My boyfriend has bad credit and he owes about $5000, What's the best way for him to fix his credit?
441421
Are you trying to buy a home together?  Most lenders do not consider collection accounts under $1000 and older than 1 year unless they are judgements or tax leins.  If he is trying to boost his credit score the easiest way would be to get a credit card.  If he is having trouble getting a regular card than he can go the secured route.  Once he obtains the credit card spend no more than 70% of the available balance and make minimum payments or more.  DO NOT pay the entire balance because the card company will not have anything to report.  As the credit card company reports to the bureau's it will show that he is able to make his monthly payments and his score will start to increase!  The idea is to start building Good Credit.
151225
1) Get a good attorney.\n2) Pay him lots of money.\n3) pay him more money.
485915
In a small claims court, you are limited on the things you can do.  One is try to put a lien on any of his property until he pays, or try to go back to court and liquidate his assests.  Another thing you can do is report to the credit bureau's that there is an unsatisfied judgement against him.  This will keep him in financial hurt for loans, credit (personal and business), renting, etc..  But you will have to renew the report every 6-12 months.  Also, you can see if you can get an garnishment against future employment.   That is about it.  Oh there is one other possibility, but not for sure it will work.  You can go to some of these collection companies and see if you can get them to try to collect for you but they cost lots of $$$$$.
464686
Try doing the opposite.  See if you can get someone with good credit to co-sign on your loan or credit card.  \n\nCo-signers usually do not benefit as much from a good credit history, but sure get in trouble if there is a missed payment or default.  It can ruin the co-signer's credit.\n\nIf you have a friend who will co-sign your card or loan, it will help you more.  I did that with a friend who filed for bankruptcy, and had a very difficult time getting credit.  They needed a credit card to reserve a hotel, buy plane tickets, or general emergencies.  I had super good credit, so the credit card company had no problem giving us a card.  It helped her pull out of bankruptcy.
1060639
What do you consider really bad? I'm a loan officer and I see people with credit in the high 500s get approved on loans for homes. if it is below about 620 or so you will probably have to come up with a 20%+ down payment though. There are a lot of companys that can help you improve your credit scores DRASTICLY in about 6mo to a year. It costs a little though. Also be very careful of "consumer debt counseling" they help you pay off all your debt faster by getting the companies you owe money to to settle on a lower amount, or "charge off" the balance. a charge off is what happens when a collector just says screw it we're never getting paid. Consumer debt counseling gets rid of your bills, but damages your credit worse than a Bankruptcy because it takes longer to repair the damage. I would contact a local Mortgage broker and see if they can prequalify you for a home. If they can't, ask for a recomendation for a good credit repair agency in your area. good luck!
530267
get a lawyer fast before he ruins your credit
814475
I can save you the money by giving my answers to his questions:\n\n    * A dirty little trick that credit card companies use to lower your credit score to keep their competitors away from you; learn if you're a victim of this, including how to fix it.\n\nThis trick is cards like CapitalOne don't report your credit limit, only your high balance.  This can make your utilization appear higher.  To see if you are a victim of this look at your credit report and verify that the reported credit limits match your actual credit limits.  Fix it by either getting rid of those cards or disputing the information with the credit bureau.\n\n    * Which errors on a credit report are a waste of time to fix and which are a high priority (helping you to raise your score by 5, 10, 15, 20 points at a time).\n\nBad advice, if you see an error go ahead and get it fixed.  The low priority items are inquiries greater than 6 months ago and pretty much any incorrect but positive item.  Negative items are obvious, late pays, etc.\n\n    * How to build credit (if you have none) and rebuild credit if you've gone through a divorce, bankruptcy, or other major delinquency.\n\nSmall secured bank loan, secured credit card, small car loan.  Make sure they report.  \n\n    * Why you should NOT become a cash-only citizen; at the same time, learn how to keep credit active without putting yourself into debt.\n\nCredit is handy, no reason no to keep some credit cards around, no need to do more than place an occassional charge on them to keep them active.  No need to ever pay interest.\n\n    * How paying collections can HURT your credit score.\n\nIt re-ages your account.\n\n    * How to prepare for a loan by improving your credit score.\n\nReduce utilization (either increase limits or pay down cards), age off inquiries (more than 6 months and they don't matter).  Dispute off negative items.\n\n    * How to maintain a high credit score for the rest of your life!\n\nPay your bills.
1084346
For the most part, it doesn't matter what country you're in. The only thing that can improve your credit rating is time and better credit history. Make your payments on time. Make extra payments when possible. Call your creditors to see if they can help you by lowering your interest rates and refinancing loans for a lower cost. My husband and I had BAD credit, and this was the only thing that could help. If you file for a bankruptcy, that will be on your credit for several years and will look worse to possible creditors than the fact that you are trying to dig yourself out on your own. You made the mess, no you have to clean it up. I know it sucks, but it's true. Make sure you keep accurate records so that when you finally pay a bill off, you can contact the credit bureaus with that information and get the bad info off quickly. We did this and we were able to buy a home, a new car, and a motorcycle within a year and a half! Good luck!
489723
Okay everyone makes mistakes and I myself made quite a few when I was younger..so now my credit is horrific. DO NOT GET A CREDIT CARD...you will be responsible for the balances and the interest rates are extremely high. I suggest go to a furniture store obtain a peice of furniture on credit and make the monthly payments. It takes time but believe me this is the absolute best way. If your husband already has ideas about a credit card and what he will do with it then that give you an idea of why he has bad credit. Be responsible...take your time and allow your credit to build by purchasing small priced items on a credit account. Also the more your credit is checked ..it lowers your credit rating! His credit does not necesarrially effect your credit because this was before you married...your name was not available on any of his account it will however effect any joint ventures such as applying for a house loan together.
123318
Don't do this.  It's a scam.\n\nThere is no way to "fix" your bad credit.  You can only improve it over time by paying your bills & being responsible.\n\nYou can, however, fix errors if there are any on your credit report.  You're entitled to one free credit report a year at annualcreditreport.com
796697
Look for adds for roommates.  Someone else getting the lease will help with the credit problem.  Ask among your friends first.
945
First: the ads that say "we'll fix your credit!" are LYING. You are the one who's going to have to do the job.\n\nFirst: get your credit report. Most states now have a law on the books that requires all of the credit reporting agencies to give you a credit report once a year. Check it over. Make sure that there are no *mistakes* on it - late payments that were not late, disputed accounts, etc. \n\nLate payments and charged-off accounts stay on for 7 years, bankruptcies for 10. Generally, lenders are looking for patterns of behavior rather than once-in-a-way problems. If you find something wrong (and it's likely, unfortunately), write a letter to the credit bureau, providing documentation that you're right. They have to respond in 30 days; if the creditor can't prove that the negative item is indeed true, it comes off your report.\n\nNow you're down to real debt. If you can't afford the payments, contact the lenders and negotiate reduced payments. They will prefer to be getting something rather than having to write off the debt. Once you can afford to pay everything, commit to paying off the worst (i.e., highest-interest) items first. They cost you the most money that isn't going toward paying off the debt. Once you've killed one, the money you were spending on that one can be applied to the next-worst debt, and so on. The amount you can pay any given creditor snowballs rapidly when you follow this pattern. You have to remember, though, that when the first one is paid off, you don't have "more money". You still need to be committing that to killing your debt.\n\nIf you're out of debt, but your credit is lousy, get a secured card, use it, and pay it off every month. This will do a lot for your credit rating. In addition, open a savings account, and make regular deposits. This shows you are saving money and have a resource to pay your bills.
1059603
I have answered this question in a 5 part series. There are a few items that can be done to build credit. Here are some quick ideas:\n\nThe fastest way is to have a family member or friend put you on a credit card of theirs as an authorized user. This allows the history of that account to report to your credit as well, but you never are in debt. (Just be careful that the account you are added to is a good one!)\n\nHowever, this is not a long term solution for good credit... try these for solid established credit over the long haul....\n\nOpen a Credit Union account and get them to provide a secured loan against your savings. If you have bad credit, most traditional and national banks will not give you a loan. They usually want good credit for that.\n\nGet a secured credit card and only use it for gas purchases, once a month and pay it off each month. No debt, but always paid on time... does wonders!\n\nBuying a car can help, but you will have a very high rate with limited or no credit.\n\n\nCheck out the resources below for all the details and more ideas.
1145663
You would just have to pay a deposit, with bad credit I had to give 50$ to get service. Using someone else's credit card, ( with permission from my grandpa)
1157674
Contact all credit companies NOW. Tell them you Will not guarantee any additional purchases and you want the account closed. Follow up with a written letter. Keep a log of everyone you call with time and date.  Request a copy of his loan balance and the agreement you signed.   You need to establish a "cut off" point so if the credit companies continue to extend credit it will be at their own risk not yours.\n\nNext ask the "dead beat" if he has anything to sell you to pay off his debt. (Get anything you can. Something is better than nothing.) make a list of what you get and how much it is worth. Send that amount into the credit companies directly. Don't give the money to the "dead beat".  Ask for a lien on his car. Tell him that will help you get a loan if needed to pay off his debt.\n\nNow it's 10 days later. Ask the "dead beat" how much he can pay each month towards the debt. Don't put him into a situation he can't live with it will just be a bigger problem.  Now call the credit companies ask ask for a reduction in interest rate and a payment schedule that you can afford.\n\nNow comes the time to KICK yourself in the butt for doing a "verbal" agreement and letting it go this far.
60769
The best way I have found is to reason with the person.  Show them that by not paying their debt it reflects on their character and integrity with you and others.  There is no telling how many people you will tell about this incident.  We as collectors can be worse then a credit reporting agency.  If the person if not a friend then try the courts or reason with phone calls and again tell them how this affects their business, their character and their standing in the community.  don't be afraid to stand up about what is right.
975028
Please ignore the above answers.  Another batch of people who guess at answers and won't take a moment to do some research.\n\nHere is your problem.  Protesting to the credit bureau does no good.  All they are required to do is check with the court and verify that there is a judgement on record (and there will be).  They will also check the status.  If it shows that it's not been satisfied, your credit history stays uncorrected.  \n\nYour job is to get this information corrected with the court, but it's going to require action by the creditor to do it.  And as you say, your creditor is being a jerk.\n\nYou need to do some simple research of your state laws.  Going to the court and asking the clerk's will not help because they are barred from giving you legal advice.\n\nLets take Michigan for example (see the law below).  The creditor is REQUIRED to report the discharge of the debt, or face contempt action by the court.  As you can see, in Michigan you simply send the creditor a certified letter demanding that they fix it.  If they don't you can sue them for $300 plus damages.  \n\nDo your research.  Maybe a local attorney will spend 5 minutes on the phone and tell you the local laws.  But I will guarantee you that every state has court rules that require the creditor to properly discharge their debts.