How to Start to Clean Up My Credit Report

Cleaning up a credit report requires patience and effort, and it can take several months to notice an increase in your credit rating. The contents of your credit report affect your rating, and certain factors such as late payments or debt can lower your credit score. Boosting your rating involves fixing or improving the information reported to the credit bureaus. This entails a measure of responsibility and learning how to manage credit better.

Instructions

1

Go online to request a free credit report. Reading your credit report is the only way to identity mistakes that can lower your credit score. Get a copy of your report from the Annual Credit Report website and check the contents (see Resource). Look specifically for reporting errors and signs of fraud, such as unknown accounts.

2

Write the credit bureaus and ask them to investigate errors. If you don't recall a creditor listed on your report or you detect signs of identity theft, write a letter to all three major bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) challenging the information on your report. They'll investigate the claim and remove erroneous information. Bureau contact information is listed on credit reports.

3

Speak with your creditors to remove reported information. If a legitimate creditor fails to update your credit information, or if it reports inaccurate information such as late payments or higher balances, contact the creditor and ask it to correct the errors or update your account information. Removing negative errors can help improve your rating.

4

Pay on time to improve payment history. Late payments bring down credit scores. Sign up for online account management and begin paying your creditors online to avoid late payments and late fees. Open statements and write down due dates, or if you have difficulty paying on a certain date, ask your creditor to alter your due date.

5

Decrease debt and control your spending. Creditors report maxed-out accounts or higher account balances to the credit bureaus, and high debts will hurt your rating. Plan to pay down debts to clean up your credit. Make higher payments, stop buying with credit cards and, if necessary, take credit cards out of your wallet and leave them home.