Repair your Credit

It is not as hard as you might think to repair your credit. It is often looked at as something that is complicated and best left to professionals, but the truth is that the best person to repair your credit is you. Credit repair companies are mostly just looking to make a quick buck off of people who are desperately deep in debt. These companies boast that they can clear your credit record for just the low fee of [insert ridiculously high fee here].

The truth is that using credit repair companies to repair your credit can actually create a huge black mark on your credit history. In some states, going through one of these companies is tantamount to declaring Chapter seven bankruptcy and most financial institutions regard them warily. Besides, why spend a bunch of money to hire someone to repair your credit when you can repair your credit by yourself-and all it will cost you is some postage.

The first step you need to take if you want to repair your credit is to get a current copy of your credit report. This is imperative because not only will it tell you how much you owe and who you owe it to, but chances are that your credit report has mistakes in it. The credit reporting agencies are notorious for not checking into the validity of claims made against your credit by third parties and there are often many mistakes on a person's credit report. They are, however, required to investigate each challenge a person makes to his or her own credit rating and if the debt or account cannot be validated, then the account must be removed or amended appropriately.

The next step you will need to take if you want to repair your credit is to contact each of your debtors and request that they validate your debt. Send them a letter via certified mail (with a signature confirmation of delivery) that asks them to send you proof that your account with them is valid and that you owe what they say you owe. The company has thirty days from the day of delivery to send you proof of your debt to them. If they do not send sufficient proof or they fail to respond, send a copy of your validation request along with a copy of the signed delivery confirmation receipt to each credit reporting agency. The law requires that the credit reporting agencies delete any account information that cannot be validated.

Once you have valid proof of your debts, how much you owe and who you owe it to, you must begin to pay it off. Work out payment plans with your debtors, or if you can, pay off the account entirely. From this moment on, you must pay all of your bills on time. Paying your bills on time and in the correct amounts is the best way to repair your credit. Not paying them is what messed up your credit in the first place.

Credit in Minutes Tip #1

Stay on top of your credit report. Most credit reports contain errors. Make sure you check your credit report every year (you get one free credit report every twelve months) and if there are errors make sure to challenge them with the reporting credit agency. Credit agencies are required to investigate each and every challenge that gets reported.

Credit in Minutes Tip #2

Just because you qualify for all of those credit cards does not mean you should get them. A person with too many credit cards looks sketchy in the eyes of a potential creditor. Think of it this way: if a person is financially stable does he or she need ten different credit cards? Wouldn’t just one or two suffice?

Credit in Minutes Tip #3

The best way to raise your credit score is to make all of your payments on time. It sounds too simple to be true, but that’s all there really is to it. Staying out of debt and/or making all of your debt payments on time will keep your score up where it should be.