11 DIY credit repair tips

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.

A good credit score can be the difference between financial health and financial burden. Whether you’re applying for a loan, looking for an apartment or buying a new car, taking steps to repair your credit can give you greater peace of mind.

Considering how complex and time-consuming credit repair generally is, many choose to work with credit repair professionals to improve their credit. Others choose to tackle it themselves, preferring a more hands-on process.

If that’s your goal, here is some information about DIY credit repair and 11 tips that can help get you started on improving your credit profile.

What is DIY credit repair?

DIY credit repair refers to any tactics or financial habits that can improve your credit without legal or professional help. If you have bad credit, credit repair can absolutely be worth the effort.

The main benefit of DIY credit repair is using the money you may have otherwise spent on professional services to pay down debt and improve your credit.

The drawback of DIY credit repair is that it can take longer and may be less effective than professional credit repair. For some, it may also be hard to follow through on the credit repair process without someone else actively encouraging and directing you.

How can I repair my credit myself?

If you’re ready to start repairing your credit yourself, here are 11 things you can do to work toward potentially raising your score and improving your credit history today:

1. Access your credit reports from all three bureaus
2. Review each report
3. Request to have inaccurate items removed
4. Wait for a response
5. Become an authorized user on someone else's credit card
6. Pay down credit cards
7. Be strategic about applying for new credit
8. Learn how negative items affect your score
9. Consider consolidating your debt
10. Improve your payment history with consistent on-time payments
11. Understand the Credit Repair Organizations Act

DIY credit repair may take time. However, if you’re committed, you can improve your credit on your own and create a better financial situation for yourself and your family. It takes research, careful preparation and dedication to an effective financial plan.

1. Access your credit reports from all three bureaus

In order to fix your credit, you first need to know what information is hurting it.

Request copies of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus: Experian^®, TransUnion^® and Equifax^®. Some creditors or lenders may not share your information with all three credit bureaus, so requesting all three reports helps you get a full picture of your credit history.

These credit bureaus are legally required to provide your free credit report at least once per year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and you can obtain them at AnnualCreditReport.com. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that you should be cautious of other “imposter” websites that misspell the AnnualCreditReport.com URL or include “free credit report” in their name in an effort to direct you to a scam website. 

2. Review each report

Once you receive your reports and read through each one, be on the lookout for errors or particularly damaging items.

Check the following when reviewing your credit reports:

• Accounts that never closed after your request
• Unfamiliar accounts that aren’t yours
• Errors in your personal information
• Accounts that are listed as maxed out
• Payments that are past due
• Accounts that are charged off or sent to collections

For any delinquent payments and past-due accounts, you’ll need to get in direct contact with your creditors to resolve them using a payment plan or another resolution. For incorrect information, you’ll need to dispute it with the credit bureaus.

3. Request to have inaccurate items removed

The process for disputing unfair, inaccurate or unsubstantiated items depends on the credit bureau. You can usually file your dispute online, over the phone or by mailing a letter. A successful dispute should result in the removal of negative items by the creditor or credit bureau and could help improve your credit score.

You should take the following steps to dispute a negative item:

1. Gather documentation that supports your claim.
2. Write a dispute letter. It should clearly identify the item(s) you are disputing, state your case and request to have the error removed or corrected.
3. Keep copies of your records. If you file online, take screenshots for your records. If you file via mail, be sure to keep your certified mail receipt.
4. Wait for the response.

Here is where to submit a dispute with the three credit reporting agencies: 

Here is where to submit a dispute with the three credit reporting agencies: 

TransUnion

• TransUnion’s dispute page
• Mail to: TransUnion LLC

Consumer Dispute Center, PO Box 2000

Chester, PA 19016

Experian:

• Experian’s dispute page
• Mail to: Experian

PO Box 4500

Allen, TX 75013

Equifax:

• Equifax’s dispute page
• Mail to: Equifax

PO Box 740256

Atlanta, GA 30374-0256

4. Wait for a response

Credit bureaus have 30 – 45 days to investigate your dispute. They forward all relevant data to the data furnisher (creditor, lender or financial institution), who is required to investigate and report back. If the creditor doesn’t respond or isn’t able to verify the accuracy of the data, the bureau may choose to remove the negative information.

The credit bureau must give you the results of the investigation in writing along with the name, address and phone number of the information provider. If the dispute results in a change, you’ll also receive a free credit report.

If the dispute isn’t resolved, you can request that a statement of the dispute be included in your future credit reports. If the item is changed or deleted, the credit bureau cannot add it back to your file unless the data furnisher verifies that it is accurate.

Fortunately, whether or not your dispute is resolved, you can work to prevent future negative marks on your credit by improving your credit habits.

5. Become an authorized user on someone else’s credit card

Don’t have great credit, but have a trusted person in your life who does? You can actually piggyback on their credit by becoming an authorized user on one of their credit card accounts. This can improve your credit by applying the cardholder’s account history to your credit report, but keep in mind that this process requires a tremendous amount of trust between both parties.

As an authorized user, you aren’t responsible for paying the charges on the account. Be advised, however, that if they have a poor standing on the account or start making late payments, this could end up having a negative impact on your score. The cardholder may also see their score dip if your score is low, so be sure they’re willing to take that risk.

6. Pay down credit cards

Your credit utilization ratio accounts for 30 percent of your FICO credit score. This ratio shows how much of a balance you carry compared to how much total money is available to you on your credit cards. Lenders like to see low utilization ratios, such as 30 percent or less. (For example, using $500 of the $5,000 available to you would give you a utilization ratio of 10 percent.)

All you need to do to lower your utilization ratio is pay down the balances on your credit cards regularly. If you pay more than just the minimum payment each month, you can likely decrease your utilization ratio faster. And remember—lower utilization ratios usually lead to healthier credit.

7. Be strategic about applying for new credit

Applying for a new account prompts a hard inquiry (as opposed to a soft inquiry, like checking your own credit score, which won’t affect your credit). Each new hard inquiry will typically hurt your credit score, at least temporarily. New credit applications account for 10 percent of your FICO credit score.

Having one or two inquiries in a short period of time won’t do too much damage. However, you may want to avoid applying for credit too often or just because it will get you a discount. Only apply for credit when you need it.

8. Learn how negative items affect your score

Negative items such as late payments, charge-offs, collection accounts or bankruptcies can cause your score to dip. Even a single negative item could cost you many points, and items such as a bankruptcy or foreclosure are especially damaging.

Usually only the passage of time can remove accurate negative items from your credit report. Here are some examples of how long a negative item can impact your credit:

• Making a car payment late: Seven years from the first late payment
• Going bankrupt: Seven to 10 years
• Foreclosing on a home: Seven years
• Having a debt sent to collections: Seven years from the original delinquency

To stay on top of your credit, work to prevent new negative items, and keep an eye out for any inaccurate items on your credit reports that need to be addressed.

9. Consider consolidating your debt

Since having a variety of debts may make it harder for you to make all of your payments on time and in full, it may be helpful to consolidate your debt. Plus, you may even be able to move debt from accounts with higher interest rates to accounts with lower ones, saving you money over time that you can use to pay your debt down faster.

One DIY method for paying off your debts is focusing on paying down accounts with either the highest interest rates (saving you more money on interest payments) or the lowest remaining balances (so you can pay them off faster).

Another possible way to consolidate debt is with a debt consolidation loan, which can help you roll existing debt from multiple accounts into a single loan with a lower interest rate.

In either case, remember that opening and closing accounts can also have a negative effect on your credit score. However, this effect can be temporary, and it may ultimately be worth it if it means helping you save on interest payments while paying off debts more quickly.

10. Improve your payment history with consistent on-time payments

The most important thing you can do to maintain good credit is pay all your bills on time and in full. Your payment history accounts for 35 percent of your FICO^® credit score. Making late payments will usually damage your credit. If you missed payments in the past, those marks can continue to hurt your score for up to seven years.

It can take time to improve your credit score, and the average recovery time for a single missed payment is 18 months. However, by continually making on-time payments, you can push those missed payments further back in your credit history, which can steadily improve your score.

11. Understand the Credit Repair Organizations Act

The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) is a federal law that was passed in 1997 to keep professional credit repair providers from taking advantage of their customers.

To summarize CROA, three potentially relevant rulings are that:

• Credit repair servicers cannot demand payment from you before completing any services.
• Any contracts for credit repair services have to be put in writing.
• Credit repair customers maintain some contract cancellation rights.

You may not think this applies to you if you’re undergoing your own credit repair plan, but it’s important to know your rights in case you do find that you need to enlist professional help.

What is the fastest way to do DIY credit repair?

The fastest way to do DIY credit repair depends on your specific financial situation, your credit goals and the nature of any derogatory marks on your credit report.

It can help to focus on fixes like filing credit disputes, if applicable, which give credit bureaus 30 – 45 days to investigate and potentially remove inaccurate or unfair negative items from your credit report. It can also help to focus on high-impact strategies, like improving your credit history, which accounts for 35 percent of your total credit score.

Credit repair takes time, and it can vary widely based on factors like your credit history, credit score, income, total debt, number of open collection accounts and more.

If you don’t have time to do the legwork for yourself, it may be a good idea to get some assistance.

Lexington Law can assist you in your credit repair efforts by helping you to identify errors and address those items. Reach out to us for a free credit report consultation.

Reviewed by Sarah Raja, an Associate Attorney at Lexington Law Firm. Written by Lexington Law.

Sarah Raja was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2010 she earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Arizona State University. Sarah then clerked at personal injury firm while she studied for the Law School Admissions Test. In 2016, Sarah graduated from Arizona Summit Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. While in law school Sarah had a passion for mediation and participated in the school’s mediation clinic and mediated cases for the Phoenix Justice Courts.

Prior to joining Lexington Law Firm, Sarah practiced in the areas of real property law, HOA law, family law, and disability law in the State of Arizona. In 2020, Sarah opened her own mediation firm with her business partner, where they specialize in assisting couples through divorce in a communicative and civilized manner. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys spending time with family and friends, practicing yoga, and traveling.

Note: Articles have only been reviewed by the indicated attorney, not written by them. The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, reviewers, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective agents or employers.