Should've filed but didn't - want to rebuild credit

[nina320]

Hey there, I was told by a lawyer that we should have filed years ago for bankruptcy and now that we've climbed the mountain and paid off alot of our debts, we are suffering with bad credit. I joined this forum to find out what I can do to rebuild my credit. Can I have things removed from my file since I did not declare bankruptcy but have debts paid off?

[Oblib2345]

Hello, congrats on paying back your debt!! It doesn't really matter if you filed bk or paid back your debts though, any information that is true (late payments, charge offs, etc) cannot be removed from your credit report. They can stay on it for 7 years, I believe. The only thing to do now is to start re-building your credit, make sure you pay nothing late, apply for credit sparingly, etc. I'm sure you can find more tips on the boards. The older the negative items are, the less effect they will have.

[frogger]

The best thing you can do now is to pay your bills on time. As to having things removed, as long as the facts are stated correctly, then they should not be removed.

Pay your bills on time, and time will heal the wounds.