Credit Repair?
Can anyone tell me how I can repair my credit without going through a credit repair service? How long does it usually take for one's credit to be repaired to a decent score? Thanks.
Public Comments
- It can take up to 7 years to fully erase bad credit, but it should be turning around in 3 or 4. Just pay all your bills on time, and when you can get approved get a bank credit card. pay it off every month, and it will being upping your credit score.
- One think a good credit service can do is negotiate with the credit card companies. If you use one, do your research, tho, there are scammers out there. Many years ago, when I was having trouble, I got a letter from the credit company offering to settle for 60% of the debt. I waited til I was back on my feet a year or two later, called them and settled up. Part of the settle was to get them to send a 'paid in full' to the tracking companies. Things drop off your credit history after 7 years, unless the companies keep reporting your debt over and over.
- It's easier than you may think. Here's your checklist: 1) Formerly request a copy of your credit report from the Big 3 (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). You're entitled to these reports - you will not have to pay for them unless you insist on paying for them online. I recommend getting one mailed to you. 2) Review your credit reports and look for discrepencies. 3) Using the form that comes with your credit report, list all questionable negative items as discrepancies. The reporting party will need to validate the debt to the credit reporting agencies, and if they're unable to validate the bad debt, it will be immediately removed from your record. 4) You could end up with a MUCH better score at this point in the checklist!! ...if you need more help, keep going... 5) Bad debt - even once completely paid off - stays on your report for seven years. You might have some things that are close to falling off the report, but if you're still facing another 5 years, make arrangements to pay it off. Do the right thing! Well, good luck!! It's worth the little bit of work it takes!!
- Contact each of the credit reporting agencies, get a copy of the credit report, then go over it carefully. You can dispute anything that you disagree with by calling the reporting agencies, which is all a credit repair agency would do anyway. It costs nothing to dispute, and you can dispute as often as you want. If the creditor does not reply back to the dispute within the timeframe allowed by law, the dispute is decided in your favor. Also, a good resource is... http://debt.123thebest.info/credit_card.html Best of luck to you.
* Some answers may have been provided by Yahoo! Answers.