Credit Repair
Repairing Credit Scores?
how do you improve a bad credit rating, i was a student and a little reckless with credit, literally ignoring creditors demands, throwing letters away without opening them, and not paying anything at all, now, i am trying hard to clear the debt which i racked up, admittedly a large proportion of this is interest and charges which i wouldnt have had if i paid it in the first place. Now my credit is unbeleivably bad, and i need it improving, as im scared it will affect my chances of getting a mortgage.... ever! i wont lie, it is so bad, i have contemplated leaving the country for a few years!
Public Comments
- ahhh the only way you repair it is paying it back and waiting till your rating has improved!
- The best thing you can do, is make an apointment with the citizens advise bureau, they will go through your debts and help with the creditors, re-payments, and pay-off settlements. etc etc
- Its isnt as bad as you think. You need to put all your mail to your parents house, so you have stability in housing for 3 years, and make sure you do clear your past debts. The house bit is really important - they look at how many addresses you've had, so settle down.
- It is a LONG and drawn out process! It can be done, but expect to spend a few years cleaning it up and getting it back to a respectable level. Understand this. You CAN do this yourself, and you DO NOT need to pay someone to help you or do it for you. The first thing to do is to get a copy of your reports at http://www.annualcreditreport.com This is a government sponsored website, and it is the ONLY place to get your three bureau report TRULY FREE! You can also find some good info at http://howtogooru.com/lifeguard.html There is a technique described in this free book which may help you immediately!
- Get all the statements together. Get a phone number for each lender. Call each and tell them what you just told us. It happens, you are definitely not the first. They don't care how you ended up defaulting, they only want their money back. It's time consuming, but not hard to improve your credit score. During the course of the next six months, make absolutely certain that ALL of your payments are made on time. This will bring improve your credit score. When your credit score starts to come back up, you can call the credit card companies and ask them to reduce your interest rate - in many cases they will do it. (USNews, 9/22/05) This will save you a ton of money in the long run - especially if you have a lot of credit card debt to pay off. If your credit card use has gone beyond your ability to pay and the creditors are excessively contacting you with phone calls and letters, you can reduce that stress by reminding them of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). Lastly, learn to save money so you don't need to use credit. When you use your own money, rather than credit, for purchases, you don't have to pay interest, late fees or annual fees to credit companies who already make enough money. The publication at www.savingsinteractive.com shows you a lot of ways to save money so you can pay off your debt more quickly, as well as save money so you don't need to use credit. There is more information on dealing with credit card companies in the publication, just remember they'd rather you pay off your debt than file bankruptcy so you have a good chance of being able to change your credit rating in less than a year.
- You could hire pros to clean it up for you but it sounds like you have enough initiative to try it yourself with a little help. I got a kit at www.creditrepair101site.com and found success.....maybe you can too.
- Don't be fooled with companies that tell you they can repair bad credit because legally they cannot, the only way it is towards repair is by paying it, the credit rating will remain the same until a considerable amount is paid and after it is cleared it will remain on the bad credit rating list for about 6 years, and leaving the country doesn't help they can get you with your national insurance number.
- It will take years to build up your credit rating . All you can do is carry on paying your debts .But it will stay on your record for 6 years after you have paid it.On the plus side the fact you are making an effort to pay will go in your favour. Don't use any of the firms that promise to clean it up for you. You can get advice from the Experian website for free.
