Search “credit repair'” in any search engine and you may as well type in “does anyone want to take what little money I have left”.
Numerous companies will offer to 'clean up your credit file' or 'restore your credit rating'. What they really mean is they are looking to clean up, full stop.
Any company claiming they can remove information such as CCJs from your credit file to increase your chances of getting further credit are being a tad economical with the truth
A CCJ (county court judgment) can’t be removed unless you've paid off the debt it relates to within a month of it being made against you or it has been granted incorrectly. In those circumstances you can have all mention of a CCJ removed from the court records and from your credit reference files.
If any judgments are paid off after the first month you can apply to the county court for a Certificate of Satisfaction which will be passed on to the credit reference agencies. Defaults remain on your file for six years but, if you can pay up the debt to which the default belongs earlier, you can ask the credit reference agencies to enter satisfied against the debt.
To help improve your credit rating you should request a copy of your credit file from one or all of the three main agencies (Equifax, Experian and CallCredit) so that you can check the information is correct and look out for any accounts you don't recognize and question them.. You are entitled to have incorrect information rectified or removed from your file or to have a note put on the file which explains why you think the information is wrong. Agencies have to tell you within 28 days of hearing from you if they have taken action to correct your file and, if not, why not.
Check whether any old credit or store cards are on your files. If you've got a lot of unused cards contact the relevant companies and cancel them.
Get in touch with your local council to get registered on the electoral roll. If you are not on it you're unlikely to get credit.
Pay all your bills on time month in and month out. Potential lenders like to see a steady payment history. You have no control over the past but you can control the present and the future. Lenders are more concerned with how well you are currently managing your payments rather than being interested in what might have happened years ago.
