Lately, you’ve had some problems in getting your bills paid on time, and you now are wondering what you can do to improve your credit score. Well, you’ve certainly got plenty of company because it is estimated that around 30 million Americans suffer from credit problems that are bad enough to make applications for credit cards and other types of loans difficult to get approved.

On the other hand, your credit score might look alright but there are some fast and easy tips that can  make it look a lot better. Below are some effective credit repair tips:

Pay off your credit card debts – paying off your installment loans, like student loans, mortgages, and auto loans can improve your score. However, you will enjoy an even more significant improvement when you pay off revolving loans such as credit cards. Getting the outstanding balance to at least 30% below the credit limit is recommended.

Use credit cards lightly – high balances can hurt your credit score even if you do manage to pay your bills in full every month. The credit information that usually is reported to the credit bureaus is the balance on the last statement.

Check the limits – your score may look depressed if the lender “reports” a lower limit than what you actually have. For example, Capital One and American Express don’t report their client’s credit limit so the bureaus assume that your highest balance is your credit limit. The downside to this is that if you charge the same amount on your card every month, it will appear that you always are maxing out your credit.

Ask for some goodwill – if you have been a relatively good client, the lender might agree to erase some late payments from your history. You need to put this request in writing before “goodwill adjustment” can be considered. A long-term solution to this is asking them to “re-age” your account, especially if your credit history is badly damaged.

Dispute any errors – your score is calculated based on the information provided in the credit report. It may contain some errors that damage your score; if you see any inaccuracies with regards to charge-offs, late payments, “unpaid accounts” that were included in your bankruptcy, or any other negative items, be sure to report it to the credit bureau. You just might be able to get a significantly higher credit score because of this.