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How to Mess up Your Credit and One Way to Start to Fix Your Credit

 It is very easy to mess up your credit.  Get a loan and then miss payments or make them late.  The goal of the banks developing credit scores is to help them predict the likelihood of a customer missing a payment on the loan in the next year. 

Simple Cure for Missed Payment

There is a simple cure for a one missed payment that will often work.  I helped a friend, she had not bothered to make the payment on her auto tire loan.  Her bill was only $40 per month and she just decided not to make it one month.  It killed her credit score.  

I had her make all of her payments on time for six months.  She wanted to pay it off but I told her she was better off to not pay it off and just make the normal payments plus one on time.  

After six months of making her payments on time I had her call her lender from the tire store.  I had her very nicely ask the customer service agent for help.  She said it was an accident that she missed the payment and could the agent help her? 

It worked, the Customer Service Agent took the negative payment off her account.  

If this had not worked I would have had her continue to make the payments and two months later make the call to customer service again.

Always Be Nice

When talking to customer service always be extra nice, even if you do not get what you want.  Never threaten, curse or get mad at them.  The Customer Service agents often do not have the power to do what you ask.

Next Removal Step

If she had paid off her loan right away she would not have had the opportunity to get her negative taken off her report and it would have stayed with her for seven years.

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