Repairing bad credit is not difficult, but it does take time.
There are many legitimate credit repair firms and they do help.
They deliver, but they cannot guarantee results in twenty-four hours.
There is no overnight fix and it could take years to completely turn your credit around.
You can, however, work with one of these firms and get yourself on the road once again to financial betterment.
Here is some advice you can follow before meeting with the local firm you have chosen to help you.
Your credit report The first thing you should do is order a copy of your credit report from each of the three crediting bureaus - Experian, Equifax and Trans Union.
Go to each one carefully and identify any inconsistencies or errors so that you may bring them to the attention of the firm you are working with to repair your bad credit.
From there, they will ask you for supporting documentation to back up your claim and they will help you prepare appropriate correspondence to send back to the credit bureau to have the item verified or removed from your report.
The credit bureau has thirty days to comply.
If you have negative information on your credit report that is due to a previous marriage, identity theft or similar scenario, the credit repair company you are working with can help you prepare a letter explaining your side of the story.
This is called a 'consumer's statement' and the credit bureau will re-open that item in lieu of new information.
Make sure that you get a copy of your new credit report.
If you do not receive one, your credit repair firm can request one for you.
A little known fact Many people do not know that they can have the repaired credit report resent to anyone that turned you down for credit.
The credit repair firm will help you determine which companies pulled your credit report over the last six months - that's as far back as you can go - and help you submit the request demanding that they send the corrected report.
If you were turned down for a job over the last two years because of credit report problems, you can have it sent to them as well.
It probably won't get you that job, but it is the principle of the matter.
Things to watch out for Some credit repair firms will ask you to prepay them for their services.
The law states that they must wait for payment until they have completed the services you contracted them for.
That means you will see results before you turn any money over to them.
This is one of the many scams that have been reported to the Better Business Bureau of the years.
Also, never allow your credit repair company to use any tricks to fix your credit.
This includes swamping the credit bureaus with letters and requests on the same day about the same individual.
This technique does not work.
In fact, this may actually cause the credit bureau to slow down and take their sweet time or ignore your request all together.
There are some things on your credit report that you simply will not be able to remove until the statute of limitations is up, such as bankruptcy which cannot come off your credit report for ten years.