My FICO score is less than 500! How I can I change 10 years worth of bad credit and raise my FICO score?
925726
Some of the points Chris J made are good, but I have to disagree with his recommendation to obtain any sort of credit card.  Easy credit and lack of self control is probably what put you where you are today.  Trying to manage some "good credit" while you are fixing the "bad credit" is a losing proposition.  Develop a budget and focus on paying off all of your outstanding debt.  DO NOT use credit for anything while you do it.  Go to a cash system (maybe a debit card).  If, and only if, you finally become financially responsible, then you can consider building your credit.  Google Dave Ramsey and read about his ideas.  Despite the myths perpetuated by the media, you don't need credit.  The only credit you should ever use is a home loan.  I know someone who had no FICO score and still managed to acquire a mortgage.  \n\nYour best bet right now is...if you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it.
179481
I have actually been where you are.  I had very poor credit for years (FICO score under 600).  Today, I own a home and have a couple of 0% interest rate credit cards with high limits.  I wrote a detailed credit-repair guideline called, "When Good People Have Bad Credit." \n\nI'm providing a link below.  Good luck to you!
1007792
if you have alot of credit cards then close a couple... too much credit is just as bad as not enough credit.....      if you only have a few credit cards then keep them open.......  it raises your fico score....
1170191
Pay a couple of your credit cards down to less than 50% of the balance.  You'd be surprised how much your score drops when you go over 50%.  \n\nChallenge some of the negative items on your credit report.\n\nPay off any small chargeoffs you have.
1069800
Put in refinance mortgage bad credit and see what you get.\n\n\nLC
1094635
#1) Pull all your reports. Not online, request actual physical copies. They usually contain more than what an online report does. This will give you a start on where you need to go with your reports. Also, keep them. Never toss them. They are proof later on if you need them to refer to if you ever get into a legal situation regarding your credit (lawsuit etc).\n\n#2) Dispute. Dispute anything that is not correct including, balance amounts, lates, etc. If you have only one or two lates, I would call your creditor and see if you can get them removed via goodwill gesture, or send a goodwill letter. You can find some great letters on some of the credit boards like creditnet.com and creditboards.com.\n\n#3.) Collections? If you have any collections on your account or anything that should not be there, send a DV (debt validation) to the creditor asking to prove the debt. If they cannot, they have to remove the debt off of your report by law.\n\n#4.) You have rights - check out http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf for more info.\n\n#5.) check out some of the posts on creditnet.com and creditboards.com for assistance. \n\n#6.) If you have no credit, or want a temporary boost - have a family member or really (really, really, really) close friend add you in as an authorized user on their credit cards. Make sure the balances are not high, otherwise this could hurt you more. The higher the available credit, the more your utilization will go down on your report - therefore bumping your score.\n\n#7.) Avoid unnecessary inquiries. Hard pulls can hurt you, so avoid applying for new credit cards until after you buy your home.\n\nThis of course is a shortened version of things you can try. Research info on those links I provided you. You can increase your score spending just a short amount of time per week, sending letters to creditors etc. I increased my score over 100 points in less than 6 months. Depending on your situation, this could take shorter or longer time, but at least you have somewhere to start. Good luck!
486707
First off you need to know what is in your credit reports both positive & negative. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get all three of your credit reports free. Review them for accuracy. Dispute any item you believe to be inaccurate.\n\nHaving negative items on your credit files affects your scores more than having positive items. Public record items such as bankruptcy, judgement and collections(even if paid) weigh heavily on your credit score.\n\nYour goal should be to have only positive items on your report if you want a FICO score of 700+\n\nYou should plan to have 3-6 revolving accounts and 1-2 installment accounts to increase your score.\n\nGood Luck
763544
Credit repair services are a hoax.  Avoid them.\n\nCredit counseling services, however, aren't about your FICO, but about debt reduction. Some of these have a bad reputation, too, so only use them as a last resort and read all of the fine print.\n\nThe only way to improve your credit is to start rebuilding it over time. Get a low-fee secured credit card. Pay it off monthly, and let time heal your credit.
1003685
There is no way  around the bad credit.   Sounds like you will have to establish  the credit again.   Good luck though.
846775
Increasing your credit limits is one of the fastest and easiest ways to increase your FICO credit scores.\n\nWhen you increase your credit limits and your spending patterns remain the same you end up using a smaller percentage of your combined credit limits. This increases your credit score rating.\n\nImagine you have 10 credit cards, each with a $1,000 limit. So you have a total (or aggregate) credit card limit of $10,000. Now assume that five of these credit cards are maxed out. In this case, you have a total (or aggregate) credit card balance of $5,000.\n\nYour balance-to-limit ratio is now 50%. You've used $5,000 of your $10,000 total credit limit ($5,000 / $10,000 = .5 or 50%). This is called your "revolving utilization." It's the total amount of your credit limits that you are currently using.\n\nYou pick up the telephone and ask for a credit limit increase on each of the five credit cards you haven't maxed out.\nLet's suppose each of the five lenders doubles your credit limit. So now you have 5 credit cards with a $2,000 limit and a $0 balance. But you also have 5 credit cards with a $1,000 limit with no available credit, for a new total credit card limit of $15,000.\nYou’ve used $5,000 of your $15,000 total credit card limit. Your new balance-to-limit ratio is 33% ($5,000 / $15,000 = .33 or 33%). By increasing your credit limits you've just reduced your balance-to-limit ratio from 50% to 33%.\n\nAnd if you doubled the credit limit on the other 5 cards in this example, your balance-to-limit ratio would be 25%.\n\nThat's a significant decrease in your ratio. You've just increased your credit scores by making a few free telephone calls.
1125032
A tough lesson from the School of Hard Knocks.\nHopefully, others will learn from your mistake.\nAlso know that the sooner you begin to make good payments on your credit lines and the longer you continue those good payments, the better your score gets.\nYou should get a copy of your credit bureau report and go through it with a fine tooth comb just to make sure there are no errors that may be costing your points on your score.\nIf you can improve your score even 10% that's good.\nAlso, if you had any bankruptcys 6 years ago, you just need to hold on one more year.  In most cases, they come off after 7 years.
60822
Is your poor credit score the result of your own true actions (i.e. have you paid late, defaulted, or taken on too much credit)? If this is the case then, unfortunately, there isn't really much you can do to improve your score. If this is not the case and your poor credit score is the result of fraudulent activity under your name then you do have recourse. Firstly, you will want to report the abuse to all the credit reporting agencies, the credit issuers, and the authorities. Once you have done this, you can consult with the respective credit reporting agencies to help clear your unwarrented bad record.\n\nNow, if your score is because of your own actions the best thing going for you is time. The older your bad stuff is on your report the better this will be for you. Therefore, don't continue to make bad decisions when using credit. Also, to reestablish a good credit score you may want to take out a secured lined of credit. This can be done many ways but one easy way is that you deposit money with an issuing credit card company. I did this years ago with Citibank sending them $300 in which I got a credit card with a $300 limit. After a year of using my card wisely, paying my bill every month on time, they sent me a new credit card with an $1800 limit and my $300 back with interest. This was 12 years ago now and I just got out of high school at the time so $300 isn't what it used to be but whatever amount you start with it will start improving your credit. Good luck.
250326
Typically raising your score by 10 points will not affect your scores enough to change your interest rates unless you know you are 10 points or less below the next credit tier(an auto loan example)\n\nI paid off my Macy's card last month and it was less than 50% utilized(I had a balance less than 50% of my credit line) and it only raised my FICO score(Equifax) by 12 points. I actually thought it would raise my score more since this was the only credit card I had that had a balance. \n\nGo figure, that's why credit scoring doesn't always make sense.\n\nGood Luck
628442
It all depends on how bad the bad credit is and how old it is. If its very recent, you'll have to wait for some time, perhaps an year. As it gets older, it becomes less significant, especially if you have even one credit account that is current. If you do not, your best option is to open a small limit secured card perhaps from Capital One. I recommend them because they charge no fees. Use it for $20 a month and pay it off when you get the bill. Each month you pay them, your credit rating will be improving.\n\nP.S. You have a beautiful baby. I wish you best of luck!
1103852
check out my profile and use the link\nit takes you to a company that compiles banks and lenders for people with bad credit\nit also provides a credit repair kit help to get that score up
629166
When your credit has reached this point, it is really too late to do anything about it in the immediate term. Typically when a collection agency has to come calling, you credit is totally bad. The only way to improve is to work with the collection agency and find some way to pay down your debt. Over time, your credit rating should improve if you keep up the payments. Good Luck!
156362
You can't.  If you have bad credit, you are a high risk.  You WILL pay more for a loan, PERIOD.