It's not impossible to repair a bad credit score, but many people don't know where to start.
That's where credit counseling agencies come in. However, there are many credit counseling agencies out there who are there to help themselves, not you. They will advise you to take out expensive credit consolidation loans, they will not help you to budget or learn to live within your means, and they will give you bad advice, such as telling you to shut down older credit cards - which actually hurts your credit.
One place to turn is the National Foundation For Credit Counseling, a non-profit agency which maintains a list of local, nonprofit agencies.
Their home page has a wealth of information on everything from fair debt collection practices, to smart budgeting.
And their member agencies can offer free or low cost budget advice and credit consolidation advice. Whether it is free or involves a minimal fee depends on a number of factors, including your financial situation.
However, even if the agency uses the NFFC seal of approval, use your common sense. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against them. Consider going to your local courthouse to see if any civil complaints have been filed against them. And whatever advice they give you, you have to decide if it makes sense for you in your particular situation. Think carefully before closing out old lines of credit, and before taking out a new credit consolidation loan. ONLY do that if you are sure that you can repay the new loan.
This shouldn't scare you away from using a credit counseling agency's services, because they provide helpful advice to millions of people every year. If you do a little investigating, you may find that a credit counseling agency is the perfect solution for you.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Credit Repair
If you have are deep in debt and also have bad credit, you're facing a double whammy that makes credit repair especially challenging.
When you have bad credit, interest rates go up on all of your credit cards and anywhere else that you may have taken out a loan, and it's harder to get approved for things like credit consolidation loans, which would make it easier for you to pay down your debt.
That doesn't mean that you need to give up, however. There are steps that you can take to repair your credit over time. Just keep in mind that it will not happen quickly, and any agency that promises you instant credit repair or even rapid credit repair, is lying to you.
To repair bad credit you need to:
1.) Pay off your debts on time every month, consistently. If you can not afford to make the minimum payments, call up the credit card companies and renegotiate lower payments.
2.) Don't apply for any new credit. Think very, very hard before applying for a credit consolidation loan; these are often not in your best interest unless you are able to truly change your spending habits.
3.) Don't close down your older credit cards. This may seem counterintuitive, because credit cards are likely part of the reason you are in this situation in the first place. But the fact is, the credit scoring company gives you points for having older, established accounts.
4.) As quickly as you can, get your balance down to the point where you owe less than 50 percent of the available balance on your credit cards. It's worth taking on a second job for a while and selling off extra stuff on ebay to do this.
5.) Stay away from shady offers from companies who suggest things like using a business tax i.d. so that you can have better credit - WRONG! - and potentially illegal. It is never okay to misrepresent yourself on a loan application.
6.) Check your credit report to make sure that no errors are on it and once you start paying off your items on time check to make sure that you are getting credit for paying off those items on time. If there are errors on your credit report, dispute them immediately. It takes time to get negative items removed from your credit report.
When you have bad credit, interest rates go up on all of your credit cards and anywhere else that you may have taken out a loan, and it's harder to get approved for things like credit consolidation loans, which would make it easier for you to pay down your debt.
That doesn't mean that you need to give up, however. There are steps that you can take to repair your credit over time. Just keep in mind that it will not happen quickly, and any agency that promises you instant credit repair or even rapid credit repair, is lying to you.
To repair bad credit you need to:
1.) Pay off your debts on time every month, consistently. If you can not afford to make the minimum payments, call up the credit card companies and renegotiate lower payments.
2.) Don't apply for any new credit. Think very, very hard before applying for a credit consolidation loan; these are often not in your best interest unless you are able to truly change your spending habits.
3.) Don't close down your older credit cards. This may seem counterintuitive, because credit cards are likely part of the reason you are in this situation in the first place. But the fact is, the credit scoring company gives you points for having older, established accounts.
4.) As quickly as you can, get your balance down to the point where you owe less than 50 percent of the available balance on your credit cards. It's worth taking on a second job for a while and selling off extra stuff on ebay to do this.
5.) Stay away from shady offers from companies who suggest things like using a business tax i.d. so that you can have better credit - WRONG! - and potentially illegal. It is never okay to misrepresent yourself on a loan application.
6.) Check your credit report to make sure that no errors are on it and once you start paying off your items on time check to make sure that you are getting credit for paying off those items on time. If there are errors on your credit report, dispute them immediately. It takes time to get negative items removed from your credit report.
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