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Top Secrets of Credit Repair Specialists!

If your credit has some issues that you would like to take care of, you may be wondering if it is time to call a credit repair specialist.  Before you do, consider this: There is nothing that any professional can do for your credit that you cannot do for yourself.  (The exception being having an attorney sue a creditor for illegal collection practices!)

As long as you have the desire to learn and the time to invest, there is no reason that you cannot repair your own credit.  Here are some strategies that are used by the pros for fast credit repair.

Pay for Delete

Most consumers think that when they have collection accounts, the best thing that they can do is to pay them off.  Unfortunately, many people who do this find that paying off collection accounts actually lowers their credit score.  The reason is that recent credit counts a lot more in your credit score than older items.  When you pay off a collection account you renew the last activity date and in doing so cause the account to impact your credit score much more.

What you want to do is contact the creditor directly and arrange for a pay for delete.  This should be done in writing up front before you make a payment.  This agreement, which should be signed, states that in exchange for payment in full the creditor agrees to delete the account completely from your credit file.  Only after you have a written agreement in place should you make a payment.  Be sure to hang on to the letter – you may need it later if the creditor fails to keep their end of the bargain and keeps reporting the account to your credit.

Piggybacking

Many people think that piggybacking, or becoming an authorized user, is no longer a viable credit restoration strategy.  This is because the new rules of FICO 08 put an end to people’s ability to pay a total stranger to add them to their accounts in hopes of raising their credit score.

This does not mean that you cannot still use piggybacking to improve your credit.  The new rules simply mean that you will have to get a parent or spouse to add you to their accounts.

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