Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Truth About Fast, Easy Credit Repair

By Robin Melendez

There is no quick fix, or easy solution for credit repair. Doing it yourself can save you lots of money, and hiring someone else to do it for you is supposed to be less stressful. The truth is no matter which way you fix your credit, it will not be fast, or easy.

While it is true that sometimes collection agencies are less willing to deal with people than with credit repair services companies. This is not always the case. Just remember that extra effort you are putting into repairing your credit is going to benefit you.

I am a firm believer in the fact that your credit didn't get bad overnight, it's not going to repair itself overnight either. One of the most important steps to repairing bad credit, after admitting that you have bad credit, is to get rid of the credit cards. Some people are addicted to credit cards, and they don't know how they would live without them. Well many people live without them on a regular basis.

One method I have heard of that has potential is to stop paying your credit card debts. I mean let's face it, anyone who has ever had credit card debt knows that you will never pay it off making minimum payments. So instead of making minimum payments, put the money in the bank, and let it accumulate for a few months.

Surprisingly enough, when you contact your creditor and offer a lump sum payment, they have been known to settle past due accounts for as little as pennies per dollar. You may have to dust off your negotiating skills, but if you stick to it and don't be too eager to give in, you'll get results.

A good first step is to assess your situation. You must know where your credit is at before you can begin to rebuild it. It should be mentioned here, that sometimes it needs to get worse before it gets better. A really good help for this, is to look at the big picture. A few missed payments now, are not going to reflect all that badly once the whole debt is paid off.

A lot of people have found sources of hope, support and good information on credit repair forums. Some people working for companies offering credit repair services are on these forums as well. It can be a great place to get free advice and to read about others who have dealt with situations similar to what you're dealing with.

Please remember this, if you remember nothing else. Research. That's right Research. It is extremely important to research your alternatives as well as your legal rights and responsibilities.

I must caution you at this point, that if you have never before repaired bad credit, you must read everything. This is really important as you don't want to inadvertently make your credit worse. You must read everything before just jumping in.

One saying I have heard that rings true, is make choices and don't look back. Decide on a course of action and move forward. Never mind wasting time trying to figure out what would have happened if you had made a different decision. It's done, you decided now move forward from where you are.

One thing I should mention here is that there are laws governing the acts of the credit reporting agencies, as well as the companies that report the information to them. If you find inaccurate information on your report, you have the right to dispute it. Pick your course of action, Get rid of your credit cards, and repair your credit.

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