DIY Credit Repair Guide

• Obtain a copy of your credit report
  • Check your credit report to get started. There is 1 report at each of the three bureaus (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion). You can get free weekly online credit reports from annualcreditreport.com during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Once the pandemic ends you can get the reports for free every 12 months.
• Dispute any errors
  • Look for any errors on the report and dispute them to have them removed. Some errors to watch for: Incorrect personal information, accounts that aren’t yours, accounts that are yours that aren’t shown, accounts that aren’t accurate, duplicate accounts, data errors. If you find information that is not correct, contact the creditor or company that provided the information, and the credit reporting company. There is a guide including sample dispute letters here from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
    • https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-are-common-credit-report-errors-that-i-should-look-for-on-my-credit-report-en-313/
• Experian Boost
  • This can raise your score instantly for free by using information from other bills you pay each month including utilities, streaming services, and rent. You connect the bank account you use to pay your bills, choose the payment history you want added to your Experian credit file (Netflix, AT&T, Verizon, Hulu all work).
• Pay down debts (use less % of available credit)
  • Especially try to pay down debts on your credit card(s), aim to pay small balances in full and work on paying down high interest debt.
  • Consider a debt consolidation loan if you have multiple high interest accounts and you can consolidate them into one loan with a lower interest rate. If you do this, keep your credit cards open to help with the length of your credit history, but don’t use them!
• Always pay your bills on time
  • Your payment history makes up 35% of your credit score. If possible, put all your bills on auto pay to avoid missing payments.
  • Until a payment is 30 days past due, it isn’t considered late by the credit bureaus, but after that time the creditor can report it to the credit bureau.
• Ask for a pay-for-delete if you have collections
  • This is an agreement between you and a collection agency to remove the collection when you pay the full amount due or an agreed upon amount. Also know that collection accounts are deleted from credit reports 7 years after the date of default.
• Use 30% or less of your available credit
  • If you have a credit card with a $500 limit, aim to have a balance of no more than $150 at a time. If you reach this balance, make a payment. Also make sure you are using your credit cards; you don’t build payment history without use.
  • You can also ask your credit card company to increase your credit limit. This could improve your score and will make it easier to stay below 30% usage.
• Avoid opening new accounts
  •  When you apply for a credit card the creditor will run a hard inquiry, and too many inquiries in a short amount of time can lower your score. Leave your old accounts open to preserve the length of your credit history.
• Know that multiple credit checks for the same kind of loan (auto, mortgage, etc.) within a short period of time are counted as a single inquiry and won’t harm your credit if you make your decision in a timely manner.
• Negotiate with your lenders
  • If you are having trouble making your payments, a lender may be willing to negotiate a more manageable payment plan.