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As hard as it may be to believe, many people who have bad credit ratings are not even aware of their situation. In order to find out exactly what your credit report indicates you can apply in writing to view your credit report, a process which generally takes two weeks. Alternatively, by paying a small fee you can access your credit report within 48 hours.
Your credit report holds important information about your financial history that lenders can use to assess your ability to repay your debts. In turn they use this information to decide whether they will lend to you.
If you have a negative credit report finding solutions to improve your situation can be difficult. Here are 5 suggestions that may help you repair your bad credit.

In order to most effectively manage your finances, knowledge is the key. Always make sure to know exactly what financial situation you are in. You can do this by obtaining your credit report and reading it over thoroughly. It is possible to identify and challenge any mistakes you might find on your credit report. It is not uncommon for credit reports to contain mistakes. As these mistakes can adversely affect your ability to apply for credit you should endeavour to ensure that your credit report accurately reflects your financial position. Examples of mistakes that can occur are:
– Personal detail errors

– Mistaken defaults and judgements
– Old defaults and judgements
– Incorrect details of credit history
Should you find any errors on your credit report, you should notify the credit reporting agency of these in writing as listings on your credit report that cannot be substantiated must be removed.
The credit reporting agency will amend your report immediately if your supporting documentation proves the error. Rectifying mistakes can help repair your credit report if incorrect information is contained on the report.

Your credit report may contain information about defaults and payments that you have failed to meet. Numerous debts with varying interest can be impossible to manage and this can lead to defaulting payments. Unfortunately, if you have already incurred a negative credit report as a consequence of defaulting payments, there is little you can do. However you should endeavour to ensure this does not continue to happen. One way of eliminating your multiple debts is by consolidating these debts into single debt consolidation loan.
A debt consolidation loan can consolidate all your debts into one sum that has a low comparable interest rate. This means that one low manageable monthly payment is the only debt obligation you will have to meet. This will eliminate all your current defaults and help you manage your debts more effectively. In the long-run this will be of benefit to your credit rating.

If you have multiple debts or are just naturally forgetful it can be difficult to pay all of your debts on time and this can lead to a bad credit rating. Often people have so many debts that one or more bills are overlooked. However, you do not necessarily need to physically respond to each bill and take action. One solution is to set up all your bills to be automatically debited from your account every month, on time. This way you need never worry about late or missed bills again.

Your credit report can also reflect information that will positively affect your ability to obtain finance. For example if you are married, a homeowner or have been with the same employer for over two years, then these are facts that will help your credit record. Lenders generally look at this information positively and it may assist with your applications for credit. If this applies to you and you believe positive information is missing from your report then you can notify the credit reporting agencies so that it can be added.

In the long-term your goal should be to develop a good credit history. This can only be done by showing your ability to manage your debts effectively. Unfortunately for those with bad credit ratings, the catch is that it can be difficult to obtain credit in this situation. However, by obtaining a debt consolidation loan or a non-conforming loan you can begin to develop a consistent credit payment history. By meeting you monthly obligations on time and every month you can develop a credit history that will reflect well on your credit rating.
To guarantee that these steps are effective you also need to learn and stick to good financial habits. Several key steps to this are
Spend less than you earn
Don’t take on expensive and dubious forms of credit unnecessarily
Don’t make any late payments
Watch your money carefully
Following these steps will create a framework in which you can fix your bad credit rating and ultimately lead you to a good credit rating and a debt free future.