How to Fix My Credit in North Carolina

Multiple resources are available to help you fix your credit in North Carolina. Nonprofit financial counseling agencies, such as those affiliated with Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) are available throughout the state. Their services are often free, with a variety of help available ranging from financial literacy classes to a complete examination of your finances and credit reports. A number of for-profit credit repair firms are also available in North Carolina, but the Federal Trade Commission says you should handle credit repair on your own to avoid being victimized by companies that cannot legally fix your credit any better than you can.

Instructions

1

Get a copy of your credit report from Annual Credit Report -- a website established by the three credit bureaus to provide free credit reports as required by the Fair Credit Protection Act. Order from the website or call 877-322-8228.

2

Contact a nonprofit credit counseling agency in North Carolina. Ask for a free evaluation of your credit report from a trained counselor. Help is available in North Carolina from agencies such as Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Western North Carolina; The Women's Center in Chapel Hill; Northwestern North Carolina Regional Housing Authority; and CCCS of Greensboro. Or find another agency by getting referrals from community organizations such as Urban League Central Carolinas or the United Way of North Carolina.

3

Identify, with the help of a counselor or on your own, all the negative entries on your credit report. Look for accounts listed as delinquent. This includes accounts showing as more than 30-days past due, accounts that have been closed and charged-off, and accounts that have been sold to debt-collection agencies.

4

Make payments to bring all your past-due accounts current. Getting current on all your bills and staying that way is the bet strategy for improving your credit, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

5

Contact creditors and debt collectors to resolve collection accounts and charge-offs. Offer to pay the full amount due if the creditor or debt collector will agree to have the credit bureaus remove the negative entry from your reports -- a process called pay-for-delete. Not all companies will agree, although it is legal. Or offer to settle the account by paying less than the full amount due, a process called debt settlement. Debt collectors often will settle delinquent accounts for about half the balance or even less. The negative entry on your credit report will be updated to reflect that the account has been paid, with the notation "settled for less than the full balance."

6

Dispute any inaccurate information on your report by writing a letter to the credit bureau. Find the address on your credit report or enter a dispute online.

7

Establish new lines of credit. Contact your bank or credit card company in North Carolina to apply for secured or unsecured lines of credit, such as credit cards. People looking to rebuild their credit often start with secured cards, which require a deposit into a savings account. Your credit limit generally will equal the amount on deposit and will be held as collateral. Stay well under your credit limit and make all payments on time to help fix your credit. Then open three or four additional accounts over the next 12 to 24 months as you continue to rebuild your credit.