Anyone had bad credit and cleaned it up? Help me do the same?

How long does it take? What are the first steps to take?
Sure, my score has gone up almost 200 points in the last year.



1) Pay off all delinquent credit cards. Call up each credit card and negotiate monthly payments (set them up over the phone in advance, and you might get lots of fees/interest waived). Get them under control and dont miss any further payments.



2) Pay off all collections.



3) Dispute EVERY THING that shows up as bad on your report. late pays, collections, charge-offs, etc. Even if they are really yours, you may get lucky.



4) get your balances on your cards under 30% of their limit.



5) dont open new accounts unless you dont have any current/open credit carsd. You want the average account to have been open a long time.
that is a really super great answer. :)

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This works only if you have the financial means to do so. People on limited incomes like myself are subjected to paying off bad credit slowly, even on payment arrangements. Most creditors won