Credit repair is not instantaneous. Your credit score updates regularly as the data on your Experian, TransUnion and Equifax credit reports changes, but MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston explains that it still takes at least 30 days for noticeable improvement. You can make a difference in a month by using specific credit-fixing methods.
Dispute Credit Report Mistakes
Your credit reports are likely to have disputable mistakes, since MSNBC writer Bob Sullivan reports that up to one-quarter of consumer credit files have negative errors. The credit bureaus only get a month to handle disputes and are required by law to erase any data they cannot validate within that period. Your credit report is improved within 30 days if any of your disputes are successful. Check your reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally mandated site that gives you no-cost copies every year. The Federal Trade Commission recommends mailing your complaints in writing to each credit bureau and getting delivery receipts from the post office, as the investigation period begins when the bureaus get your correspondence.
Dispute Outdated Information
Experian, TransUnion and Equifax are supposed to remove most negative information from your reports within certain time frames. For example, late payments, written-off accounts, court judgments for bad debt, home foreclosures and car repossessions should be erased in seven years, while bankruptcies should be eliminated from your records in 10 years, according to the FTC. Use the dispute process to complain to the credit bureaus about old information. The bureaus must eliminate it within 30 days of your complaint.
Pay Down Credit Cards
You quickly improve your credit by paying a lump sum on your highest balance credit credits, according to Pulliam Weston. Your credit looks bad if you owe more than 30 percent of your total credit card limits, so you quickly improve things if you bring your debt below that level. Your credit rating improves within 30 days of a significant balance reduction. Pay more than your monthly minimum payment requirements if you cannot afford to make large payments. This method also fixes your credit, but more slowly.
Settle Old Bills
Banks write off credit card bills within about six months if you stop paying, according to Pulliam Weston, but you still owe the money and the charge-off haunts your credit reports for seven years. You get a collection agency entry on your reports, too, if the card issuer sells your account to a debt collector. Approach the bank or agency and negotiate a settlement that includes complete removal of the credit report entry, not just a change to "paid" status. Removal of major negatives like charge-offs and collections quickly improves your rating.
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