good information online. If you have bad credit, there are 3 major points you should keep in mind:

1. If you have a bad credit history, it can (and probably will) cost you many tens of thousands of dollars in higher loan interest over the years, as you’ll be charged much higher rates than you would be with good credit. If your credit is really bad, you may not be able to get a loan at all!

2. The situation isn’t hopeless! In almost every case you CAN improve your credit score. You can easily do it yourself or find a reputable agency to do it for you. But in any case, GET IT DONE!

3. If you choose to repair your own credit (recommended) there are good books and eBooks available that can walk through the process. Get hold of one and get started NOW!


About The Author

Jim Eastman is the support contact for erasingbadcredit.com and creditrepairbiz.com.



Don't let credit problems keep you from getting a home of your own-- check out our website at I-can-buy.com for free information on how to buy a house when you can't get a mortgage loan. Read more on this article...

The Right Way To Credit Repair

Here is a good article about repairing your credit. To find out how to buy a house when you can't get a home loan, see our site at I-can-buy.com.


If you have a bad credit rating, then you might find that your ability to get financing, loans, and even some jobs is greatly diminished.

Once you have a bad credit rating, it might seem like there's nothing that you can do about it… but you don't have to believe that. It's not as difficult as you might think to get by with a bad credit rating; with a little work and time you can even repair it! Of course, before you do that it's important to realize exactly what a credit rating is.

Every time a lender or other creditor makes a report concerning your payment history to them, this report affects your credit score.

Your credit score is a numerical indication of the positive and negative reports that you've received from creditors and lenders; if the number is high then you have a good credit rating, and if it's low then you have a bad credit rating.

Basic credit repair

Get organized! Make a folder for all your correspondence offline and online. You will have to do some snail mailing but in most cases you can work your repair online.

In the U.S. a 630 rating will qualify you for a mortgage. You can still get credit with a lower score but not at a premium interest rate.

In fact, even a chapter 11 bankruptcy (erases all negative credit) is not as bad as many think. I am not advocating filing for bankruptcy (the laws have changed so you might have to set up a re-payment schedule if your income allows) but for those caught between a rock and hard place, unemployment, medical crisis, divorce...many good reasons for finding yourself unable to pay your bills, filing for bankruptcy is a god-send.

Many times, you will find creditors very eager to extend credit because you don't have any debts! It is the irony of the debt-income picture... if you have a steady income, you will have no problem getting credit cards, auto loans and even a mortgage.

So, don't despair, your situation is not as bad as you think! You will find a way to less worry, more sleep and better relationships.

To begin correcting your credit, the important thing to do is obtain your credit report and study it. Mark all the negative items.

Most unsecured credit, mostly credit cards, can stay on your report for 7 years. If you find any over that, write to the credit bureau and ask them to remove it. They are required by law to research and report back within 30 days.

If they don't, you can threaten them with a letter to the Better Business Bureau or Federal Trade Commission.

Find any other negative items and determine if they are correct. If not, write the bureau and tell them its not your debt.

Even if you aren't sure, ask the credit bureau*s to investigate. Many times, they will not be able to verify the debt because the credit card company, auto loan company or other creditor won't get back them within 30 days (required by Fair Credit Act).

For the contact information on credit bureaus as well as samples of letters to send to them, go to:

http://www.repair-credit-right.com


About The Author

Dan Farrell is the owner of Repair Your Credit...The Right Way and this article on credit repair and others on credit such as:
Credit Bureaus and Addresses
Credit Bureau Letters
Credit Errors And How You Can Correct Them
Credit Card Fraud
Leasing
Credit And Women's Rights

These articles and many others can be found by going to: http://www.repair-credit-right.com.

info@repair-credit-right.com Read more on this article...

Fixing the Problem-- Part 1: Defining the problem.

Before we get you into your own home, first we have to ask, why you are having credit problems? Poor credit is nothing to be ashamed of. It is far more common than you may realize. Often it may not even be your fault, like Gerald and Lisa.

They invested five years and all they money they saved to start a small sign company. Then one summer someone broke into their business office and stole all the computers and expensive sign-making equipment. Unfortunately they did not have any insurance to cover what was stolen, so they had to take out loans to replace the items so they could stay in business. It took them years to recover financially from that, leaving them with bad credit.

On the other hand, like Paul, some people make poor credit decisions. After Paul got his first card, shortly after graduating from college, he suddenly became flooded with offers for more credit, which he promptly took up. He wanted to show everyone that he was a success at his new career as a sales manager, so he filled up all his credit cards. Then he began the juggling game of “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” which only got him deeper in debt. He took out a consolidation loan to pay off all the cards and put the debts in one big payment, but the temptation of all the empty cards was too much for him and he filled them all back up again. He finally had to declare bankruptcy because he was so deep in debt it was beyond what he could ever pay off.

So, take a good look at what is going on in your life. Why do you have credit problems? Are you in debt because of circumstances beyond your control or is it a chronic situation? Are you still getting deeper into debt or are you fixing the problem? There is no point in getting a home of your own if you will just end up losing it.

From the book "Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit-- 12 Ways to Purchase a House When You Can't Get a Home Loan" by Alexis Dey. © 2005 Mohave Publishing. All rights reserved. http://i-can-buy.com Read more on this article...

Fixing the Problem-- Part 2 Solving the problem.

The first step in getting a home is fixing any money problems you may have.

• Get a credit report on yourself and check out what is on it. (To get one go to www.freecreditreport.com).

• If your credit needs repair, start work on it now.

• Do not get into any new debt.

• Live within your means. Make a budget and live by it.

• Cut up (or lock up) the credit cards, if they are a problem for you

• Start saving money. If you have poor credit, it is much easier to buy a home with a down payment, than without.


There are many sources of help available.

For help clearing up credit and getting debt under control, see Consumer Credit Counseling Service at http://www.cccsintl.org. They provide budget counseling, educational programs, debt management assistance and housing counseling. There are also many local branches of this nonprofit organization. There may be one where you live.

Beware of some “for profit” organizations that will help you consolidate debts. Often they are very costly. Why go to them when you can get free reliable help from a respected non-profit organization like Consumer Credit Counseling Service?

Some other places to go online for more credit advice and help:

• The National Foundation for Credit Counseling’s site “Debt Advice.”
http://www.debtadvice.org

• The American Savings Education Council
http://www.asec.org/toolshm.htm

• Making Lemonade - Help for single parents.
http://makinglemonade.com/

• Debtor’s Anonymous - a good resource when thing get out of control.
http://www.debtorsanonymous.org/


From the book "Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit-- 12 Ways to Purchase a House When You Can't Get a Home Loan" by Alexis Dey. ©2005 Mohave Publishing. All right reserved. http://i-can-buy.com Read more on this article...

Fixing the Problem-- Part 3: Warning— Watch out for Scams!

If you are trying to get a real estate loan, consolidation loan or fix your credit, beware of advance-fee loan scams. They prey on people who need money and credit by guaranteeing you will get a loan or credit, but you must pay before you apply.

According to the FTC (United States Federal Trade Commission):

“…if someone guarantees or suggests that there is a strong chance they can get or arrange a loan or other form of credit for you, it's against the law to ask you to pay - or accept payment - for their service until you get your loan or credit.

Here are some points to keep in mind before you respond to ads that promise easy credit, regardless of your credit history:

• Legitimate lenders never "guarantee" or say that you are likely to get a loan or a credit card before you apply, especially if you have bad credit, no credit, or a bankruptcy.

• If you apply for a real estate loan, it is accepted and common practice for lenders to request payment for a credit report or appraisal. However, legitimate lenders never ask you to pay for processing your application.

• Never give your credit card account number, bank account information, or Social Security Number over the telephone or Internet unless you are familiar with the company and know why the information is necessary.

• If you don't have the offer in hand or confirmed in writing and you are asked to pay, don't do it. It's fraud and it's against the law.”


For more information see The Truth About Advance-Fee Loan Scams on the FTC website at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/loans.htm.




From the book "Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit-- 12 Ways to Purchase a House When You Can't Get a Home Loan" by Alexis Dey. © 2005 Mohave Publishing. All rights reserved. http://i-can-buy.com Read more on this article...