When trying to repair your credit, you will be faced with two daunting tasks: a) paying your bills on time and b) cleaning up any negative items on your credit report. The first is relatively straightforward and there aren't any magic shortcuts. You will simply have to begin paying all your current bills on time and begin paying down any debt you have. The second task is a little more tricky. You may be faced with collections agencies that are harassing you, negative accounts on your credit report that are damaging to your score, and so on.
The problem in repairing your credit comes when dealing with the negatives on your report. Even though they automatically drop off after 7 years (except for bankruptcy, which stays on for 10), you may be preparing to buy a new house or car or you just need a credit card and are trying to get your score back up quickly. This ain't gonna happen that fast with really bad stuff on your credit report, like collections and charge offs.
So to clean up your report, you will have to do a LOT of letter writing.
You will need to:
- write to collections agencies telling them to stop calling you
- request debt validation on any collections accounts
- dispute negative incorrect information
- negotiate settlements with agencies in exchange for deletion from your credit report
- threaten to sue agencies who blatantly break the law
And all the above will have to be done via letter writing, all sent via registered mail so you can prove they received it. You will have to be tenacious about it. You will have to keep your wits about yourself as some agencies engage in creative threatening technques.
This is of course all doable by the average person. Don't let credit repair companies lure you in with promises of "instant credit repair," or "guaranteed" anything. It's baloney and probably a scam and you can do it yourself. The only company you may want to look into that IS legit is Lexington Law, but that's only if you need someone to do it for you.
If you decide to do it yourself, you may benefit from the structure that Credit Doctor can give you. This is a pretty neat little program that will kinda help you stay organized, and also comes with all the pre-made letters you'll need. Trust me, you're gonna need organization.
I used this myself after realizing I just didn't have the willpower to keep up with the endless letter writing and tracking I had to do; it helped tremendously, but I still ended up using Lexington Law in the end just because of my own laziness; it felt good to have someone else working on it for me while I just sat back and paid my bills on time. But you might. :)
Credit Doctor is kinda cheesy, with stupid pictures of surgeons smiling and giving thumbs up, but it gives you basically a complete package of letters, tips, and diary to help you keep track of your progress as you go. 
First, you start with the Credit Repair Wizard:
Step by step instructions on what exactly to do. Then, you'll visit the "storeroom" where you'll find template letters for all kinds of occasions, such as the letter to dispute collections agencies with:
And then you can keep notes and track of everything in the diary section:
Overall, a pretty useful little program, especially for the price compared to credit repair agencies. It's a bit of a trifle really, but if you're the type like me that just needs SOME kind of structure to get things done (I take all kinds of "lessons" in things just to get them done), it can REALLY help. And it's really nice when you can clear up all the negative junk on your credit report that's hurting your credit score, and can walk into a bank and actually apply for a loan and GET IT. Imagine the lender's face when he looks at your credit history and sees a clean record! And a good score! And you get that car or house loan or credit card you've been trying to get all this time! Check it out here.
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