How to Repair Bad Credit and Fix Credit Score

Living with bad credit is tough. Bad credit history and low credit score makes many things difficult, impossible, or more expensive. You may find it impossible to get a loan, credit card or even rent a home with bad credit, and even if you do – your terms won’t be favorable. Even things like your car insurance get more expensive with poor credit.

The good news is that bad credit doesn’t have to haunt you for the rest of your life. There’s a lot you can do to repair credit history, and raising credit score is easier than what you may think.

But before heading to a ‘credit clinic’ and paying hundreds of dollars, you should know that there is nothing they can do for you that you can’t do for yourself, for little or no cost at all!

This doesn’t mean that there are instant solutions. Credit restoration is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick way to fix credit score. In fact, out of all of the ways to repair bad credit, quick-fix efforts are the most likely to backfire.

The specific steps to repair credit history depend on what’s on your credit report. Before you can start repairing your credit, first you need to order your free annual credit report. When you order your credit report, you should also receive an explanation of the things that negatively effect your credit.

You need to carefully review and asses that information to determine the required actions to repair your credit.

Here are the main topics on how to repair bad credit:

How to improve Credit Score / Credit Repair Self Help (Part 1) – A detailed guide for analyzing your credit report, determining the main factors that impact your credit score and deciding on a course of action.

How to improve Credit Score / Credit Repair Self Help (Part 2) – A detailed guide for repairing your credit situation, with detailed explanation on how to remove bad information from your credit report.
   
Keeping a Good Credit Score – Tips to Improve Credit Score with specific Do’s and Don’ts to keep it in good shape on the long run.

How Long Do Negative Items Stay on My Credit Report – Detailed information explaining the lifespan of all the negative items, so you can make informed decisions when you repair your credit report.

Does Debt Erased After 7 Years? –  A question I get too often.  Unfortunately, the answer is no. Here’s why.

Fast Credit Report Repair – A detailed discussion on how to detect credit repair scams and what you need to know before heading to a ‘Credit Clinic’.

Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) – An overview and summary of your rights under the CROA that was put in place to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices by organizations who claim to repair credit.

Credit Repair Debt Management Services – Tips, reviews and links that can help you chose trustworthy legal credit repair services.

Why Pay Off Debts if it’s NOT going to increase your credit score, nor remove negative information off your credit report? Here’s why you SHOULD pay them off!

How to Pay Off Debt – An important discussion on dealing with debt collectors, including tips for paying off collection debts the right way.

Pay for Delete Agreement – Your best (and only) option to remove a collection account from your credit report before it ages off after 7-1/2 years.

Sample Pay for Delete Letter – You can send this sample letter to the collection agencies as part of a pay-for-delete agreement negotiation.

Goodwill Letters – If you’re trying to repair your bad credit history, goodwill letters may come handy when all other options have failed.

Sample Goodwill Letter – You can use this sample letter to request to your creditor, for his understanding and goodwill in removing a negative item from your credit report.

Debt Validation / Debt Verification – Debt validation (or Debt Verification) refers to a consumer’s rights to challenge/dispute a debt, and to require that a debt collector verify the amount and validity of the debt.

Sample Debt Validation Letter – You can use this sample debt validation letter to send to a debt collector, asking him to validate the debt information with the original creditor and mail you the verification, including the original creditor’s name and address.