raise my score

Please disregard the guest's post, which I deleted. We don't tolerate rude, insulting comments like that on this site.

The way to start improving your score is to first review your credit reports from all three credit bureaus. You can do this at annualcreditreport.com once per year for free, or anytime you've been denied credit. No program to sign up for - that site is run by the US Government - so there's no "catch".

It sounds like you've started at that first step - reviewing your reports. The next step is to eliminate any inaccurate information on your report. If you see any accounts that you know for certain are not yours, or incorrect addresses, names, or social security numbers, dispute them as inaccurate.

Next, start trying to repay any old debts that you can. Make a list of the debts, smallest to largest, and start paying them off as you can. Pay off hte smallest one, then move to the next one.

TIME is the biggest factor in improving your score - it will take time to get the debts paid off, the inaccuracies on your reports corrected, and to establish better credit. The other issue is continuing to pay your existing accounts in a timely manner so they keep reporting to the credit bureaus as "pays as agreed", instead of late.

does opening new accounts like the crown jewelers account thread help my score b/c i only have one open cc account of course with a decent payment history...do i need more or will my score raise by default after negs fall???

Go easy on trying to open new accounts with such a low score. Chances are good that you will be denied, and multiple requests for credit will actually lower your score - so going around applying for a bunch of credit accounts will not help your score any.

I would give it time. With a score of 565, you're unlikely to get approved for anything at this point. Wait for the negs to drop off your account this summer and keep watching your report.

I agree with suebeehoney, you definately want to wait untill your score have raised on its own by making timely payments and less inquires the better.