Take Charge of Your Credit Repair

Having bad credit for most people make them feel like they have not just lost control over their finances but over their entire life as well. Almost all transactions that we encounter on a day to day basis – from signing a housing lease to closing a job application – can be affected by us having a reliable credit history or not.

It’s a good thing there are ways that we can maximize our bad credit repair efforts without having to feel victimized constantly by the mistakes that we made before.

If you have items on our credit reports that you don’t agree with, if you can explain yourself on your reports and write, then by all means do so. You have a legal right to write and voice out your side. This means that you can file a short statement to be sent on all credit bureaus. This statement will then show up on your credit reports. Don’t delve into foolish alibis or excuses when you make your statement. Be sure that you focus on one key point: The problem has now been fixed.

Acquire a secured credit card. A secured credit card is an account that can only be used when you have some sort of security deposit with a bank. This requires you to come up with this security deposit for the bank to hold on to should you default on your payments. Although it basically works like a prepaid credit card, it works and counts on your credit report exactly the same.

Dispute all erroneous items or entries that you didn’t create. The Fair Credit Reporting Act encourages all people to fight for their rights and not be afraid. Not just you, but your creditors as well are under obligations to follow the law. They are given a limited amount of time to prove your dispute wrong. In a recent study done by independent companies, around 79% of all credit reports have error on them.

Your statute of limitations should have a timeline. Creditors from all states have a limited amount of time to collect debt and it’s ticking shorter every day that goes by that the debt is unpaid. You need to find out what yours is for each of your debts. Inquire also of any claimed debt owned just in case there is one. You should know when it might be better to stay under the radar first for a set time period so you can just wait it out and remove the negative mark from your credit report when time runs out.
Contact your creditors and negotiate a new rate. Try to personally work with your creditors and make good on all your debts owed to them. This may sound stressful and yes it can be but it can be of significant help. Banks, lenders, credit card companies and even third party collections understand that getting something is better than not getting anything at all. A little downside of this however is that when you and your creditor come up with an agreement, the statute of limitations begins again.

Handle your bad credit repair on your own. Stay clear and away of debt settlement companies that claim their specialties can get you out of your mess in no time. They claim that they can clear your credit report even with their fees and risky suggestions.