If you have had some problems paying your bills on time or for some reason you have not been able to pay at all you have no doubt got some bad marks on your credit report. The first thing you need to do is try to pay off some the debt you owe, to get started you need to get a copy of your credit report which thanks to a law passed you are able to get one free copy per year.

Once you've tried to make resolutions on the outstanding debt you have, the next step is to assess how much damage has been done and how you can go about reversing that damage. After you've paid as much debt as you can, you should get another copy of your credit report from one or all of the major credit reporting agencies. We'll give you contact information at the end of the book for these companies.

You can only receive one free credit report per year, as we've said, so requesting additional copies will probably cost you a small fee, but it is highly recommended so you can better understand where you are after you've attempted to correct the past due balances.

It's also very crucial to pay special attention to any items that may be incorrectly reported. Many people who are unfamiliar with credit report mistakenly believe that credit reports display a near perfect accuracy. The fact of the matter is that errors on a credit report occur with alarming frequency. Reporting agencies rarely verify or cross check information unless they have a specific reason to do so.

Credit report inaccuracies may take several forms including reporting of credit information on items which were never associated with the individual in question, items which may be related to an individual but are reported improperly or items which may be attributed to the individual but should no longer be reported on a credit report. Important personal items are often miss-reported as well including ones address, social security number and employment history.

No one else is going to look out for you and see that these corrections are made, if you discover inaccuracies on your credit report, the responsibility lies with you to begin the corrections process. Letters must be written explaining exactly what the problem is and the remedy you feel is warranted.

When dealing with inaccuracies, remember that each credit reporting agency maintains its own database of information. This is why one agency might report an item properly while others report it improperly and vise versa. Furthermore, if a common inaccuracy exists with multiple reporting agencies the repair process must take place with each agency reporting the item inaccurately individually.

In many cases this means to remove an item that has made its way onto each bureaus agency report, you must write three sets of letters and follow the process through with all three different agencies in order to be sure an item comes off from the reports. Depending on how many incorrect items you have on your credit report, this could mean writing and sending out many letters, but you must be persistent. You deserve to be treated right!