Its a fact but anyone can get a bad credit rating. Its not just people who have poorly paid jobs or more loans than they can really cope with that end up with a bad credit history, it could happen to you! You could have a well paid job, you might be able to easily meet your loan repayment schedule, you might not even have a high number of loans and yet the unthinkable can happen. You go along to buy a new car, then when youre discussing financing it you hear the dreaded words - Oh, Im sorry there seems to be a problem here.

How on earth could that happen? Well sadly its not an uncommon occurrence that people simply forget to pay bills, or they are at least late with payments, just because they want to squeeze that extra bit of interest for themselves from their bank account. The result of this can be checks arriving late in the post or an office being shut when you eventually arrive there to make your payment. Sure, you can pay the outstanding amount, but the problem is - as far as the loan company is concerned - its late. If you have a record of late, or even worse missed, payments then a bad credit report can drawn against you.

If youve got a bad credit report there are things you can do to resolve the problem yourself:

The first thing to do is to get a copy of the bad credit report itself. In the USA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to see your credit report. All of the companies that prepare consumer reports, like say Experian, are obliged by law if requested to provide you with a free copy of your credit report. You can have one free copy per year, after that you may be charged for further copies. Having got your report - check it for errors. Youd be amazed at how many times personal details are not accurate or someone has a loan recorded against them that theyve never had etc. If there are mistakes on your report insist that they correct them. Remember, the law is on your side here.

Secondly, check that youre on your local electoral role. Your credit rating can be affected by not being on the electoral role, so if youre not - get yourself recorded on it and then tell the credit rating company to update their data on you.

Third, think about this one before ignoring it; take out a new loan or credit card. At first glance this might seem like madness, but there is method in it. By making sure you always meet the repayment deadline you will soon be able to restore your good credit rating. The trick here is to make sure you can afford the repayment schedule. If you take out a loan use it for buying a new TV or washing machine, something you need - not something frivolous. If you go for a credit card, remember you have to repay what you use on it. A good idea here is to only use it for everyday things that you can then put the cash equivalent on one side, ready to pay off the credit card at the end of the month. Hey, you could even consider paying before the final date its due?