I have bad credit. I have already consulted a "professinal credit counseler" but got a half ass response. I am not ready to pay additional money to have someone else fix my problem. I have had bad credit for about 2+ years now. I used to have decent credit. It is estimated that I have around $20,000 owed. I would like to do this myself and contact the creditors, collectors and banks myself. I just want to know what would be the right approach so that they get paid and my credit report will show that I have made and effort to do the rigth thing? I have a family and would like to buy a house one day. I also want to go into law enforcement. So credit is important to me. Any advice would help. Thanks

Negotiating the settlements is not hard. The hard part is sending dispute letters to the 3 bureaus and the followup. I agree, do not pay a professional top dollar to do this for you. The key is to have correctly worded letters that the bureau will accept and not something that they toss right away. With letters that cite key consumer laws and such, you get their attention and keep it. You have to understand that they are bombarded with paperwork and strive to clear their desks however they can. These letters and other tips are available at the source website. Good luck.

Well, I don't know your details, but if you don't pay your bills, especially credit cards, and collection bills, then they take your score down. It basically tells people that you will borrow, but won't repay what you owe them. To fix the problem, you need to pay what you owe. Once you do that, then in about 5-7 years, you may find a loaner to give you another chance. Thats the jest of it. Ron