When you have bad credit and you're trying to get a loan it can be extremely frustrating. Repairing your bad credit can be almost as frustrating as trying to get a loan with bad credit if you don't know how to do it. There are two ways to repair your bad credit. One is to do it your self the other is to hire a credit repair agency to do it for you.



The first step in deciding whether to do it yourself or hire a credit repair agency is to get a copy of your credit report. There are three agencies that report your credit. Equifax, Experian, and Trans-Union are the three credit reporting agencies. Each of these agencies allow you one free credit report each year. Once you obtain your credit report you need to go over it thoroughly and decide what is fixable and what is not.

There are some things on your credit report that cannot be repaired, for these things it just takes time. If you have had a bankruptcy then expect it to be on your credit for up to ten years. Unpaid bills can be on your credit for up to seven years or until the statue of limitations runs out. There is no limit on how long a criminal conviction, an application for a job that pays more than 75,000 a year or an application for more than 150,000 worth of credit can stay on your credit history.

The next step is deciding wether you want to do it yourself or hire a credit repair agency . If there are only a few things you are wanting to dispute with the credit agency it might be a good idea to do it yourself. The first step is letting the credit agencies know what information you think is inaccurate. The credit agency must then investigate the information , usually within 30 days, and then report all relevant data back to you. In order for this to happen you must move on to the next step. You must inform the creditor in writing that you are disputing an item. If all is done correctly then the creditor will investigate the dispute and report back to the credit agency. This is a time consuming process.

Hiring a credit repair agency can save you a lot of time but they usually cost around $500 dollars. However they can usually get better and faster results than you can. If you're not interested in all the hassle and wait time of doing it yourself then hiring a credit repair agency might be right for you.

Wether you decide to use a credit repair agency or you do it yourself repairing your credit can be a great way to get your credit score a little higher and save yourself some money in the end.