How to Fix & Repair a Bad Credit Report

Defaulting on credit cards and loans or routinely sending in late payments damages your credit rating. A low credit score makes it difficult to get approved for different types of financing. If you have bad credit, you can take steps to boost your score and improve your credit report.

Instructions

1

Lower your existing debts. Pay off credit card balances to improve your FICO score. Creditors will report lower debt balances to the credit bureaus. Eliminating debt quickly adds points to your rating.

2

Deliver payments to creditors on time each month. Creditors report late payments to the credit bureaus, and too many of these on your record lowers your credit rating and makes it harder to acquire new credit.

3

Communicate and negotiate with creditors. If personal problems or tragedies contributed to a poor payment history, inform your creditors. They may waive late fees, extend due dates or agree to remove delinquencies from your credit report if you pay off a debt in full.

4

Look for errors on your report. Pull your credit report at least once a year and read through the document to make sure creditors are submitting accurate information. Annual Credit Reports offers one free report a year.