Everyone's financial situation is different so you may need more help but here are some simple steps you can take yourself if your situation does not require a professional debt counselor.
Step 1.
Get current copies of your reports.
By law, the three major bureaus, Transunion, Equifax, and Experian must provide you with a free report once a year.
You can get them online at several sites -- just do a search for "free credit report".
Most reports do not include your score, but you can usually order it while online for a fee.
Step 2.
Check out your report and correct any errors.
That sounds easier said than done.
The credit bureaus don't simply let you change things without an investigation, but if there is in fact an error or errors, they will correct it/them.
You probably will have make the change(s) with all three bureaus, but you can fill out the information online to get the ball rolling.
Step 3.
Get additional lines of credit.
No, this doesn't mean go out and rack up a bunch of new debt.
Part of your rating depends upon your debt to credit ratio.
If you have one card and it's maxed out, you have no available credit.
If you have 5 cards with $5,000 limits on each and carry a balance of $1,000 on each, you have $20,000 worth of available credit.
Your available amount is 80% of you total amount.
This improves your rating.
If you have only one card, go ahead and get one or two more.
You could get one with a 0% APR on balance transfers, transfer your current debt to it, save yourself the interest you're currently paying -- and boost your rating.
Of course, if you have a bunch of late payments or a bankruptcy, etc.
, this will not help that much, and if that's the case, you may have difficulty getting an additional card, but don't give up.
Get a card with a low limit, or a gas card, or a store card, and make sure to make your payments on time.
Eventually, the adverse entries will start disappearing, and if you keep paying on time your rating will improve.
Hope this information helps.