Credit Repair: Do It Yourself In 4 Easy Steps

Posted on 22. Jul, 2009 by Admin in Credit Cards

Let no one fool you into believing that you need to get the services of a credit repair company for credit repair. Do it yourself. Everything a credit repair company can do for you, you can do yourself. In fact, you are better off doing it yourself because only then can you pay attention to minute details. Most credit repair companies have hundreds of clients. So there is no way they can do it the way you would for the amount they charge. Let me show you how to repair your credit yourself. So roll up your sleeves and let’s begin.

Order Your Credit Reports

Begin by ordering your credit report from the top three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Since creditors do not need to report to all three, expect to find minor differences in the reports. You do not have to pay to get your credit report. Once a year, you can order your credit report free through annualcreditreport.com

Search for Errors

The credit reporting system is not perfect, so expect to find errors. In fact, if you find no errors, then you may not be looking properly.

Watch out for incomplete and outdated information, incorrect account histories, outstanding balances on loans that you have completed paying, and charge-offs and late payments that aren’t yours. When you spot such errors, make sure to contact the credit bureaus instantly and dispute the errors. Doing this will significantly boost your credit score.

When disputing an item, do not forget to document everything. Keep record of all forms and letters that you send to the credit bureaus. Take note of the dates you send out every document. The credit bureaus have the responsibility to investigate relevant disputes within a period of 30 days. If an item is not verified by the creditor, it is removed.

Prioritize Your Bills; Pay Them Off

When you are down financially, making the wise decision as to what bill to pay off first is very important. Otherwise, you pay off less important bills while important bills like utilities will suffer.

Build a list of preference. Food and medical expenses and other family necessities should come first. This should be closely followed by paying off secured debts like mortgage payment. Then pay utilities, car loan and child support. Credit card debts and other unsecured debts should carry a low priority. While unpaid unsecured debts could still hurt your credit score, you have not pledged any collateral for them. You not only prevent a loss of property when you pay off secured debts first, you also boost your credit score. This will put you in the right frame of mind to pay off unsecured debts later.

Rebuild Credit By Adding Positive Information

You want your on-time payment to reflect in your credit report. So when securing a loan, ask lenders if they report monthly payment history to a credit reporting agency. Not all lenders do this. Then ask them to report all your on-time payment as this will raise your credit score.

You should make it a point to pay on time, every time. You boost your score faster this way.

In all, don’t waste your hard-earned cash using the services of a credit repair company. If you are serious about credit repair, do it yourself.

What if I told you that you can repair your credit yourself in just 37 days? To learn how to do this, read my 37 Days To Clean Credit ebook review.

Tags: bad credit, boost credit score, credit repair, credit report errors, credit reporting bureau, credit score, do it yourself, fix credit, rebuild credit