just wondering if anyone knows how one can go about cleaning up bad credit, i noticed on my report things from 3to 4 yrs back that still show up even though they were long paid out, is it not up to the payee to report clean balances etc PM or on here with any info would be greatly appreciated
credit
- Thread starter dickfocus
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Make sure you currently have a credit card or a line of credit. Use it every month and pay it promptly so as not to incur any interest. The worst thing you can do is to stop using your credit. It has to be built back up. Been there, done that.
I've been through some bad credit experiences. Once you f** it up it takes years to clean it up. I have been refused a loan over a $15 dispute from 5 yrs back. Never mind that I has built up considerable equity and make a good salary. In order to check your credit history, contact Equifax either by phone or on the web. You can request a credit check ( cost around $25-30) , when you get the report go over it thoroughly. I did and found many things that were wrong, so I pulled my back up documents and sent them to Equifax.They checked everything out and cleaned up my credit rating.
I found that often companies report erroneous information, and often fail to update your file, so if you had an issue that was resolved follow up and be sure everything is entered into your file.
It isn't a difficult process, unfortunately not many people know about this. I found out the hard way.
I found that often companies report erroneous information, and often fail to update your file, so if you had an issue that was resolved follow up and be sure everything is entered into your file.
It isn't a difficult process, unfortunately not many people know about this. I found out the hard way.
Not exactly...
I also personally recommend joining a credit union vs. (or at least in addition to) having an account at a bank. They are "people helping people" and much more likely to be understanding and even helpful in dealing with past credit problems.
It wouldn't be deleted from the file entirely, but there is a big difference between paid off and still open and you should be able to get that corrected. This may be a tedious and frustrating process, since many of the people who work for the CR services are not there while they finish school to become rocket scientists! Perseverence is well worth it in the long run, however.UMustang said:
I also personally recommend joining a credit union vs. (or at least in addition to) having an account at a bank. They are "people helping people" and much more likely to be understanding and even helpful in dealing with past credit problems.
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You guys are bringing up bad memories. But I went through all this and I managed to clean up my credit (I had 12 bad items on my record). It took about 1 year to do completely but it is possible.
There are two main credit companies that you have to deal with. Equifax and TransUnion. Whatever you fix on one company, you have to get fixed at the other as well.
If you still have money owing, you're shit out of luck. Pay off all your debts first and try to get your credit cleaned up afterwards.
Here are a few things you can do. (has worked for me in the past) The main thing is to use excuses that they can't verify.
In certain cases, your old records may be difficult to track. (small companies or companies that have closed down) If is is the case write a simple letter to Equifax/TransUnion stating that the records are not up to date and that your bad credit record was supposed to be removed and it was an error that it is still there.
Call the company that you had the credit trouble with (i.e. banks/Credit Card companies) and request that the bad credit report be removed from Equifax/TransUnion. They need a reason so here are a few that you can use. You have to get creative so use these examples to find something that you can make up for your personal situation.
1. The collections person misled you in order to collect the amount due. i.e. promised that the bad report will be removed if the payment is sent in by a certain date.
2. Argue that the late payment was their error. Their computer system can make mistakes i.e. send wrong statments, wrong address, payment not received etc.
3. You had a conversation with the supervisor and he had promised to remove the record but the record has not been removed yet.
Call Equifax/TransUnion and argue that the bad credit is not justified. You have to fax in a written explanation. State that the payment was not late but instead was recorded in error by the company that you dealt with. Make up a detailed story. The more details you can provide the more they will believe you.
If you can get it removed from Equifax but not TransUnion, just mail in your cleaned up record from one company and send it to the other with a letter stating that the item has been removed and need to be updated on their system.
If you have some cash, you can also try lawyers. My friend claims that he had his credit record cleaned up by a lawyer. It cost him $1,000.00/item to do this. Check with a lawyer about this first. I didn't have to go this far so I can't verify this but a phone call wouldn't hurt.
Good luck with your clean up. I know it's a big hinderance in your life and there is lots of work ahead of you.
There are two main credit companies that you have to deal with. Equifax and TransUnion. Whatever you fix on one company, you have to get fixed at the other as well.
If you still have money owing, you're shit out of luck. Pay off all your debts first and try to get your credit cleaned up afterwards.
Here are a few things you can do. (has worked for me in the past) The main thing is to use excuses that they can't verify.
In certain cases, your old records may be difficult to track. (small companies or companies that have closed down) If is is the case write a simple letter to Equifax/TransUnion stating that the records are not up to date and that your bad credit record was supposed to be removed and it was an error that it is still there.
Call the company that you had the credit trouble with (i.e. banks/Credit Card companies) and request that the bad credit report be removed from Equifax/TransUnion. They need a reason so here are a few that you can use. You have to get creative so use these examples to find something that you can make up for your personal situation.
1. The collections person misled you in order to collect the amount due. i.e. promised that the bad report will be removed if the payment is sent in by a certain date.
2. Argue that the late payment was their error. Their computer system can make mistakes i.e. send wrong statments, wrong address, payment not received etc.
3. You had a conversation with the supervisor and he had promised to remove the record but the record has not been removed yet.
Call Equifax/TransUnion and argue that the bad credit is not justified. You have to fax in a written explanation. State that the payment was not late but instead was recorded in error by the company that you dealt with. Make up a detailed story. The more details you can provide the more they will believe you.
If you can get it removed from Equifax but not TransUnion, just mail in your cleaned up record from one company and send it to the other with a letter stating that the item has been removed and need to be updated on their system.
If you have some cash, you can also try lawyers. My friend claims that he had his credit record cleaned up by a lawyer. It cost him $1,000.00/item to do this. Check with a lawyer about this first. I didn't have to go this far so I can't verify this but a phone call wouldn't hurt.
Good luck with your clean up. I know it's a big hinderance in your life and there is lots of work ahead of you.
