Credit Scores & Credit Monitoring What To Do About Bad Credit Building Credit 10 Things Not To Do To Repair Your Credit By LaToya Irby LaToya Irby LaToya Irby is a credit expert who has been covering credit and debt management for The Balance for more than a dozen years. She's been quoted in USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, and the Associated Press, and her work has been cited in several books. learn about our editorial policies Updated on April 13, 2022 Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Reviewed by Ebony J. Howard Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax profession for more than 13 years, working with individuals and a variety of companies in the health care, banking, and accounting industries. learn about our financial review board Fact checked by Emily Ernsberger If you’re thinking about repairing your credit, or even if you’re going through the process now, there are some things you should not do. From putting it off to a later date to disputing every claim or filing for bankruptcy, you can reduce your chance to make a positive impact on your credit score. 01 of 10 Not Repairing Your Credit at All Being in debt can make it hard to focus on other things in life. Yuri Arcurs / Getty Images Perhaps the biggest mistake of all is putting off credit repair indefinitely. Even though most negative information will fall off your credit report after seven years, that’s still a long time to live with bad credit. 02 of 10 Disputing Everything on Your Credit Report Try to remain calm as you talk to credit reporting agencies. Steve Debenport / Getty Images Disputing every claim on a credit report is a tactic often used by credit repair companies. There are two problems with trying to repair your credit this way. First, it’s not believable. If you dispute too many items, the credit bureaus could dismiss your dispute as frivolous. Second, you don’t want everything taken off your credit report. Some positive accounts are actually helping your credit rating and disputing them could cause your credit score to drop. 03 of 10 Hiring a Credit Repair Company Credit Repair Companies will charge a fee to help repair your credit. kupicoo / E+ / Getty Images Credit repair companies don’t have a reputation for good results. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has been quoted as saying it’s never seen a legitimate credit repair company. Credit repair companies often make lofty promises that they can’t legally fulfill. In the end, you’re better off saving your money and doing it yourself. 04 of 10 Canceling Credit Card Accounts Canceling credit cards involves more than cutting them into pieces. Tuomas/Marttila Maskot/Getty Images A lot of people don’t realize that closing a credit card can be bad for your credit score, especially if it’s a credit card with a balance or one of your older credit cards. You’ll never improve your credit score by closing a credit card, so think twice about canceling one. 05 of 10 Playing the Balance Transfer Game A balance transfer could be as bad as the original debt. Thomas Barwick / Getty Images Transferring credit card balances to avoid making a payment is only postponing the inevitable. This tactic will only take you so far. Considering the balance transfer fees that are added to your balance each time you transfer it, the amount you owe continues to grow rather than shrink. 06 of 10 Cutting Up Your Credit Cards There is danger in having multiple credit card accounts. Joe Raedle / Getty Images A lot of people who go through a period of bad credit swear off credit cards. But, without them, you could have difficulty getting new loans or other types of credit. Not only that, using a credit card the right way will help rebuild your credit as you go through the repair process. 07 of 10 Missing Some Credit Card Payments in Lieu of Others Budgeting helps you plan for upcoming payments. murat sarica / Getty Images Prioritizing payments is smart. Skipping some payments for others is not. If you want your credit to improve, you should not miss payments. Your credit will continue to get worse instead of better. The only exceptions are accounts that have already been charged-off or have gone to collections. If you have to choose between paying a collection account or paying an account that’s current, pick the account that’s current. 08 of 10 Sending Letters Without Certified Mail Certified Mail can give proof of delivery notices. Orbon Alija / Getty Images When you send letters to credit bureaus, collection agencies, lenders, and creditors, you should always send via certified mail with return receipt requested. That gives you proof that your letter has been sent and whether it’s been received. 09 of 10 Not Checking Your Credit Report AnnualCreditReport.com lets you get your credit report free from all three credit reporting agencies, . Terry Vine / Getty Images Before you even begin repairing your credit, you should check your credit report. Your credit report will help you figure out what items you need to focus on to improve your credit. Without a copy of your credit report, you’ll have a hard time figuring out where to start repairing your credit. 10 of 10 Filing Bankruptcy A bankruptcy filing can harm your credit record for an extended period. Maria Toutoudaki / Getty Images You should not use bankruptcy as a credit repair tactic. Bankruptcy will not improve your credit and in some cases, your credit can get worse after filing bankruptcy. Since bankruptcy remains on your credit report for seven to 10 years, you’ll continue having trouble getting credit cards and loans. Most lenders ask if you’ve ever filed bankruptcy, so even after bankruptcy falls off your credit report, it can still keep you from getting a loan. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit