Many people with bad credit despair about ever being able to fix their credit. Luckily, credit restoration is possible for everybody. It takes a little time, a little hard work and lots of paperwork. This credit restoration guide is designed to fix your bad credit. If you follow the steps here, you can really improve your credit score – sometimes in as little as 90 days. These are the same techniques used by credit restoration services and attorneys, but this is won’t cost you anything but some postage.
Step 1. Stop applying for new credit
Each time you apply for credit and get turned down, it shows up on your credit report as an failed inquiry. This means it’s a black mark showing you got denied. So for now, you are going to go on a freeze. No more credit card applications. These inquiries stay on your report for an entire year.
Step 2: Get a current copy of your credit report.
There are currently three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. You will need to get a copy of your report from each one of the. Some of your creditors may only report to one agency. Other creditors will report to all three. You can’t take the risk, so pull your reports from all three.
You are entitled to one free credit report every year. There are a lot of web sites out there designed to muddy up this fact. The official site is annualcreditreport.com. Stay away from all the others. Once you log in and fill out the appropriate forms you should receive immediate access to all three credit reports. I suggest printing out at least 2 copies. Keep one clean and use the other one to mark up. You’ll be referring to these documents countless times during your credit restoration journey.
Step 3: Check all your Personal Information for Accuracy
Credit reports often contain a lot of inaccurate information. Start with the personal information. Make sure all your addresses are valid. Make sure there aren’t any strange companies showing up on your employment history. Every single piece of information can affect your credit score. So, go over your credit report with a fine toothed comb.
Step 4: Mark the Derogatory Information
Go through your credit report an make note of all the derogatory information. At this point we don’t care whether it is valid or true. Make a list of all the names and account numbers for every derogatory piece of information. This is going to be your plan of attack.
Step 5: Write Letters to the Credit Reporting Agencies
A huge part of credit restoration involves writing letters. You’re going to write a letter for every derogatory item and send them to each of the credit reporting agencies. Use this as a basic framework for your letter: First, let them know that you have reviewed your profile and that you believe that there are errors on your report. Then list out the personal information that is in error and provide the correct information. Then, list the derogatory items using the name and account number. Ask that the agency investigate these items and provide you with details. Also state that the items are highly injurious to you. Close the letter with a statement that says these discrepancies do not agree with your records and that they should be removed. And one more very important step: Request an newly updated copy of your credit report detailing any changes made.
Step 6: Send your letters via Registered Mail
Keep a copy of your correspondence along with the mail registration details in your records. You want to keep a copy of everything.
You should receive a copy of your updated credit report in 45 days or less. Check the new version against your original copies and hopefully some of the errors have been corrected. However, you’ll immediately realize that your journey to credit restoration has just begun. It’s time to once again go to your keyboard and get ready for the second wave.