If you have a mountain of debt, your credit score likely isn’t in the best shape. There are several things that you can do to try to improve your credit score, but it does take time. If you have more debt than you can reasonably pay, there are some other options for you as well.
Watch Credit Card Balances
It is vital that you do not use more than 30% of your available credit for a higher score. If your credit cards are almost maxed out, you should avoid using them and start paying them down. The same is true for lines of credit and other personal loans. The lower your balances, the higher your credit score.
Pay On Time
Paying your bills on time is a large portion of your credit score. If you have fallen behind on payments for loans or credit cards, try to get them back into good standing as quickly as possible. It may be possible to get credit cards in good standing by making the minimum monthly payment. However, keep in mind that this usually only covers the interest and a tiny amount of the principle, and therefore you will not be able to lower your credit card debt by just making the minimum payment.
With loans that have fallen behind or other bills, contact the creditor and see what they might be able to do for you. Some creditors may work with you to place your accounts in good standing with the credit bureaus in exchange for a set amount toward the balance due or with the setting up of an acceptable payment arrangement.
Leave Old Debt Alone
If you have old debt that has been paid off, make sure that stays on your credit report as long as possible. Many people believe that old debt looks terrible on a credit report, but if the account shows paid as agreed, then this only helps your credit score. Credit entries remain on your report for seven years unless you request to have them removed. Leave the old debt where it is, and your score will not suffer.
Filing Bankruptcy
If you do not have the means to pay your debt, you may benefit from filing bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy in some cases can actually raise your credit score. By filing bankruptcy, you are able to decrease your debt to income ratio, because the debt is dismissed. This improves your rating. Depending on how much debt you have, filing bankruptcy, although it hurts your credit, could raise your credit score.
If you are concerned about being able to make it after filing bankruptcy, there is no need for worry. When you file bankruptcy, you are able to claim federal bankruptcy exemptions that allow you to keep your home, your car, jewelry, and other assets. This will enable you to maintain a reasonable quality of life while you are getting back on your feet financially.
Conclusion
As soon as possible after filing bankruptcy, you should start trying to rebuild your credit. You can do this with credit cards and personal loans designed for people with bad credit. Auto loans are also an excellent way to get credit when you don’t have a high score. As your credit builds, your score will increase quickly.
Photo Credit: cafecredit.com
Hello everyone! I contacted a consultant who helped fix my credit just few days back and he was able to deliver. He helped me increase my credit score to 800 excellent and removed all negative items. He also paid of all my debt collectors. I was satisfied with his service. It took 1 week to finish up. The bad news is it cost me $10,000.
I found a credit specialist when I was searching for unconventional ways to boost my credit score. I was nervous at first in giving him my job but I needed to boost my credit score urgently. I saw a lot of good comments about how good and professional he was. Unfortuntately, he didn’t help me at all.
My name is Stance from Illinois. I’ve got another scammer for you. Stay away from a guy named PAUL MIKE!
Having a bad credit score isn’t the end of the world. You can easily take steps to improve your credit. all you need is the right contact. you can do it your self which would take a long period of time or contact a hacker to just fix it right away, Yes Hackers are real and they do stuffs for several people including top politicians.
John, I don’t think the “stuffs” they do for people is good. A lot of people have written me to say they are scam artists.
I remember in 2018, my credit score was horrible, I had so many collection accounts and would not get approved for anything. I had rental debt, charge offs, student loans, tax liens on my credit report. Then I got it fixed.
I’ve been trying to improve my credit score to purchase a car but I need some help. I will probably look for a professional to help me improve my credit score.
About 2 weeks ago I tried getting a loan but to no avail, I didn’t get approved because my credit score was in the low 400s, I came across a comment about a credit expert helping people get their credit fixed in a week , so I decided to give him a try. to my surprise he removed all the negative items impacting on my credit and increased my credit score up to 800.
To be honest, I promised my self not to use any hacker on Google , I am still far less likely to use Google services because of how bad I was ripped off.
Stay away from a guy calling himself “Cyber Frank”. He screwed me over big time.
My name is Alexandra Martina, I live in California. My apartment got flooded some years back and I didn’t have the right rental insurance. There the bill came up to $50000 and I was asked to pay but didn’t have enough money so I agreed on a payment plan but got declined then had an eviction on my credit report. I didn’t realize that I had an eviction on my report until last 3 months while I was trying to buy a house, the realtor told me that my credit score was low (520) and wasn’t qualified for anything. I want to buy a house, I want to buy properties and start a business. I needed help and I found a good and kind credit repair team that pulled my score to 784, deleted the eviction and other negative item on my report, and added good trade lines. I got everything I wanted and even more. Thanks to the entire team.
Warning: There are very few credit repair services I have seen that truly work!! Most are scammers.
Couple of months ago, I applied for a car loan and it was declined because my credit score was in a low 500 with some negative items including (eviction, bankruptcy and a judgment), I was broken.
I opened a secured credit card account. I put $5,500 of my money down as the security deposit. I then used the credit card only one time for $2,500 and paid it off immediately so I’ve had a zero balance since then and I’ve tried for months to get my money back. I’ve talked to more than 20 people and everyone keeps passing me around and no one can help.
I had 7 items removed, and my credit score from all three bureaus went up over 300 points. Yes, if you have the time and know-how, you can absolutely do this stuff too. To top it off, my new score is about 735 now.
Warning!!!! Whatever you do, don’t let BETTERCREDIT fix your credit. They are a scam!
Good to know. Thanks, Wesley!
My surgery loan just got approved and that’s why I’m testifying. Last month I was reading an article on reddit and I came across a comment about a credit repair company that helped people get their lives back. I was actually trying to get help last month in other to fix my credit. My credit was in the 400s, I had negatives. I had applied for a surgery loan but couldn’t get an approval. However, I contacted the company and we reached an agreement. They removed paid off all my debts, removed evictions etc. my current credit score is 790 and I have some positives on my credit right now.
Do you think your credit score is bad? mine was worse, I was at the edge of losing my family, when I got saved by an old friend of mine who introduced me to a professional hacker, I was skeptical at first but I trust my friend since her credit score was raised by the same hacker, I had no choice, I was about to lose everything So I contacted him. I must say, hackers are the best! This guy raised my credit score and removed the eviction from my credit among other negative listings. Now my life is much better than I ever thought it would be. I can now get approved for loans, mortgages, etc.
I’m glad it worked for you, but that sounds extremely shady to me, Joseph.
I had a credit score of 412 in March and I needed to apply for loan in July when I desperately needed to rent an apartment because I got a new job but was not approved because of my low FICO scores and the numerous negatives on my report. I was in desperate need of help and I came across a post about a hacker who could help me. I was skeptical at first thinking he would take my money and disappear, but I was desperate. Guess what. He DID take my money and I never saw him again. I LOST $500!!!! Stay away from these guys!
You’re right, Ivan! Sounds fishy.
I tried for almost five months in 2018 to have three bogus collection agency debts removed from my Experian credit report. While Experian would write me letters and say they were disputing, had disputed, would dispute, nothing was ever done. Furthermore, I think they enable fraudulent companies.
Nothing made me happier than when my credit report was fixed. My credit score went from 415 to 821!
I talked to a friend and she told me about KINGS REPAIR. Stay far away from them. Lost a lot of money.
Add a guy calling himself Kevin Mitnick to the scammers list.
I’ll join the confessional … A hacker calling himself “Notablespy” is a scammer. I was burned badly.
I never really bothered about my credit, I knew I was paying bills on time and had only a store card and a gas card. I refinanced my house a couple of years ago and got a very good rate (long history with the company, cut length of mortgage dramatically, got a very low rate). I was a little surprised at how low my credit score was when I did it, so I thought I should get a credit card to have a real CC on my report, and I was turned down for one. This was a little bit of a wakeup call, so I went and got a CC from my local Credit Union, and kept paying bills on time. In July 2018 it seemed as though I might move house, talked to my mortgage company and got approved for a new mortgage and was horrified to find out that after 5 years of perfect payments I still had low credit scores. I then started doing some of the right things (more by guesswork than good judgment) and started disputing that which was incorrect. Then I read your article, Len. Suddenly a wealth of information became available to me. I disputed more, discovered the importance of having good credit. Three months later I reapplied and my credit card was approved alongside my House. I’m indeed forever grateful to you and your awesome blog!
You’re in total control over your credit score, no matter if its in the 500s or the 800s. The cost of poor credit is massive. You will pay higher interest, require larger down payments, and ultimately life will cost you more than someone who has excellent credit. The game of credit scores never ends. You might have an 800 credit score one week and a 730 the next.
It couldn’t be this worst for me trying to deal with a Bad credit score so low as 367, Including 3 credit cards debts; mortgage loan, late payments and one thefts criminal record from 2017 reported on Experian, rent was due for Eviction couldn’t get any help.
GREG REPAIR is another scammer. Please stay away from this place!
As a student trying to make a living with a bad credit score of 421, and as a single mother of 3 years old girl, I couldn’t get a roof over my head due to delay in payment, loan refusal, old mortgage bill extended from my ex-husband to my profile, etc. I couldn’t start up the life I wanted for myself and daughter. To cut the story short I met an old friend of mine who asked me to try GREGREPAIR. I paid GREGREPAIR a lot of money. He said 4 working days, so I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I never heard from him again. He’s a scammer!
So sorry to hear that, Josephine. But I warned you!
I got the exact results I needed moments after working the problem by myself and now I’m typing this review from the comfort of my first home!
Be warned, most of these so called hackers are impostors. I’ve been ripped off twice already. Thankfully my co worker gave me a reliable contact.
Frankly, I suspect all of these so-called miracle credit “hackers” are imposters, Veronica.
Nothing can be worse in life with a bad credit score. You always feel like killing yourself.
Hello my name is Kendrick. I contacted a credit specialist on a beautiful evening because I saw an ad online saying he could help people fix their credit in no time. I said to him, if this is true, I’m definitely interested in working with you to improve my credit so I can purchase a car this year. Well, he gave me a positive response, but I never heard back from him.
Yes, GREGREPAIR is a scam.
Your wifey didn’t buy you that birthday gift this year right? She’s fed up with you playing video games while your credit score is whopping450? Then turn off the MyPlayer and fix that. Now!
A dude calling himself “Crouch” promised to remove all derogatory items from my credit report. He failed. I should have known better. 😢
My little girl was to undergo a cancer surgery. I couldn’t afford to pay the medical bills for the surgery to take place. My insurance was unable to cover up the bills, my credit was in bad shape. I got in touch with my ex and explained to her about my situation. She quickly contacted a personal hacker — MEDALLIONCRDITGROUP — explained things to him, asking if he could get my credit fixed before the day of the surgery. He said yes but, to make a sad story short, he took my money and I never saw him again. My little girl died soon after. May he rot in hell!
So sorry to hear that, Matthew.
Hi there,
I know how it feels to be frustrated by credit report issues. I paid a credit hacker named the “Gucifer Cyber Expert” but it didn’t work out for me. Then I decided to fix my own credit the old fashioned way — mainly by paying my bills on time.
James Rosa
Honestly, I promised myself not to use any hacker on Google, I am still far less likely to use Google services because of how bad I was ripped off. The stress of being a college student who needed that money was definitely a multiplier, but at the end I took the bait. Now I am paying the price. COMPUTERSPECIALSPY took me for $200 and I can not believe how stupid I was.
Sorry to hear that, Amy.
If you’re in the United States and Canada, fighting with a bad credit report and living paycheck to paycheck, stay away from a guy named Javar Young. He claims he’s a business/credit expert but he is actually a professional swindler. You’ve been warned!
He conned you too, eh?
I’m in need of help just to erase evictions on my credit that got my denied for mortgage loan. I don’t know if my credit score will ever improve!
I want to buy my first home but I couldnt get approved for a loan due to my bad credit report. I came across a lot of recommendations about a guy calling himself Erik Reymund, but it turns out when I went to him my score GOT WORSE! Went from 578 to 499. Never again.
Totally agree about Eric Reymond. The guy is a scammer. Seems to be a lot of them out there judgin by all these comments!
Here’s another scam company: PERFECTSMART. Supposedly these guys employ and army of hackers who are supposedly capable of removing negatives from your credit, repairing your credit scores and getting you a loan.
I gave them a lot of money but they FAILED!!!!!!
My name is CINDY BRIGHT. Tina is correct. I was also scammed out of $500 by somebody working for PERFECTSMART. Please … don’t fall for the snake oil they’re selling!
More frauds: a guy calling himself “Claud Bateman.” I lost $100 believing he could repair my credit.
You people are all idiots!
If you want to get your eviction removed from your credit file, or your mortgage loan paid off without going through much stress, and boost your credit score across your three credit bureaus to 820+ then you need to do it yourself by practicing good financial habits.
There is no easy way out, people! No matter what some charlatan credit repair hacker will tell you.