Answer: -Simple. Start paying telephone, electric, credit cards, on time. Those three industries report habitually, and are followed. If you do, it'll start showing up every month on the reports, and you will gain merit credit wise. I had terrible credit, and fixed it by just paying my phone and electric bills on time. Not one day late. It took me several years to get back on top. But I did.And it's worth it. -Yes. your credit is basically a way for people to know how well you pay your bills. if you start paying on time and even early, your credit will get better. it will take a lot of time to get it way up again, and will probably never get back to 873 (thats almost perfect) but if its above 700 then you should be fine. just do what I do and write down on the calendar when you should mail out your bills so you never make a late payment. (I would suggest a week before they are due). -Yes it will improve. It will take a least six months. You might also want to make sure you don't have too many zero balance cards opened. This also negatively impacts your credit. It is always best to get a credit report on your own once a year and see what is impacting it. -keep up with your bills; pay them on time and 6 to 1 year u should see a change..