Category Archives: DIY Credit Repair

Do It Yourself Credit Repair

How do you correct bad credit scores? It doesn’t help to panic. You just need to work to fix the problem. You can either hire a credit cleanup expert or you can do it yourself.

How can you clean up your credit and get a better credit score? First, get a copy of your credit report. Read it to find anything that is incorrect. If there are errors, send a letter to the credit agency with evidence that it’s incorrect. Often, they will make the necessary changes your credit report will get better.

If nothing is wrong with the report but you have a problem paying your creditors, call them and try to make arrangements. They will often cooperate with you, because they would rather get something each month rather than nothing.
They know that even if they take the matter to court and win, they still may not be able to collect on the judgment.

Make sure that any agreement you make with them is in writing, so you have evidence of the agreement, in case there are any problems in the future. Then, just make sure you keep your part of the agreement.

One good place to start improvement is to create a budget in order to save more money to pay what you agreed to. You will have to cut your expenses and not eat out as much. Your income should be used just for essentials like bills, gas and groceries.

Either stop using your credit card or use it to pay needed expenses and pay it off at the end of the month to avoid interest. Otherwise, pay with cash. If you have to use your credit card, pay off recent expenses at the end of the month, and pay down previous amounts owed, so the money you already owe goes down.

If you have more than 4 credit cards, consider cutting them down to only two. The ones you consider cutting out are the ones that have high interest rates and that are less than 6 months old.

While you are paying off your debt, it’s a good idea to get a secured credit card to build your credit history. This type of card is differnt because you put funds in the bank in advance, and the money is just deducted every time you pay with the card.

Banks won’t give you a loan, if you need cash, so you might join a credit union if you need help.

If you stick to it and work at it, you should get a good credit rating in a few months or years. Remember, your payment history has the biggest impact on your credit score.

Credit repair, which is paying what you owe gradually, is better than filing for bankruptcy, because a bankruptcy will be on your credit report for 10 years. Why ruin your credit for 10 years, when you can just work to change it now. You just need will power and guts to face your credit problem head on.

Remember, you put yourself in this situation and it’s not that hard to dig yourself out.

Credit Repair On Your Own

You can manage to do your own credit repair. All that Do It Yourself Credit Repair requires is the proper knowledge of how to repair credit. Getting that information to know how to do it is the key. There is lots of information on the internet on how to do it, and of course books in the library. The more you learn about credit repair and financial management, the easier it will be for you to repair your credit and stabilize your credit life.

First, you need to get all your credit reports and study them. You can get a Free Credit Report from all 3 agencies from www.AnnualCreditReport.com or you can pay to get a 3-in-1 Report with all 3 agencies’ report side by side for easier comparison. After studying the credit reports, write to the 3 Credit Bureaus to correct whatever entries that you think are questionable or incorrect, and give evidence wherever possible.

Right at the start, you can correct and clarify entries on your reports, such as dates, credit limits, and the actual amount owed. When you find any inconsistencies, write a letter to the credit bureaus to show that the entries in your report are wrong. The bureau will usually inform the creditor and ask the creditor to either correct the information or confirm its correctness.

When you analyze your credit report, especially look at the last 12 months. Most of your credit score is calculated from the last 12 months in your credit history. The better you have been at making on-time payments, the better your credit score. Try not to default on any account – always make your payment on time or early. If you miss a payment, make a doable payment plan, but even one missed payment will lower your credit score some. If you have any accounts that were given to a collection agency, you can either dispute the debt, or try to work to pay it off. You might want to get touch with the original creditor instead of just dealing with the collection company to make sure that your payment records are straight.

After you get the credit reports and have worked to correct any errors, you can then proceed to other ways to repair your credit. Your credit score is key to getting a new loan, getting a good interest rate on a mortgage, finding an apartment, getting a good job, and many other aspects of your life. Even some simple purchases can be affected by your credit status.

Your credit rating affects your life in many ways. Your credit score can determine whether you can get a low interest rates and a longer term to pay it off. Even basic utilities, landlords, and employers now look at your credit rating.

To repair your credit score, make sure that you pay your bills on time or even early. Loans and credit card payments are the most important. Creditors examine closely how well you pay off other creditors, so make sure that you don’t miss even one payment, and pay early if possible. Even one missed payment can lower your credit rating.

If you are diligent, you can repair your own credit, even without a credit counselor.

How to Write a Credit Repair Dispute Letter

A Credit Score of 700 or above is considered good credit. If your credit score is below 700, or especially if it is below 600, you should work to repair your credit, because otherwise, you will pay more when you get a loan or buy things on credit. If you want to raise your credit score, you need to learn how to write a credit repair dispute letter.

Before you can write your that letter, though, you first have to get a copy of your credit report from one or all of the three credit agencies: Equifax, Experian or Trans-Union. You can get Free Credit Reports from all 3 Agencies from www.AnnualCreditReport.com or you can pay for a 3-in-1 report that shows results from all 3 agencies side-by-side on one report/

After you get your reports, review them carefully and check for errors. Write a letter to each of the Credit Bureaus, stating what is wrong and why, and include any evidence you have.

Write one letter to each bureau for each creditor that you find an error for. Don’t lump more than one creditor into one letter. Dispute each claim individually, so the credit bureau won’t think you’re faking it. After you send a letter, wait a couple of days to send a letter to that bureau for a different creditor, but you don’t have to wait for a reply before you send the next letter. Just separate them so each claim is handled separately and delicately, so the bureau can individually investigate each matter.

Then, give the credit agency some time to contact the original creditor and then either correct the mistake or tell you that the creditor doesn’t think there is an error. The credit bureau will conduct a investigation before they send you a reply. To facilitate their investigation, always explain what’s wrong and send evidence, if possible, when you write your dispute letter.

Oddly enough, hand-written letters may look better to them than typed letters.

You’ll often get better results if you use strong words like erroneous, outdated, misleading or unverifiable. You actually don’t have to explain in detail why you are complaining because the evidence and their own investigation will show the error.

If you’ve never written a dispute letter before, you can search for some samples, then you can change the name, the date and the details to fit your situation.

Just mail your credit dispute letter by the postal service and just wait. Usually, it takes just a few weeks for the credit bureau to evaluate your situation. If their investigation shows you’re right, you’ll get a new credit report in about 2 to 4 weeks, and your credit score should be better.

In 1970, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by the FTC was put into law to allow people to dispute wrong data on their credit report. If you think the report is reporting wrong information, don’t just accept it but force the bureau to change the erroneous information.

Now that you understand more about how to write a credit repair dispute letter, go and get copies of your credit reports and then review them and correct them if they are wrong, so you can start to improve your credit rating.