Has anyone ever repaired their credit from bad/so-so to good? How did you do it? How long did it take?

Answer 1

1. Order all three of your credit reports. Make sure that everything is correct. If you find things that have been paid off file a dispute on line with that credit agency and have it removed. You should also pay down all high interest credit cards or loans.

This can bring your score up right away. Also try Suzan Ornman's myfico.com to order your reports and get your fico score, which is just as important as your credit score.

2 Stay away from credit repair scams. You can raise it on your own. Also creditors tend to look poorly on consolidated debt. So you call your creditors and do the hard work. This way you don't have to pay anyone and you can stay on top of what is going on.

3 Keep older credit, and spread balances around.
It's better to have a long history with a couple of credit cards and low balances than to have one new card maxed out-even if it's paid in full -every month. Instead of closing an old account, call up the company, ask for a low rate, and use the card once in a while. Well-managed old credit is always better than new.

5 Get a credit monitoring system. Consumerinfo.com works good, but it costs you 10 dollars a month. They alert you whenever anything changes on you credit report. (good/ bad)

6. Also, never accept a payoff from a collection agency. Keep paying until the total balance is paid off!!! Creditors look unfavorably on settlements that are less than the amount owed. Plus it dosen't show as satisfied on your report only settled.

7. Pay everything on time and your score will begin to rise. When it does, and it will, I promise. Do not go applying for a bunch on new credit. Too many inquiries on your credit report can also have a negative affect on your score. So be very careful.

You can raise your score 100 or more points in a year. It is possible.

Good Luck!! I am trying to do the same thing myself. :)

Once you have paid the amount due in full, make sure the collection company sends you a letter stated that the debt has been paid in full. YOU MUST NOT FORGET TO DO THIS!!!!! If you do, some other collection company could call you years later claiming they want you to pay the same debt you already paid and you will have no proof to fight it.

Answer 2

I did. I bought my first property in 1999, a condo in Chicago. They pulled my credit and I think I broke their machine, it was pretty bad.
I was not responsible about my bills when I was younger.
I had lots of little stuff. Medical bills, small things and a mistake or two.
I called each creditor and basically worked out a deal. I had I think 3 nonpay medical things from one collection agency. They were cool, they said pay us the money and we will drop it from your report. I drove 40 miles or so to their office and gladly paid them.
When you negotiate, tell them you will pay them IF they totally remove it (poker playing). If they say ok, cool. Some may be sticklers and you pay it and they still leave it on, what can you do, but many will remove it, get it in writing, its no skin off their nose.
If its a bad mark from an actual institution, it may be more difficult, but at least it will show paid.
The process took a couple of months or so. I think I bought the condo 6-9 months later, something like that.
I made enough profit from the condo to buy a new townhome, then moved to Florida and bought a new house. Real estate is a great investment, usually anyway.
Also, if you have little credit, clean it up and apply for dept store credit cards or whatever and pay the bills on time, that will help a lot. Good luck!

Answer 3

I have been doing it for almost 2 years went from 490 to 680 in that time. First thing i did was get a Aspire card even though they have high interest and a annual fee they also report to the 3 credit bureaus every month and that is very good. Then i joined Credit expert which is another company of Experian and started disputing things on that and so I could also monitor if anybody added anything else to my credit which they did. Then a few months later I got a preapproval from Bank of Marin and I got one of those and just used them not totally paying them off monthly but most of it.

First thing you need to do is go to Annualcreditreport.com and run all 3 of your reports and see what is correct and what is wrong and start disputing the incorrect. Get them cleared up and start disputing the ones that are correct eventually they might be taken off someone will slip up. They have for me.

:) If you want some help let me know Jodi_lynn_124 is my messenger

Answer 4

It's not unheard of to raise your scores in a month or less. That probably isn't the norm, but it can happen and has happened for others.

A lot depends on how things are reported on your credit reports. How your disputes go. And how much you much effort you put into it.

Some of the baddies might fall off when you update your personal info.
If there are inaccuracies on your tradelines and you send a blanket dispute in your first go around, you may see some of the baddies fall off.

If you use reports that you purchased from each bureau, they have 30 (plus five for mailing) days to either correct or delete.

If you use the free FACT-ACT reports, they have an extra 15 days to deal with your disputes. Which could be enough time to have the account verified instead of deleted. That is why you should always use your paid reports to dispute from.

Go to the site I've listed and start reading in the newbie forum and then in the credit forum.
Everything on that site is free to read and use, never use a site that requires payment for info.

Answer 5

i have been doing it for the last 3 months and have had success getting stuff removed from my credit report without spending money. i got couples of all my credit reports and disputed everything that was incorrect. whether it was my name, address, or incorrect dollar amounts. that alone removed several trade lines from all my credit reports. after that i applied for some store cards and regular credit cards, so i would have some current positive trade lines. after that i sent letters to the remaining creditors asking them for "validation", proof that i owed them any money. if they cannot show any proof they are required by law to remove the trade line.

and that is how i have been improving my credit reports.

Answer 6

yes, you have to pay off all past debts, then you either need to get a bank loan as a means of credit or buy a car, make sure you pay everything in check or money order, keep all receipts, stay current with all utility , rent , mortgage . shows a pattern , then you get a higher credit score

Answer 7

I've been told to try everywhere to get a credit card. You will eventually find someone to give you one. Buy something small on it and pay it immediately when the bill comes. Keep doing this and it will show your record as paying the entire bill.

Answer 8

you can get some useful info here http://www.researchitforme.com/wesayes/loans scroll down some for the credit repair section

Answer 9

I started with this card.
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-B390yI45fqfQM4zJtZfZcjeuuVAL?p=52

Then, over time my credit score started to increase and it shows in my credit that I am paying my bills on time

Answer 10

read tips on debt/credit and much more on this site