Clean Your Credit For Free With A Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit

In this post I’m going to show you how to use a Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit to clean your credit for free, even if you’re not handy enough to fix up anything that breaks around the house!

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Trying to fix a bad credit score on your own may seem intimidating.

After all, there’s plenty of companies out there that claim they’re the only ones who know how to repair your credit correctly.

In fact, I once paid an agency $500 to clean up my credit, only to later find out that they hadn’t done anything I couldn’t have done myself!

Not only that, but they were only able to remove a couple of items from my credit. The total impact to my score was minimal.

There are good and reputable credit repair companies out there, but their services can get expensive – quickly. If you can’t afford to work with them, you may just want to try some credit repair DIY style.

In this post, I’m going to show you step by step how to use a Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit to clean your credit fast.

Let’s get started!

Check Your Credit

Knowledge is power.

If you want to fix bad credit fast on your own, the first order of business is to check your credit and figure out where you stand.

This will give you a clear idea of which items are negatively affecting your credit. You can then focus your energies on those.

To get a more in depth look at what affects your credit and how to improve each of those factors, download my free Quick Start Guide today!

To get your credit report you can either:

• Visit the websites of the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.
• Go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call toll-free 1-877-322-8228.
• Use a credit monitoring site such as myFICO.

My favorite option out of these is to get my credit report and score from myFICO.

myFICO is the consumer division of the company that creates the credit scoring model to begin with. This is the equivalent of going straight to the original source!

Not only that, but myFICO credit reports come with a variety of tools and personalized tips that will help you increase your credit.

Look for Incorrect Information

Incorrect information can be costly.

Unfortunately, it’s a common occurrence on credit reports.

The second step to cleaning your credit report yourself is to examine your credit reports carefully. Watch out for anything that may be incorrect.

Keep an eye out for things like:

• On-time payments being marked as late or missed
• Open lines of credit showing as closed or vice-versa
• Incorrect account balances or credit limits
• Inquiries older than two years still showing on your credit
• Hard inquiries you did not authorize
• Incorrect public records, such as liens or judgements

Additionally, be sure to check your contact information for anything you don’t recognize.

This includes variations of your name or different addresses, as this may be an indication of identity theft.

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Use a Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit to Dispute Negative Items

Once you’ve identified items that could be negatively impacting your credit, the next step is to dispute them. This is where a Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit would come in handy.

What to Look for in a Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit

Now, there’s tons of diy credit repair material out there! You may be wondering how to know which are good and which are just junk and not worth your money.

A good credit repair diy kit should have:

• Good instructions on what you should do and in what order.
• Sample Do It Yourself credit repair letters
• A way to help you keep track of the calls you make or letter you send while cleaning your credit report yourself
• A way to help you track your progress

I recommend this DIY Credit Repair Kit by CreateWithLiya. It includes all of the above plus tips and other helpful material.

To get your copy of the Credit Repair Kit, check it out here:

Once you have the materials in place, incorrect or outdated items on your credit report should be corrected.

The easiest way to dispute them is to file a dispute claim through a credit monitoring site or through the credit bureaus’ websites.

However, to establish a more formal process, you may write do it yourself credit repair letters to the bureaus that are reporting the erroneous information using what’s known as a 609 letter.

Don’t let that intimidate you!

What is a 609 letter?

A 609 letter is simply a letter where you request that the credit bureaus remove negative information from your credit. It gets its name from Section…. You guessed it!…. 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

This section of the law basically says consumers have the right to know what’s in their credit reports.

You may use a sample template or write the letter on your own.

Also, a good Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit will include a sample letter for you to use or show you how to get or make one yourself.

Just be sure to include as much information as possible to support why you believe the item to be incorrect.

You want to get a tracking or receipt number so you can be sure of when your letter is received.

Once your dispute is received, the bureaus normally have 30 days to investigate your claim.

After this is completed, you should receive some communication.

This can be either an updated credit report showing any changes made, or an explanation why the dispute didn’t result in any changes to your report.

What if My Claim is Denied?

If your claim is denied, the bureaus will tell you why.

Review this information carefully.

If it was denied due to lack of information, you may re-submit a dispute once you can provide additional information.

However, if your claim was thoroughly investigated and the item you disputed was found to be correct, you can send a second letter of escalation, where you not only reiterate your belief that the information you’re requesting to be removed is incorrect, but you also state you intend to escalate your claim to appropriate government bodies, such as the FTC.

For this kind of communication, the turnaround time may be longer, so be patient!

If this still doesn’t work, there is not much else you can do through the credit bureaus.

You can try settling the item with the creditor directly.

Ask them to remove the negative mark from your credit as a gesture of goodwill.

Note however, that the creditor is under no obligation to do so.

If they do agree to settle your debt in exchange for removing the item from your credit, be sure to get it in writing.

Additionally, you may also add a comment or note to your credit report about the item, noting why you believe the item to be wrong.

It’s not guaranteed, but some creditors may take these comments into account when looking to extend credit to you.

If none of this works, unfortunately, you may just have to wait for the item to fall off of your credit.

Items normally fall off after seven years, or 10 years in the case of a bankruptcy or other applicable judgement.

Keep Track of Which Accounts Need More Attention

A Do It Yourself Credit Repair Kit will often include tools to help you keep track of your credit score, and your efforts, including any communication you’ve had with the bureaus or collection agency directly.

By tracking your credit score, you will get valuable insight into your credit’s performance.

This will show you the steps you can take to improve your credit score based on your specific situation.

Generally speaking, you should focus on:

• Reducing the account balance of those lines of credit that are nearly maxed out
• Settling or paying off any accounts that are in collections
• Making your minimum payments (and more, if possible) on time each month

All of these actions will have a high impact on your credit score.

They have the potential to help you fix a bad credit score in a relatively short period of time.

Stay Informed

Lastly, be sure to check your credit report often!

This will help you keep track of your progress, and quickly address any negative information as soon as it’s reported on your credit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before we finish off with today’s topics, I’d like to address a few questions that tend to come up often on the subject of DIY credit repair.

Can I do my own credit repair?

Yes! Many people believe that it’s illegal to fix your credit score yourself. While there’s plenty of good companies to help fix your credit out there, it’s perfectly legal, and a lot cheaper, for you to engage in credit repair on your own.

Can credit repair companies really fix your credit?

Yes. There are many reputable and efficient credit repair companies out there. However, Just like cleaning your credit report yourself takes time, a credit repair company will often take a few months before you start to see progress on your credit file.

Unfortunately, this is a main reason why a lot of people quit their services before they get to see any progress – and a big reason why credit repair companies tend to get a bad rep.

I recommend using Credit Saint or CreditRepair.com. Both are great companies that have been around for a long time and have great reviews.

How can I raise my credit score in 30 days?

There’s many instances where you need to raise your credit quickly. Maybe you’re looking to make a large purchase in the upcoming months. Perhaps you need a certain credit score to qualify for a rental lease.

If you need to fix your credit to buy a house for example, and you only have a limited time to do it, I recommend you focus on the biggest contributors to your credit score first.

The Biggest Contributors:

• Your credit ratio: The best way to fix your credit fast is to reduce your credit ratio by paying off as much debt as you can. It’s hard to believe but this will have a positive impact on your credit in as little as one billing cycle. Your credit ratio is calculated as the total amount you owe divided by the total amount of credit you have available, so it’s important that you don’t close out any accounts at this time.

• Your payment history: Another way to fix your credit score fast is to make sure your payment history is great. This means for the next couple of months you should try to not miss, or be late with, any payments. This is especially true if you do have some late payments in the past. This is because newer information tends to weigh more than older one.

Unfortunately, going through the process of disputing items on your credit will not be the best way to fix credit fast. This is because of the turnaround time that the credit bureaus have to provide you with a response on a claim or dispute.

Focusing on the two items above is truly the fastest way to fix your credit. Your credit ratio and credit history are THAT important.

Final Thoughts

Repairing a bad credit score is no easy task.

It can try your patience and be extremely time-consuming. But the benefits a good credit score can bring you is absolutely worth it!

By following these simple steps, with perseverance and dedication, you can significantly increase your credit score.

Better yet, without the need to enroll outside parties.

Have a credit repair success (or nightmare) story? Share it in the comments below!