Welcome to the BEST articles, tips and resources on Rebuild Credit Scores. There are over 400 posts on Rebuild Credit Scores that will help you rebuild credit, add positive credit, dispute bad credit and errors on your credit report, manage debt, help first-time home buyers, establish business credit; and, if you are unbanked or in ChexSystems, help you get a new bank account.
It can be challenging to filter through and figure what information you should read, so I decided to do the hard work and organize the very best content for you below.
Sit back, take a deep breath and get ready to dive into the topics that interest you the most!
Rebuilding Credit
There is not one way to rebuild credit. Several avenues can be explored when rebuilding credit. The common thread to rebuild credit is to have current positive information in your credit history so it can be used when your credit score is calculated.
Other ways to rebuild credit is to dispute negative credit and request deletions of that information whenever possible. Lastly keeping on top of obligations can be the easiest way to rebuild credit. Late payments ruin credit scores but you can recover them by paying on time for several months after.
Here are the links to the articles that will help you rebuild credit:
- How to Rebuild Credit Scores
- Get Easy to Qualify for Retail Credit Cards
- Easy Credit credit cards can help build or rebuild credit
- Credit cards that will help Build Credit
- How Students Can Build Credit
- Rebuilding Credit in your 20s
- 6 Tips to Rebuild Credit after Bankruptcy
- How to Re-establish Credit: 4 Tips to a great score
- How to get excellent credit in 7 Steps
- Piggyback Secured Credit Cards to Raise Your Credit Scores
Credit Repair
In order to rebuild credit you may have to engage in hand-to-hand combat with your credit report. Once you know what is tanking your credit score you can strategically begin the credit repair process. The good news is that there are lots of rules and laws available in your arsenal of weapons.
Once you familiarize yourself with what’s available to fight the credit bureaus, creditors and debt collectors you will realize credit repair is a game. When you know the rules you will win.
Below are some of my best articles about credit repair, consumer laws and how to write an effective credit dispute letter:
- How to Repair Credit: A Guide to Improve Credit Scores
- How to Dispute Negative Credit
- What is the E-Oscar Method of Investigation
- How to remove outdated information from credit reports
- What is the Date of Last Activity (DOLA)
- Base credit disputes off factual errors in your credit report
- How to Dispute a Charge-off
- Get collection entries deleted from your credit report
- Sample Pay for Deletion Letter
- How to Dispute Late Payments
- How to Dispute Collection Accounts
- How to Dispute Negative Information Directly with the Original Creditor
- How to Request Method of Verification for Verified Disputes
- What is Re-Aging an Account: Learn what to do about this illegal practice
- How to Write a Dispute Letter
- How the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) helps consumers
- Overview of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
- The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) helps fix billing errors
- What is the Direct Dispute Rule
- How the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can help consumers
- Statute of Limitations on Debt
Debt Validation
Debt validation, outside of charge-offs is the second most popular topic here on the website. Visitors have a lot of questions about debt validation and I completely understand why. It should be straightforward but instead, it’s rather elusive. Unfortunately the federal and most state laws regarding debt collectors do not explicitly force debt collectors to prove you owe a debt. However, it is implied.
Debt validation can prove very useful in sending a message to debt collectors that you will not easily rollover. Most debt collectors want to get you on the phone, intimidate you into paying and make tons of money off a debt they literally purchased for pennies on the dollar.
Below are some of my best articles including some questions I have received on the subject of debt validation:
- What is Debt Validation: Make debt collectors provide proof
- How to Request Debt Validation
- What Constitutes Proper Debt Validation
- Various ways a collection agency will respond to debt validation request
- Debt Validation Sample Letter to a Debt Collector
- Debt Collector Served Summons in Response to Debt Validation
- Debt Collector refuses to remove unvalidated debt from credit report
- What documents should be considered as debt validation?
- Collection agency did not validate but verified debt with credit bureaus
- Is a statement from the original creditor enough for debt validation
- Debt Collector Provided Original Statement as Debt Validation, Should You Pay Them?
- Do you have to request debt validation for every junk debt buyer that purchases the same debt
Credit Scores
Credit scores are the 3-digit number that has the potential to control financial success. So much is tied to a credit score that it is almost impossible to avoid. You cannot rent an apartment, get a credit card, buy a car or home; and in some instances, get a job without a company digging into your personal credit.
Since credit scores have practically become unavoidable you may as well deal with them and make an effort to improve them.
Here are a few links on how to get a better credit score:
- How to get a Credit Score of 800 & above in 2014
- Demystifying Credit Scores: 5 Components that Make a Credit Score
- What your credit score says about you
- What is a Good Credit Score
- How to Improve Credit Scores
- Are you one of the 25% of Americans’ that have low credit scores?
- How to Raise your Credit Score Fast!
- Why Closing Old Credit Accounts puts your Credit Score at Risk
- How Late Payments affect your Credit Score
- Raise credit scores by using less of your available credit limit
- 5 Unknown Red Flags Hurting Your Credit Score
- How to improve credit scores with a goodwill letter
- 3 Benefits of a credit score 700 and above the credit card company won’t tell you
- How to get your credit scores
- New Rules Allow Consumers to Get Free Credit Scores
ChexSystems
Two of the biggest mistakes consumers make in managing a bank account are excessive overdrafts and leaving a bank account in a negative status. Banks report consumer banking habits to ChexSystems. The bank has several ways they can report an account to ChexSystems but the most common are account abuse or account fraud. Fraud is the worst notation a bank can make in a consumer’s ChexSystems report.
Negative items can stay in ChexSystems for 5 years. During that time it can be difficult to get a new bank account, even if the item has been paid. The bank may report you and sell the account to a collection agency causing you to not only have a ChexSystems record but also a negative item on your credit report for up to 7 years.
Here are a few links on ChexSystems and getting a new bank account:
- No ChexSystems Banks and Second Chance Banks
- No ChexSystems Savings Accounts
- Business checking account as alternative to ChexSystems
- Get a prepaid card that is truly similar to a checking account
- How to Dispute Telecheck
- What is Second Chance Checking
- Prepaid Cards as an Alternative to a Checking Account
- What is Telecheck
- 8 Reasons your Check may have been Denied by Telecheck
- What is ChexSystems: Learn the information contained in chexsystems
- How to Order a ChexSystems Report and Get a New Account
- How to dispute information in ChexSystems
- How to get removed from ChexSystems: 3 Alternative methods to disputing ChexSystems
- How to Dispute a Fraud Notation in ChexSystems
Other Can’t Miss Items
And lastly, here are 3 pages on the website that will knock your socks off! Okay, maybe not but they are good resources and full of information that will enlighten you.
My Resource Page is where you will find additional resources, tools and services to help you achieve your financial goals and save time and money. It’s a one-stop resource for almost all things financial.
Questions and Answers has become the most popular category. This is where you can ask a credit question and I will personally attempt to answer it. If I cannot answer your question I will try to point you to someone who can.
How-to-Guides is a great way to get the steps to take to solve a credit issue or get a quick solution. It is a one-stop resource for rebuilding credit topics, managing debt and getting new credit.
