Can a credit card repair damage your credit rating? Yes, a credit card or loan account can help improve your credit score, but you will need to be very diligent in making timely payments for many months. If your credit rating is poor, it generally is because you have made a few mistakes in the past. Perhaps you were late in making payments, or missed a couple, or even have gone through bankruptcy. You still can turn around your credit rating to a positive, and actually it will not take all that long to do so. Use debt consolidation or balance transfers if you must to get better interest rates.
First take a look at your credit record. You can obtain this free once a year from each of the "big three" credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian. You can do this by going online to a website called: www.annualcreditreport.com . There is no charge for this. Some people pull one up every four months, using a different CRA each time, so that over the course of a year, you have a constant updating of your credit file, since each are relatively the same. This way you can see how your report is changing, and if there is any unwanted activity showing up on it.
Second, take a look at any credit accounts or loans you currently have. Be sure they are all caught up to timely payments. Do not close them, yet. Do not use them again. Keep making the payments, and add extra payment money when you can. In time, the negatives will come to positives again. It may take six months to a year to have some impact. These credit cards can rebuild your credit rating.
Third, consider getting a new credit card or account. If you cannot get one in your own name, try a co-signer. If you can get a family member or friend to co-sign on a small loan, or small limit credit card, that can be helpful to you in obtaining one if you have bad credit history. Do not default on friends or family! The last alternative for getting credit with a bad rating is to find a secured account. Here, you deposit an amount, say $300, and it is held against your purchases. You pay the balance due, and the lender keeps holding your security. Your security limit is the amount on hold. Do this over time, and watch this credit card rebuild your credit rating.
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