Once you have bad credit (as indicated by your below average credit score) and lenders are turning down your application for loan grant it is ripe time to adopt effective credit repair measures. It is a fact that the negative information in your credit report takes time to get removed. Records of bankruptcies may remain for up to ten years while collections and tax liens stay on for seven years. Still, once credit repair measures begin to be advocated positive indications are provided.

At times there may not just be any need for credit repair. It has been oft reported that around 80% of credit reports contain some error or the other in them. So, you need to carry out a thorough check on the report obtained from the rating agencies and take necessary steps to address errors, omissions, misinformation, misreporting or misinterpretation, if there are any. After getting the errors corrected it is better to inform the reporting agencies by notification. This will ascertain that your credit report will become free from errors.

As credit repairing measure for poor credit you need to make sure that you are paying your bills on time. Similarly, timely payments need to be made towards debts. The outstanding accounts and debts pending in your name are to be settled. A useful tip is to reduce the number of credit cards pertaining to you. The accounts related to old credit cards which are no longer in use can be closed.

You can write to the creditors to get the credit limits on your account reduced. In this way your available credit amount will get lowered. Co-signing on a loan with a family member or friend and ensuring timely payments towards this loan will help reestablish your credit. Another effectual measure is to get hold of a secured credit card, keeping a designated amount in the account (sufficient to cover your charges) and making timely payments in here. All the while you need to carefully avoid bankruptcies, tax liens etc.

In this regard you need to remember that no one can act on your behalf to repair your credit report. You need to take up the credit repair measures yourself in order to repair your credit. The claims made by the number of online concerns, some of which profess to be credit repair 'clinics', are not quite legally established. At best they can provide some counseling and guidance for you and perhaps facilitate in your endeavors to some extent. You need to verify the actual benefit you can derive from these credit repair ventures before seeking their services.