Having a good credit repair strategy is important if you are seriously trying to get out of debt and improve your credit score. However, just as important is having factual information.

So much has been written about credit repair that it is easy to get lost in fallacies.

Don’t believe everything you read. There are tons of myths out there that can lead to disaster. Know the facts and base your decisions on them.

Here is a list of the most common myths:

Myth #1: I can’t get credit because of my bad credit history.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, ” Creditors set their own standards, and not all look at your credit history the same way. Some may look only at recent years to evaluate you for credit, and they may give you credit if your bill-paying history has improved. It may be worthwhile to contact creditors informally to discuss their credit standards.” via: Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself.

Myth #2: If I open several credit card accounts my score will increase.

Wrong! Some consumers believe opening many accounts will be proof that they can handle credit. Actually, it has the opposite effect. A lender will wonder why in the world this person needs all of this credit and will interpret this as a sign of a high risk borrower. What the lender will see is a boatload of “hard” inquiries on your credit report which will negatively affect your credit score. via: Exposing Myths Regarding Fixing…

Myth #3: My credit score will improve if I pay my bills before the due date.

Paying a credit card balance in full 10 days or one day ahead of the due date will not help your credit score. However, if you pay off the balance before the “statement closing date”, your report will post a zero balance for that account which in turn will help your utilization rate, or how much credit you are using. via: Exposing Myths Regarding…

Myth #4: Disputing a credit report is easy, I can do it myself.

Disputing a credit report is easy. Getting results from the credit bureaus as a layperson is amazingly difficult, complex, and infuriating. The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints against credit bureaus than any other type of business . In February 2000 the 3 major credit bureaus paid a fine of 2 ½ million dollars for ignoring consumers requesting information regarding their file. Remember the credit bureaus are primarily interested in protecting their profits. Investigating consumer disputes consumes these profits. Short of sparking a mass number of lawsuits, the bureaus do everything in their power to impede your progress with credit restoration. Restoring your own credit is like repairing your own transmission or representing your self in court; it is possible, but you have to be willing to invest the time to learn the processes, assume the risks of your inexperience and realize that it will probably take you longer and you probably will be less effective than a professional. via: The 10 Myths of Credit Repair.

Myth #5: When I pay off a past-due account, such as a charge off or a collection account, it will show “paid” and no longer be negative.

It is difficult to fully restore your credit without paying your outstanding debts. However, paying off a debt can actually hurt your credit. Negative items on your credit report are allowed to stay on your credit report for a maximum of seven (7) years, except for bankruptcy that can stay for up to ten (10) years. This 7 or 10-year clock begins ticking at the date of last activity. When paying an outstanding debt, you will change the account status to paid collection, paid charge-off, satisfied judgment, or paid ‘was xxx days late”. This is still considered very negative and appears as though you had to be strong-armed by the credit bureau to pay the account. It is almost always prudent to have a professional help so as to not further damage your credit by trying to do the right thing. via: The 10 Myths of Credit Repair.

Myth #6: If I have my credit score pulled too many times it will hurt it.

Once upon a time, this statement was true. But get with the times — in this millennium, the credit agencies recognize a shopping mind-set when they see one. If a batch of mortgage or car loan inquiries arrives within 30 days, it doesn’t count at all, Watts says.

“Outside that 30-day period, if we locate a mortgage or car inquiry that occurred 180 days ago, and then see more mortgage- or auto-related hits in the accompanying 14-day window, we err on the consumer’s side and still assume she’s shopping for one item,” he says.

“We really feel like we are capturing the true consumer experience and not holding it against them for being an aggressive or smart rate shopper.” via: 11 Credit Report Myths.

Myth #7: If I file bankruptcy my credit report is zeroed at 7 years and I can start building my credit with a clean slate.

Some of it does. Chapter 13 (reorganization of debt) disappears seven years from the filing date. But if you filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy (exoneration of all debt), the window is 10 years from the filing date.

On the good-news side, accounts in bankruptcy can be deleted seven years after the date of your first missed payment, so those individual pieces may disappear before the word “bankruptcy” on your report. And if you pay off or close an account that had no delinquencies or problems, it, too, remains on the record for 10 years rather than the previous seven, say Experian experts. Again, this means positive information hangs around longer, which benefits consumers. via: 11 Credit Report Myths.

Myth #8: The creditor charged-off the amount owed, so now I don’t owe the debt.

A charge-off doesn’t mean the debt isn’t owed, or that it goes away, it just simply means the creditor has given up on collecting. The debt is STILL OWED, it’s just not being collected on. Any CA can purchase the debt and attempt collections. An additional ramification to this is that you may get a 1099 from the OC for the amount charged off. The IRS deems this as income, so you may owe taxes on it! via: Debt Collectors, Credit Repair & Credit Myths…

Myth #9: I don’t want to go to credit counseling because it will hurt my credit score.

For someone with serious debt, working with a not-for-profit credit counseling agency to develop a debt reduction plan and get out of debt permanently should take priority over credit scores.  Credit counselors will work with your creditors to try and reduce your monthly payments, or settle your debt altogether.  Debt settlement doesn’t affect scores as badly as you would think.  In fact, many people don’t realize that late payments affect scores more than a debt settlement.  via: 5 Credit Myths That Lead to Disaster.

Myth #10: I only have a small debt so it will not affect my credit score very much.

It doesn’t matter if you have an outstanding bill for $10.00 or $10,000 a collection is a collection, and any collection will lower your credit score. The only difference is that smaller debts are easier to pay off or settle and larger debts take more time to get under control. via: Biggest Credit Repair Myths.