Credit Repair

How To Repair Your Credit

Repairing your credit takes two things.  First you must want to have good credit.  Then you must take action.  Good credit takes time to build up even if you have no credit, so be in it for the long haul.  There are four steps to credit repair.

1. Get the latest copy of your credit report

To start repairing your credit you need to know what you need to repair. Your credit report will contain all the information you need to know to start repairing your credit.

2. Review your report

Set aside some quiet and peruse through your credit report once you receive it.  It is important to understand the information contained in the report and how it affects your credit. Using different color highlighters or pens to highlight what you need to repair.  Things to look for are:

• Incorrect information, including accounts that aren’t yours, payments that have been incorrectly reported late, etc.
• Past due accounts that are late, charged off, or have been sent to collections
• Past due accounts that creditors are now taking legal action against you
• Maxed out accounts that are over the credit limit.

3. Dispute inaccurate information

You have the right to dispute any information in your credit report that is not correct.  To dispute a charge on your account, see Dispute a Debt.

4. Tackle past due accounts

Creditors determine credit worthiness by payment history.  Past due accounts on your credit report will send a negative message to your creditors and will most likely affect your future credit applications.  It is crucial to take care of these past due accounts immediately.  Your goal should be to have all your past due accounts being reported as “current” or “paid.”  To help you formulate a plan to get these bills paid off see Get Out of Debt and Tactics for Paying Off Bad Debt.