Does anyone have ideas on repairing your credit score?
By angelican
@angelican (195)
United States
May 12, 2009 8:45am CST
I didn't use credit for 13 years and then my husband passed away. When I moved, for the first time I needed credit only to find out, what credit I had was all bad. They told me that a death can do that but how do I fix it? I lost my home to forclosure and that is hurting me the most. Please, any help. Can I get the forclosure off my credit?
1 response
@shira0524 (482)
• United States
12 May 09
Why is your credit all bad now? Were there bills that you didn't know about, that went unpaid? Or is it because you HAVE no credit? My suggestion to you would be to look online for a free credit counseling service - they are out there - and get some help. They will look at your financial position, figure out with you what you need to do to repair your credit, and then help you get started by telling you how to do it all. Good luck with all that! It can be very daunting, but it's possible.
@shira0524 (482)
• United States
12 May 09
The forclosure, unfortuntaly, is going to remain until it works its way off. That's 7 years in the US. I'm not sure where you are, or what the rules are elsewhere. So given that you have the forclosure, but the other bills WERE paid off, then what I suggest is that you contact the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and there is one other one that I forget), get a copy of your credit report - you should be able to get one free credit report from each of them, either through them or through one of those "free credit report" sites (just be careful that you don't sign up for anything, and cancel the services after you get your free credit reports) and compare them. Look at exactly what the problems are. And through the three services you should be able to have a citation made as to WHY you lost your house.
As for repairing the damage, you're going to have to start small and just do it bit by bit. Try to get a small loan or credit card just to get the credit. Make charges, but pay them IMMEDIATELY! Do not ever miss a payment. And after a few years of doing that, taking a loan after you pay off the other one, etc... you will build new, good credit to outweigh the bad credit. It will take some time. But you can eventually do it. Then, so long as you keep building only good credit, anything outstanding now will be wiped clean after 7 years. It's definitely a help that the bills were all paid, however. That at least looks more positive than the bills never getting paid at all.
Good luck!
