The Right Way To Credit Repair
If you have a bad credit rating, then you might find thatyour ability to get financing, loans, and even some jobs isgreatly diminished.
Once you have a bad credit rating, it might seem likethere's nothing that you can do about it? but you don'thave to believe that. It's not as difficult as you mightthink to get by with a bad credit rating; with a littlework and time you can even repair it! Of course, before youdo that it's important to realize exactly what a creditrating is.
Every time a lender or other creditor makes a reportconcerning your payment history to them, this reportaffects your credit score.
Your credit score is a numerical indication of the positiveand negative reports that you've received from creditorsand lenders; if the number is high then you have a goodcredit rating, and if it's low then you have a bad creditrating.
Basic credit repair
Get organized! Make a folder for all your correspondenceoffline and online. You will have to do some snail mailing but in most cases you can work your repair online.
In the U.S. a 630 rating will qualify you for a mortgage.You can still get credit with a lower score but not at apremium interest rate.
In fact, even a chapter 11 bankruptcy (erases all negative credit)is not as bad as many think. I am not advocating filing for bankruptcy (the laws have changed so you might have to set up a re-payment schedule if your income allows) but forthose caught between a rock and hard place, unemployment,medical crisis, divorce...many good reasons for finding yourselfunable to pay your bills, filing for bankruptcy is a god-send.
Many times, you will find creditors very eager to extend credit becauseyou don't have any debts! It is the irony of the debt-income picture...if you have a steady income, you will have no problem getting creditcards, auto loans and even a mortgage.
So, don't despair, your situation is not as bad as you think! You willfind a way to less worry, more sleep and better relationships.
To begin correcting your credit, the important thing to do is obtain your credit report and study it. Mark all the negative items.
Most unsecured credit, mostly credit cards, can stay onyour report for 7 years. If you find any over that, writeto the credit bureau and ask them to remove it. They arerequired by law to research and report back within 30 days.
If they don't, you can threaten them with a letter to theBetter Business Bureau or Federal Trade Commission.
Find any other negative items and determine if they arecorrect. If not, write the bureau and tell them its notyour debt.
Even if you aren't sure, ask the credit bureaus toinvestigate. Many times, they will not be able to verifythe debt because the credit card company, auto loan company,or other creditor won't get back them within 30 days(required by Fair Credit Act).
For the contact information on credit bureaus as well assamples of letters to send to them, go to:
http://www.repair-credit-right.com
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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: