How do I clear up my credit?
597588
Paying in full would be best...\n\nBut which ever way you decide..remember this.\n\nYou are trying to clean your credit history.  The only way you can get this negative item removed is for the creditor to do it.  \n\nHaving him put "paid" on your account does NOT remove negative information about delinquency or late payments.  It must show "paid in full, as agreed" or better yet have it removed entirely.\n\nBut once the creditor has your money, it's going to be very difficult to get him to cooperate with you in cleaning your credit.  Once he has your money you have lost all leverage to negotiate.\n\nTherefore, when you call to negotiate a payment plan, demand IN WRITING that they remove the negative information from your report before you pay them a dime!\n\nOtherwise, you will end up with bad credit, plus you will be broke.
957825
I would check you credit report at annualcreditreport.com it free and it could save you a big head ache down the road
913256
First... request a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus.  Make sure everything on there is accurate and dispute anything that isnt.  \n\nAfter that, you need to close any credit card accounts that you haven't used in awhile.  Having too many open accounts, even if they have a zero balance, still looks bad.  \n\nOnce that's all done... the best way to increase your credit is to make payments on time, keep balances low, and payoff anything you can.  If you don't have any debt, you can increase your credit rating by getting some type of loan (car, credit card, personal loan) and making the payments on time.  Paying such things off early helps a lot too.  Don't let yourself miss even one payment, as that will negatively affect your rating.  \n\nOther than that... if there's bad stuff on there, it's going to be there for the next seven years.  Until it's all gone, your score still won't be great.  \n\nI will tell you that it's worth it though... I had bad credit (thanks to divorcing my lousy ex) for most of my adult life... and finally in the last few years, it's become really good (since I'm no longer paying for HIS mistakes).  Sure makes life a lot easier!
465727
First, you need to obtain all three of your credit reports from Equifax, Ecperian, and Trans Union. There is a fourth, somewhat smaller bureau called Innovis (Minneapolis, Minnesota). It would do good to ask for a report from them as well. Set a goal as to the time frame you want to "clear" your credit. Judging from your credit reports, assess which negative reports will be "falling off"(7-10 years, depending on the case), and which ones you need to pay. Before you pay anything, try to do what is called a "debt validation", . This is when you can write letters to creditors requesting proof of what you owe. If they can prove you owe it, then write certified letters to the company(s), and negotiate how much you will actually pay. If not, then request via certified mail that they remove negative listings from your credit report. DO NOT CALL THEM, and if they call you, simply say "no comment", and hang up the phone. MAKE SURE you get any promises in writing, including the promise that they will promptly report to all 3 credit bureaus that you have satisfied your debts. Budget yourself. Save whatever you can, and pay off debt in lump sums. This is a long process, so be patient. It is well worth your time. I have said this time and time again, but this is a great website. It helped me greatly when I was getting my credit together: www.creditinfocenter.com    This site also has some templates for the letter I was just talking about. This stuff works, and you will be using the same steps all these debt consolidation companies use, and get results. The only difference is is that you will be saving yourself some money.
985749
it should be listed on your credit report\n\nwww.equifax.com
480309
Your local consumer credit counseling agency may be able to offer advice and possibly assistance.  \n\nI would try the one that is actually called CCCS rather than one that may advertise as credit counseling.  CCCS is non-profit and offers free advice.
358784
Yes, there are ways to remove some of the bad entries in your report.  If you want to go to battle, read the links I've supplied below.\n\nDo not waste a dime going to any of those credit repair places.  They will charge you a lot of money to do the exact same things you can do yourself, and they will be just as successfull.  \n\nHere is a real quick rundown on what to do....\n\nGet your credit report (for free) from www.annualcreditreports.com.  Study them carefully for any errors and negative reports.\n\nKeep a carefull log of any calls you make, who you talked to, and any letters you write.  Be sure they are sent by certified mail.\n\nExamine your report for any debts that have run over the Statute of Limitations.  Also carefully note the reporting dates of each item.  According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, they can NOT be listed if they are older the 7 years BEGINNING ON THE DATE OF DEFAULT!  Creditors and collection agencies are good at moving up this date, or even reinserting it after it has expired.  Verify this date with your own records if you have them.\n\nSend a letter to the credit reporting agency (CRA) and protest any negative information.  The CRA will then "verify" the debt with the creditors.  That means that all the creditor has to do is respond back within 30 days and say the report is accurate.  They don't have to prove anything or supply any paperwork.  If they don't respond within 30 days, the CRA must REMOVE the entry.  This works great with some older debts.\n\nIf the debt gets "verified" (you get a letter from the CRA), then write the creditor a "Demand for Validationn" letter.  (See the link below).  Validation mean they must supply you with contracts, bills, receipts, and everything that was used to calculate your debt.  This,again, is in accordance to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  \n\nIf they send you this information, and it is complete and accurate, you have hit a brick wall and there is no good way to remove the entry, unless you can sweet talk the creditor into removing it on their own.  Not likely.\n\nIf you do not hear from them in 30 days, send a copy of your validation letter, plus another demand to the CRA to remove the entry due to lack of validation.  \n\nIf they still will not remove, you have grounds to sue both parties in court.  \n\nAnd yes, Mr. Collection Agent, this is a fact. I'm doing that very same thing right now.  Funny how responsive creditos are they THEY are the ones getting sued.\n\nYou are about to go to war.  Knowledge of the law is your only weapon.  Don't fight these guys unarmed!
660091
Contact the Credit Counselling Service (or something along those lines).  Free charity, great at helping to deal with debt.  As far as I know you can ask but it is unlikely they will reduce the amount - they do however cancel interest!  Good luck.  Also CCJs only last for 7 yrs on your credit rating.
59722
How long have you got?\n\nYou can't wipe out bad credit - no matter what the scam artist will tell you.\n\nYou get rid of your bad credit by paying all of your bills on time from now on.\n\nYou pay off all of your existing bills.\n\nYou buy only what you can afford from now on. And that means a lot of the time you don't buy stuff you want until you've got the cash in your pocket - and even then you might not buy it because you'll use that cash to pay off your bills from before.\n\nYou may be able to negotiate payment plans with some of your creditors, or go to a legitimate credit counselling agency (call you state consumer protection folks for advice) and they may be able to help - but maybe not.\n\nAvoid the scam artists that say they can get you out of debt, now! or the ones who try to get you to establish some kind of a new identity - they're just going to get you in trouble worse than you're in now.\n\nIt sucks. You can't do it overnight. And you're going to be paying inflated interest rates for a long time. Forget those 0% credit offers - you probably won't qualify for the next few years.\n\nBut you'll be better off in the long run. And you'll be a lot richer in the long run, too. How do you think rich folks get that way? They manage their money, they pay their bills, they invest in boring but consistent and safe stuff - like index mutual funds. They put all they can into things like 401k's at work.\n\nYou'll get their, but its going to take patience and slogging and not having a bunch of stuff you want. At least right now. But you can make it, if you're willing to make the sacrifice.\n\nReality bites. But you can learn to deal with it.\n\nGood luck
1101662
Don't miss payments on any loan, credit card or collection agency.  Review your credit report once a year or more and check to make sure everything on there is YOURS.  \nDon't neglect your bills....your credit will go down from there!
669249
There are ways to get rid of some listings, but not all.  \n\n\n-Get copies of your credit report at\nwww.annualcreditreport.com\n\n-Examine your report very carefully for errors.  Incorrect balances, wrong reporting dates, anything that you can use as a basis to protest the entry.\n\n-Send a protest letter to the Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) that has the report listed. They will "verify" the debt with the creditor, and must respond back within 30 days of the result. Note that "verify" only means that the creditor just has to inform the CRA it is a valid debt, and no proof or documentation is required. This is what most likely will happen. At this point you can send the CRA a letter protesting the entry, and they must put your statement on the record.\n\n-Now send a "validation demand" letter to the creditor. That means the creditor must supply copies of all bills, contracts, receipts, and anything that was used to calculate what they say you owe. The must demonstrate you have a legal obligation to pay. They have 30 days to respond.\n\nIf they do send this information, examine it carefully. If it's correct, decide if you still want to go to court. This is the information they will use to defend themselves, so if you have a case you can now take it to court.\n\n-If you do not get this information within 30 days, send a copy of the validation letter, plus another demand to remove the credit entry to the CRA, informing them that the creditor has violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If the CRA still will not remove the entry, you now have grounds to sue the CRA as well.\n\nBe sure to send all letters by certified mail, keep very accurate logs of when they are mailed and who you talked to. It is NOT necessary to send them by certified mail, return receipt. Your receipt will prove you mailed it, and the tracking number on it can be traced to show it was delivered. That will save you a few dollars in postage.\n\nContact me if you need more help. I am not a lawyer or credit counsoler, just someone who has been through this many times before (and still doing it!).\n\nYou are about to go to war! Knowledge of the law is your only weapon! Don't fight these guys unarmed! Read the links below.
333046
Now you can completely ERASE your bad credit and smash\nall your debts using just 2 simple, "magic" letters!\n\nBOTH are found just inside "My FREE Credit Repair!"\n\nIn straight-to-the-heart-of-it, down-to-earth,\nrealistic style, Howard L. Moreland reveals exactly\nword-for-word, the exact 2 letters he's used to help\ncountless people forever fix their credit, and smash\ntheir debts! But now you can do it yourself FREE! (Just\nwith these 2 magic letters Howard gives you!!)\n\nHoward L. Moreland guides you through the entire\nprocess of completing each letter with the particulars\nof your own unique situation – just fill out the forms\nwhere he tells you – it's just that simple!\n\nHoward's NEW ebook is expected to take the Net by storm\nand surely shake up the world of credit and finance, so\nbe sure to be among the first to get your copy online\ncontaining these 2 very "secret" magic letters NOW! ...\nand before everybody else beats you to them!\n\nYou'll learn exactly what you need and only what you\nneed as Howard doesn't waste your time, but just gives\nyou instant, straight-forward directions showing you\nhow to erase all your bad credit & smash all your debts\n-- and for FREE since you won't have to use a so-called\n"professional!!"\n\nWith FREE ***PROVEN*** LETTERS you have absolutely\nnothing to risk and everything to gain, so find out how\nto get started right away!!\n\nTo learn exactly how Howard does it and how you can do\nit too, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you visit:\n\nhttp://MyNetMarketingCenter.com/r/freecredit/laitcaramel/
676807
The national credit bureaus offer a toll-free number that enables consumers to opt-out of all pre-approved credit offers with just one phone call. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) for more information.\n\nThis should remove your name for two years from all of the major credit bureaus’ mailing lists and it will limit the number of pre-approved credit solicitations that you receive.
1373
Pay your bills on time.  If bill is over due then pay it.  Even when you have paid all your bills, it takes 7 years for credit to be cleaned out completely.
977931
Offer a low percentage in writing and make sure you dont pay over the phone.\n \n\nUse the letters in this http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/ free credit repair kit to make the offers, it worked great for me!
1030722
If you are now up do date on your payments, and it has been awhile since you became up to date, you can always try a goodwill letter to the creditors. Tell them that you have worked hard to become current, it has been x number of years, can they please list the accounts on your reports as never late.\n\nIf you are still behind on the bills or the accounts have been charged off, thats a whole nother ball game.\n\nI would suggest going to the site that I've listed. It is a "free" do it yourself credit repair site. \n\nThere is no sense paying for anything or anyone to do what you can do yourself. Especially since alot of those credit counseling places will leave you worse off than you are now.
945
First: the ads that say "we'll fix your credit!" are LYING. You are the one who's going to have to do the job.\n\nFirst: get your credit report. Most states now have a law on the books that requires all of the credit reporting agencies to give you a credit report once a year. Check it over. Make sure that there are no *mistakes* on it - late payments that were not late, disputed accounts, etc. \n\nLate payments and charged-off accounts stay on for 7 years, bankruptcies for 10. Generally, lenders are looking for patterns of behavior rather than once-in-a-way problems. If you find something wrong (and it's likely, unfortunately), write a letter to the credit bureau, providing documentation that you're right. They have to respond in 30 days; if the creditor can't prove that the negative item is indeed true, it comes off your report.\n\nNow you're down to real debt. If you can't afford the payments, contact the lenders and negotiate reduced payments. They will prefer to be getting something rather than having to write off the debt. Once you can afford to pay everything, commit to paying off the worst (i.e., highest-interest) items first. They cost you the most money that isn't going toward paying off the debt. Once you've killed one, the money you were spending on that one can be applied to the next-worst debt, and so on. The amount you can pay any given creditor snowballs rapidly when you follow this pattern. You have to remember, though, that when the first one is paid off, you don't have "more money". You still need to be committing that to killing your debt.\n\nIf you're out of debt, but your credit is lousy, get a secured card, use it, and pay it off every month. This will do a lot for your credit rating. In addition, open a savings account, and make regular deposits. This shows you are saving money and have a resource to pay your bills.