Repair Your Damaged Credit Rating

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 8th, 2010

How to Restore Your Credit Rating

Often a person?s credit rating has been destroyed due to no intention on their part. It was not planned that way it just happened. I got carried away with a credit card so to speak and it just overwhelmed me is a common refrain. Once into debt it is often very difficult if not impossible to get out. On top of that your credit rating may be in not good shape or even in shambles.

How can you restore your credit rating? A person?s reputation and to an extension their credit rating is among the most valuable of assets, Like a mirror once sullied it can be most difficult if not impossible to restore the mirror to its original previous state.

What can be done? It all comes down to personal honesty and consistent efforts at repairing your credit history and creating a new and outstanding current credit report. It all comes down to personal honor, integrity and sincerity.

If you are sincere about your efforts a lot can be done over time. It is not hopeless; if on the other hand you are setting yourself up for another run at the bank then you will not succeed and make it tremendously worse for yourself for ever. If you lie to people once it can be called a mistake, an error. If you lie again you will forever branded as a villain.

It is interesting that those who have ?bad credit ?or ?bad car credit or financing: issues do not even see themselves as in the wrong. Indeed Robin Hood and Saddam Hussein saw themselves as great benefactors. It all depends on the perspective so to speak.

In your situation however you wish to restore your standing and credit history. Without a valid credit history you may well find that your options in life are more limited. The tentacles of credit reports go far and wide. Anyone knows with a Paypal account or credit card can source a wealth of information. A potential employer for a good job, that pays well, may not hire you as a result of a poor credit report. Ditto that for landlords as well as new and used car dealers. You may find it very hard if not impossible to obtain a credit card. Sure you may think that credit card was the evil apple of the Garden of Eden that got you into this fix in the first place. However if you wish to go on a vacation both the hotel and auto rental agencies may demand a credit card for their services.

What are the steps to restore your credit history and report? First visit your local credit reporting agencies. The major credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Transunion and Experian. Remember all of these companies share information routinely so that you?re the data and your efforts on one report will spread to the others as a matter of routine and modern systems. You can visit or phone the offices personally. There are services on the internet but with your credit problems, hence no charge card, for reasons of confidentiality of billing to another person?s card this may be out of the question.

Ask for a copy of your credit report. By law you are entitled to it. Remember to bring a number of acceptable photo identification.

Next go down the list of creditors and people you have not paid. By far the worst thing that you can do if you owe money is to ignore a creditor. Let me repeat that ? the worst thing that you can do with a creditor is to ignore the creditor.

Visit the creditor if possible. If that is not possible personally phone. Only as a last resort should you send an email. Apologize to that person and tell them that you are in the process of cleaning up your debts. Explain that you will be sending them an amount on a regular basis. If the numbers are so big that you can never pay off the amount at least make a stab. Perhaps the other person will have written off the debt in their mind as uncollectible and will regard this as ?found money?. Regardless of this your attempt to communicate rather than ignore the creditor will melt the heart of almost even the most cold hearted lender.

It is as if you are a widow whose husband earned the money and took of all the financial affairs. The new widow has a blank spot for a credit history. You are in a similar situation of creating a new and proper credit history.

Start a saving account. Place a regular deposit in that bank saving account. If you are working and have a job this can be done painlessly through automated deposits from your paycheck.

Once you have built up a balance in your bank or credit union savings account ask to take out a small loan with the balance of the savings account as collateral. Pay back that loan on time and promptly. Do this over a number of times.

Next the bank may even issue you with a charge card. Only use a charge card where you place a pool of money as a fund that you spend and nothing more. Use this charge card for routine everyday purchases to build up a monthly balance and cash flow.

Again it is most important that you pay all bills on time never skipping or missing a payment.

There is no secret to restoring a damaged credit rating. It comes down to personal integrity, trust and consistency of actions.