Repair Credit Report Help

How do you "fix" a credit report? There is no contact info on two old debts. Who do I call to ask?

I am 43, a stay at home mother. I will be leaving my husband, so I have to start life over, I suppose. I ordered my credit report, knowing my credit was bad (592), but I don't know how to even begin fixing it. They list the outstanding amounts owed, but no contact info for the people I owe them to. It is also recommended I get a major credit card, but how will that help? How would I do that? I am very frustrated right now about how helpless I've become over the years letting my husband deal with everything, so offer me some hope that I can repair this and get on with my life. I'm a bit intimidated by it all, and that's pretty embarrassing, but I have to learn how to do this.

Public Comments

1. You can get some general guidance at www.ehow.com (enter "credit repair" or "credit building" in the search window).
2. Two things that you said makes leaving a poor choice: Mother and " 'I' will be leaving". Unless there's abuse or infidelity, you chose this man to be the father of your children. You owe it to your children to make this marriage work. You need marriage counseling, not financial counseling.
3. Its pretty easy. Get the names of the companies and try to google them for contact info. If the debts are outstanding dont and have been on your credit for over 7 years dont worry by law you dont have to pay them they will fall off or you can contact the credit companies(equifax, experian, transunion) to remove them. Gettting a credit card helps only if you intend to pay it. When you get one and pay the bill you look as if you have changed your life around and starting paying your bills on time. You can get a credit card for a fee since you have a pretty low score from First Premier Bank or Orchard bank. Going to your local bank and getting a secured card works also. Secured cards are credit cards backed by you money. Dont be intimidated or embarrassed everyone has to learn at least once. Get familar with Fair Credit Act and see what rights you have before you do anything. Creditors will try to make you pay and sometimes you dont have to because its their job to prove you owe and have to pay. MAKE SURE THEY CAN PROVE IT NEVER ACKNOWLEDGE A DEBT! Even if you know its yours. They lose records also, just pray they did.
4. Check with a Co. that has a remarkable record with the Better Business Bureau and will offer Credit Repair and Maintenance. Therefore, you will have follow-up assistance to maintain a good credit record. I recommend VR-Tech Marketing which is a part of United Credit Education services. These people care about your situation. They tell you step by step, the repair process. When you go to the website, get the information you need to get a BBB Report on them. You won't be sorry!
5. On the two debts that have no contact, are you receiving billing statements? If not, it's to my understanding that they will be removed from the credit report after seven years. If your husband has made the debts, then he must be held responsible for paying them. If he forged your signature to create the debts, he must be prosecuted. If the debts were for joint credit, then in your divorce decree, have the judge force your husband to pay his share. There are non-profit credit counselling organizations that can help you consolidate your debts and re-establish your credit. Then, as a last resort, there is bankruptcy. If you can get a major credit card, it will help to re-establish your credit. I wish you the best, and may God bless you.
6. Where did you get your credit reports? If you didn't go to the gov't recommended site at http://www.annualcreditreport.com you got a "filtered" credit report. Also, where did you get your score? There are three you know. The best place to get all three scores is at the genuine FICO site. http://www.myfico.com Do get your complete reports at that site, and remember, if you need to review your reports after you have received your free reports, you can go back to that site and just pay for them. They're about 9.95 each. Transunion is the most complete of the three. They have a lot more info on their reports. They list names, and addresses of creditors and collectors. If it is an old debt, it probably was sold to a collector. It will fall off your report in 7 years. Now, lets talk about the report you got. It listed things that would help you improve your score, and things that are causing you trouble. It might be hard to get a credit card right now. So, work on the negatives on your reports first. Get a new copy of Transunion. Find old debt, and then call the CREDIT REPORTING agency to see who the company is. Ask them who the original creditor was. DO NOT contact the collector. This will open a can of worms you'd best leave alone until you can educate yourself about how to deal with them. Let me recommend a site. It's a message board and there are many very smart people who will help you, all for FREE. Don't get discouraged. My x left me with over 60 thousand in credit card debt that wound up on my credit reports. It took me one whole year, but I disputed it all right to the core, and it was all removed. Hold your head high, and get ready for battle. It is aggrivating as heck, but you will be glad you educated yourself first. Here's the site. You can browse around and see if there is anything helpful before you sign up. Remember it's free. Good luck. http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php
7. You need can two things: first you may contact credit bureau and request contact information, do this with all three credit bureaus, second choice is to research on the Internet by the pieces of contact information what you have got.