The Right Way To Credit Repair

If you have a bad credit rating, then you might find that\ryour ability to get financing, loans, and even some jobs is\rgreatly diminished.

Once you have a bad credit rating, it might seem like\rthere's nothing that you can do about it… but you don't\rhave to believe that. It's not as difficult as you might\rthink to get by with a bad credit rating; with a little\rwork and time you can even repair it! Of course, before you\rdo that it's important to realize exactly what a credit\rrating is.

Every time a lender or other creditor makes a report\rconcerning your payment history to them, this report\raffects your credit score.

Your credit score is a numerical indication of the positive\rand negative reports that you've received from creditors\rand lenders; if the number is high then you have a good\rcredit rating, and if it's low then you have a bad credit\rrating.

Basic credit repair

Get organized! Make a folder for all your correspondence\roffline and online. You will have to do some snail mailing \rbut in most cases you can work your repair online.

In the U.S. a 630 rating will qualify you for a mortgage.\rYou can still get credit with a lower score but not at a\rpremium interest rate.

In fact, even a chapter 11 bankruptcy (erases all negative credit)\ris not as bad as many think. I am not advocating filing for \rbankruptcy (the laws have changed so you might have to \rset up a re-payment schedule if your income allows) but for\rthose caught between a rock and hard place, unemployment,\rmedical crisis, divorce...many good reasons for finding yourself\runable to pay your bills, filing for bankruptcy is a god-send.

Many times, you will find creditors very eager to extend credit because\ryou don't have any debts! It is the irony of the debt-income picture...\rif you have a steady income, you will have no problem getting credit\rcards, auto loans and even a mortgage.

So, don't despair, your situation is not as bad as you think! You will\rfind a way to less worry, more sleep and better relationships.

To begin correcting your credit, the important thing to do is obtain \ryour credit report and study it. Mark all the negative items.

Most unsecured credit, mostly credit cards, can stay on\ryour report for 7 years. If you find any over that, write\rto the credit bureau and ask them to remove it. They are\rrequired by law to research and report back within 30 days.

If they don't, you can threaten them with a letter to the\rBetter Business Bureau or Federal Trade Commission.

Find any other negative items and determine if they are\rcorrect. If not, write the bureau and tell them its not\ryour debt.

Even if you aren't sure, ask the credit bureaus to\rinvestigate. Many times, they will not be able to verify\rthe debt because the credit card company, auto loan company,\ror other creditor won't get back them within 30 days\r(required by Fair Credit Act).

For the contact information on credit bureaus as well as\rsamples of letters to send to them, go to:

http://www.repair-credit-right.com

You may freely reprint this article provided the following\rauthor's biography (including the live URL link) remains\rintact:

Dan Farrell is the owner of Repair Your Credit...The Right Way and this article on credit repair and others on credit can be found by going to:

Credit Repair