Credit Repair: Make a Plan, Improve Your Credit, Avoid Scams

Bad credit can get better

A bad credit report can prevent you from getting a mortgage, car loan, credit card, apartment, or even a job. The sensible strategies in Credit Repair help you take control of your finances, clean up your credit report and rebuild your credit. Learn how to:

• prioritize debts and create a budget
• reduce debts and cut expenses
• negotiate with creditors
• correct credit report errors and remove old information
• add positive information to your credit report
• adopt strategies to rebuild your credit, and
• avoid identity theft and credit repair scams.

Updates to the 14th edition of Credit Repair include the new FICO scoring system and federal CARES Act credit reporting guidelines, changes to credit freeze and fraud alert laws, the availability of additional free credit reports during the pandemic, and more.

With downloadable forms: Get forms, worksheets, and sample letters―to help you handle debts, clean up your credit, and avoid overspending (details inside).

Amy Loftsgordon is a legal editor and writer at Nolo, focusing on foreclosure, debt management, and personal finance. She edits several Nolo books and is also the coauthor of The Foreclosure Survival Guide and Solve Your Money Troubles. Before joining Nolo, Amy worked in the areas of foreclosure and debt collections for over 15 years. Her broad experience includes helping people fight collection actions and enforcing debtors’ rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other laws. As part of a national settlement involving the mortgage industry, she has also reviewed servicer records to uncover extensive credit reporting errors. Amy received a B.A. from the University of Southern California and a law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Colorado.

Cara O'Neill is a bankruptcy and litigation attorney in Northern California and a legal editor and writer with Nolo. Before joining Nolo, she practiced in the area of criminal and civil litigation, and bankruptcy. She also served as an administrative law judge, and taught law courses as an adjunct professor. In 1994, she received her law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School, graduating Order of the Barristers―an honor society recognizing excellence in courtroom advocacy. Cara has edited, authored, and coauthored several Nolo books, including How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, The New Bankruptcy, and Solve Your Money Troubles.