Can credit be fixed in 24 hours?

Is 24 Hour Credit Repair Possible?

Bad Credit Is No Laughing Matter

You have seen the advertisements. "Fix your credit problems overnight!" "Buy our book and in just hours your credit will be fixed!" Many of these publications are like the supermarket tabloids and instant diet plans; they provide a pinch of truth with a dollop of wishful thinking.

Can credit repair be instant and guaranteed? The simple answer is no. There are no instant fixes when it comes to fixing credit. Even if you were to pay off all of your current debts today, it would take at least a month for that action to be reflected on your credit reports.

A little insight into the credit reporting process will help you understand why 24-hour credit repair is not possible. Your credit report is compiled by three, independent companies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). These credit bureaus write up your report based on information they receive about you from companies that gave you credit in the past. This includes your payment history, the length of your credit history, the types of credit you have, and the amounts you still owe.

This all takes time. Assuming that you can, indeed, pay off the balance on all your credit cards today, it takes time for that action to be acknowledged by the credit card companies. For the sake of argument, let's even say that you paid them with an electronic funds transfer, so they do not have to wait for your checks to clear. It will still take time for them to report this good news to the three credit bureaus.

The credit bureaus then take time to incorporate the new data from your lenders, and compile a new credit report that reflects your current no-debt situation. But, and this is a big but, your credit rating is not just based on your financial situation as of today.

Credit bureaus tend to weigh the financial events of the last 12 or 18 months when they generate your credit rating. The exact length they consider when scoring you depends on your specific history. But still, you have to wait for many months, or maybe even a year or more, before your bad credit reports have passed into credit-bureau history.

So, it is virtually impossible for your credit score to rise within a day after you have bought a book offering a miracle 24-hour cure. How long do you have to wait until you can see some significant improvement in your credit score? Experts say that 3 to 12 months is reasonable amount of time.

There are proven techniques that you can apply to your credit problems that will help speed the healing. But there is no miracle cure. Some diligent work on your part, and some good communication with your lenders, move the process along. And just for the record, let's be clear: Paying off the balance on all your credit cards at once is NOT a good technique. The credit bureaus will rate you more highly if you actually carry a reasonable amount of debt.