Get the Most Out of Credit Repair

So, you finally decided to take action and hire a credit repair agency to fix your credit.

First and foremost, congratulations for being proactive and making a great financial decision that will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Here are 4 steps you should take while being on a credit repair program:
(These steps will help you achieve the best results possible in the shortest amount of time.)

1. Forward Your Credit Reports and Identity Verification Documents

Send the credit repair company a Tri-merge credit report from all 3 credit bureaus along with copies of your ID, social security card, and utility bill. The credit report is self-explanatory, but the identification documents are just as important.

The credit bureaus typically try and use stall tactics to block the credit repair process by sending letters saying that they received suspicious requests or asking for additional documents to prove your identity.

Sending your ID, social, and utility bill to the credit repair agency so that they can forward those documents along with their investigation requests will disable the credit bureau’s use of any stall tactics and speed up your credit repair process.

2. Pay Your Bills On-Time

From the time you enroll in the credit repair service, you must make a conscious decision to pay all of your bills on time every month. A recent late payment can drop your credit score up to 100 points and negate any progress that you have made during the credit repair program.

You are investing your hard-earned money into hiring a company to fix your credit. Make sure that you manage your debt and pay your bills on time to give yourself the best chance at success.

3. Reduce Your Credit Card Balances

A large part of your credit score is calculated from the balance to limit ratio on your credit cards. Ideally, you want your credit card balances to be at or below 20% of your credit limits. (If the limit on your credit card is $1,000 – your balance should be $200 or less.)

Paying down your credit cards will help you to increase your credit scores and complete the credit repair process faster.

4. Establish Credit

Some consumers may lack open positive credit and lose out on maximizing their credit score potential. In these cases, it may be advantageous to open new accounts such as credit cards in order to build credit. If you cannot get approved for a regular credit card, apply for a secured credit card which will help you to rebuild your credit and improve your credit scores.