Credit Report Self Help Repair

Poor credit doesn’t have to haunt you for the rest of your life. There are plenty of things you can do to raise your Fico score. There is nothing a ‘credit clinic’ can do for you that you can’t do for yourself at absolutely zero cost!

Step 1 – Pull Your Free Annual 3-in-1 Credit Report
You should start with your credit report from all 3 major credit bureaus. They contain all the information about your current credit situation, and therefore hold the answers to your credit problems.

If you haven’t already pulled you credit reports, pull all three of them from the government-regulated Annual Credit Report Service. Along with your credit reports you will receive an explanation about the things that negatively affects your credit. This should give you an idea of what needs fixin’.

Step 2 – Check Your Reports
You need to check your report thoroughly for errors that may be negatively affecting it. In particular, pay attention to the following:

• Are there any late payments, defaults, bankruptcies, liens or judgments against you?
• Are these negatives reported correctly? Are they all yours? Are the dates and sums correct? Are some of them INCORRECTLY reported as late? Do some of them older than 7 years?
• What is your overall utilization? Are all the sums on all accounts reported correctly?
• Do you recognize all the inquiries as legitimate ones (originated by your search for credit)?

Step 3 – Analyze Your Report and Zero-in on the Problem
Even if the truth is ugly, the first step in fixing bad credit is to know exactly what you’re up against. There may be several negative items on your credit report, but not all of them have the same adverse effect. Some may have a lesser effect, while others should get your full attention.

Start with the explanation that came with your credit reports. This document almost always defines very clearly the culprit. Your Fico score may be pinned down because of:

• Negative items such as bankruptcy, foreclosures, repossessions, loan defaults, charge offs, court judgments, collections, past due payments, late payments, credit rejections and credit inquiries ((listed according to severity in descending order).
• High utilization (above 35%)
• Too much credit – how many open accounts that you may have.

Step 4 – Fixing the Problems
Start fixing the problem according to how much they weight down your score. For example, there is no point disputing an unauthorized credit inquiry if your credit cards are all maxed out etc.

Here is a list of potential negative items that may be the cause for your low score, listed according to severity. Part 2 of the credit report self help repair will show you how to deal with each one of them.

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
• Repossession
• Loan Default
• Charge Off
• High Credit Utilization (above 80%)
• Court Judgment
• Collection
• Past Due Payment
• Late Payment
• High Credit Utilization (above 35%)
• Credit Rejection
• Credit Inquiry

Continue to Credit Report Self Help Repair Part 2 for more information about collection accounts, pay-for-delete agreements, good-will letters, ‘fast credit repair’ and more!