Bad credit repair takes time. It normally takes just as long to dig out of debt as it took to tailspin into it. If you've suffered a foreclosure, a bankruptcy or had multiple accounts slide into collections, then you will need at least 1-2 years to right your wrongs. This process will involve paying off your debts, as well as re-establishing good credit and a positive payment history. If you're looking for an overnight fix, forget about it!
What a bad credit repair services offers you can do yourself with some time, patience and guts. First, you'll order your free annual credit report from the three major credit bureaus, namely Equifax, Experian and TransUnion from "Annual Credit Report". You'll look over the information on these credit files and be sure they all match and that they're all up to date and accurate. Check dates and the status of all your financial records. If anything is amiss, then you can mail copies of your records to show proof of the inaccuracy or simply correct repairs online using the credit bureau's website tools to file a dispute.
Here are some do-it-yourself tips for repairing bad credit. If you feel up to the challenge, then you can use your sales and negotiating skills to get items deleted or amended on your credit report. First, never make arrangements over the phone. It's always best to craft a well-written letter instead and be sure you write this letter before you give the creditor any money or you'll have lost your power to negotiate!
If you have a "charge-off" listed on your account, then you can sometimes offer to adhere to a monthly payment plan and get creditors to replace them with "paid as agreed and on time." If you can't get that, then try for "account closed, account paid or account settled," all of which are more desirable than a charge-off.
The best case scenario you could ever hope for is a creditor to completely remove their account from your credit report, although it's certainly a rare best case scenario. Often with medical bills, the creditor will remove the bad credit debt if you agree to pay immediately, in full, with an additional fee or two, which will improve credit scores overnight.
If you're attempting bad credit repair on your own, then understand that there are no guarantees. However, it will only take a few moments of your time to shoot out a letter to your creditors, requesting an agreement that will take your credit report into consideration. If you have a "charge-off" from a closed account, then this could be extremely hard to get removed from your report. If the creditor is still actively trying to collect, you will have a 1 in 3 chance of getting a complete removal from your credit report.
If you have an open account, like an installment or revolving loan, then there is a marginal rate of success if you offer to pay the full balance. Open/active accounts reported as "late payment" have a very high success rate of complete removal, particularly if the account is in collections. Creditors may say they cannot remove an account, but they absolutely have the power to do so. It's just that many of them are trained not to do that.
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