Now that the economy has taken a downturn, even more people are struggling to maintain good credit. Repairing damaged credit can be a pain, but we can help you make it as easy as possible.

First, you want to check your credit report and get your credit score. There are even free sites for checking your credit report. Knowing just where your credit stands is the logical, vital first step for credit repair.

One of the most important things you can do is get into contact with your creditors, so you can find out which bills you can pay in installments or at a later date. When you find out which creditors will assess extra fees, you can pay your bills accordingly. The first accounts that you should focus on paying off are the ones that don't allow late payments.

Review your report and make note of the errors. It is possible for credit reports to contain errors and false information. The first step in fixing these bogus reports is knowing what you are up against.

Although collection agencies may pretend to be above the law, there are regulations to protect you. You should learn your state's laws so that you know what you're up against. Collection agencies can't harass you, and you can't go to jail for simply not paying a bill. Although states differ in laws, most protect you from verbal abuse or harassment during telephone calls. Empower yourself by becoming more knowledgeable about your rights and responsibilities.

Keeping your balances on your credit cards below 30 percent is something you need to be sure to do. This allows you to make more progress with smaller payments that suit your budget. When the balances exceed 30 percent, interest payments will chew up an unacceptable amount of your monthly spending. Always check your balances, keeping them as low as possible.

If collection agencies are after you, set up a payment plan to pay back what you owe them. Because payment plans are the best way for agencies to be paid, they are usually willing to work with those struggling to make payments. Representatives of collection agencies are much more likely to work with you if you do not try to avoid them. Be forthcoming with them about the difficulties you are experiencing with meeting payments, but ensure them that you want to make every effort to meet your obligations. In return, many collections agencies will waive up to half of the total amount owed. If you are open with your creditors, they will be more likely to set a reduced payment amount, and not add any more charges to your bill.

Read these guidelines so that you know how you can recover from your low credit score. While you might be tempted to pick and choose, the suggestions presented here are all proven ways to improve your score as quickly as possible.