Also, on that collection agency letter, you only have 30 days to dispute the validity of that debt. Dispute it immediately or else it will be held as a valid debt!

I also wouldn’t recommend going to sites on the web that charge you for the information.

You do need to order your credit reports and see what is on them. If you want your free reports, go to the annualcreditreport.com site. But, keep in mind when you start disputing things from that free report, the credit bureaus have an extra 15 days to investigate. Which is 45 days.

If you dispute from a paid report from each credit bureau, they only have 30 days to investigate. That can make a big difference in whether an account stays or is deleted.

I would suggest going to the site that I’ve listed and start by reading the newbie forum. Then start reading in the credit forum.

It is a “free” do it yourself credit repair site.

The American “people” – who voted for Obama – are too “busy” in their lives – the young adults and college age kids of America are too busy with their computer games and their partying to even care about “working hard” – the old America is being pushed out the door by the weakness of Obama and his incredibly liberal and massive spending policies – it borders on mental insanity – almost the brain of a low IQ moron who fuddles his way through the spending of money that he believes to be “fake” – play money- monopoly money. o_O

Congratulations on paying off your debts. I’m sorry you were recently denied new credit, but don’t worry, if you’re responsible from now on it will bounce back. This actually doesn’t mean your credit is really bad, so don’t panic.

You are entitled to a free credit report anytime you are denied for credit, so take advantage of that, and see your reports. Your recent pay-off may not be reflected yet.

Make sure to keep your credit lines open. Your credit score is determined in part by a debt-to-credit ratio, and closing your accounts will lower your score further. There is no need to open new accounts, just maintain the ones you’ve got carefully (i.e, don’t get into debt again), and you’ll be fine.

**EDITED TO ADD:

Sorry to hear about the collections. They will hurt your score. However, there are cards that specialize in high-risk candidates:

I would check your current credit report/score first. See what you’ve got to work with.

Also, there are such things as secured credit cards: you make a deposit, and that amount is your credit limit. (You’re borrowing your own money, essentially.) It’s not the best deal, but if you manage it responsibly, you will be able to upgrade to a regular card.

I’ve counseled clients who were recovering from bankruptcy, and credit cards were the best way to help rebuild credit.

But there is no substitute for responsible management of your money – that’s something you have to do for yourself.

Since you’ve paid off your debts, I think you’re on your way. Make sure you don’t get into trouble again, and good luck!

1) Cell phones DO NOT show on your credit. YES, they run your credit for approval… but thats just to know if they can trust you or not. Beyond that, it DOES NOT show on your report OR help your score.

2) CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNTS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA!! You need multiple accounts to be ‘good’ every month in order to positively affect your score. How many cards to you have? 2-3 would be good. Keep the balances low (under 40% of the limit) and keep them open. The longer you do this,the better.. Your score WILL GO UP just by keeping your cards open and good.

3). Dispute all bad payment history and collections, even if they are valid. Seems silly, but it works sometimes even if its valid…and your score CAN go up.

4) Some credit cards are pickier than others. But if you already have a few, you really dont need another…so dont worry about opening a new one.

Credit Score Explained