Bad marks on your credit file that creditors refuse to remove even when paid are frustrating, and can offend any consumer's sense of fair play (especially when the scoring system refuses to give any breaks for settling a past debt).

But there is hope, even if you do have indelible bad marks on your credit report. Remember that the older the negative entries become, the less of an effect they have on your score. One mistake a lot of consumers make is trying to wait out bad credit. Some are frustrated that all they can get are credit cards with low limits, and say, "what's the point?"

Many people don't realize that, to FICO scoring, a low-end credit card with a low limit counts just about as much as a high-end card. It's a revolving account, and if you have it and keep paying it on time each month, that counts as a positive credit entry. For a hypothetical but very realistic example of how to use these cards to your advantage and rebuild your credit, see our slide presentation. Click on each slide to go to the next one.

This is how your credit score can be improved, even if you can't get all the negative entries removed from your credit report.