Now you're here to know how to manage a bad credit report. So you've wiped a few creditors from your credit report by following my instructions in How To Fix Your Credit For Free. Great! But it appears you still have some valid blemishes left. So now what? Read on to find out how to manage your bad credit report.
Manage A Bad Credit Report
While we can't get rid of them, we are able to minimize the pain from creditors who just won't go away. This is where it gets a bit complicated because there is no cut and dry way to do it. It may require some phone calls, letters, and frustration because no two creditors are the same. Some can be cooperative because they just want their money back while others can be brutal just to punish you. I recommend prioritizing which creditors to pay using the methods below in the first step to manage a bad credit report.
The "Last Activity" Date
On your credit report, every item has a "Last Activity" field which is the last date that involved a payment. However, it can also include when you missed a promise to pay. By law, a debt in collections can't stay on your credit report for more than 7 years and a judgment can't stay on it for more than 10. After that, the statute of limitations expires and the debt is automatically removed from your report based on this "last activity" date. We use this date to help us manage a bad credit report.
If the "Last Activity" Date is Near
If the debt is near the 7 or 10-year mark, you've waited this long, so what's a few more months? Just let the debt expire and it will fall off your report. However, if the debt mysteriously renews itself when it gets close to the expiration date, then that's a discussion for another post. I will make a future post for when collection agencies keep recycling your debt.
If the "Last Activity" Is Far Into the Future
If the "last activity" date is nowhere near the 7 or 10 year mark, then this is where you have to make a choice. There are two options available to you. You can either wait it out until it expires or contact the creditor to make payment arrangements. My suggestion is to wait it out if possible, but if you can't, then the only option is to pay them. However, with some creditors, you just can't simply pay them. Weird, I know, but if you don't know what you're doing, this is precisely how they will screw you for the next 7 years of your life. Not only do they want to stab you but they also want to turn the knife, so stay tuned to my next post on how to pay off creditors.🦉