Fact 01
35%
is the payment-history category in FICO’s general-population breakdown
Source
- myFICO score factors — myFICO
Credit reports, debt collection, and consumer rights
Understand your credit.
Check what a credit report or collector says against your records. Use the linked guides, templates, and tools to decide what to do next.
✓ Guides and templates are free
✓ Legal and scoring claims link to sources
✓ No promises of fast results
Choose a situation
What brought you here?
Pick the closest match. You can start without knowing the legal term or which resource you need.
Search in your own words Report error
Something on my credit report is wrong
An account, balance, status, date, or personal detail does not match your records.
Review and dispute Credit decision
I was denied credit
A lender sent a denial or adverse-action notice with decision reasons, credit-score factors, or a reporting company to contact.
Decode the notice Collector contact
A debt collector contacted me
You received a call, letter, or text from a collector, or found a collection entry on your credit report.
Verify the collector and debt Urgent
I received debt collection court papers
A summons, complaint, citation, or hearing notice may require a response to the court. A call to the collector may not be enough.
Read the court steps Cash shortfall
I cannot pay every bill
Cash on hand will not cover every bill and basic need before your next income.
Prioritize urgent bills Credit building
I want to improve my credit
You want to check your reports and understand how payments, balances, account age, and new credit affect your scores.
Review the main score factors Suspicious contact
I think this may be a scam
The caller is pressuring you, asks for an unusual payment method, or names an account you do not recognize.
Verify before paying Identity theft
My information was exposed or used
Your identity, account information, or Social Security number may have been stolen, exposed, or used without permission.
Protect my credit filesFact 02
30%
is the amounts-owed category in that breakdown, including use of available credit
Source
- myFICO score factors — myFICO
Fact 03
7 yrs
is how long most negative information can generally remain on a credit report
Source
- CFPB credit reporting time limits — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Fact 04
$0
is the cost of reports ordered through AnnualCreditReport.com
Source
- AnnualCreditReport.com — AnnualCreditReport.com
- FTC free credit reports — Federal Trade Commission
Before you respond
Begin with the document in front of you.
Read any unfamiliar terms and compare each detail with your records. The next step depends on what is wrong, missing, or still unclear.
-
01Look up the terms
Use the glossary to check terms such as credit utilization, charge-off, debt validation, and credit reporting.
Open the glossary -
02Compare the details
Compare each account, balance, date, and status with your records. Mark anything inaccurate, incomplete, duplicated, outdated, or unfamiliar.
Use the templates -
03Choose a response
Depending on what you find, you might gather more records, contact the company, file a dispute, seek professional help, or take no action yet.
Know your rights
Three guides
Go straight to the guide you need.
Legal rules, deadlines, and percentages include links to primary or official sources. All three guides are free to read.
Guide 01
Improve your credit
Work through 12 strategies for checking report errors, protecting payment history, lowering revolving balances, and approaching new credit carefully.
Open guide → 12strategies
Guide 02
Handle debt collections
Learn how to read collection notices, request validation, limit contact, keep records, and assess an agreement before accepting it.
Open guide → 30days can matter
Guide 03
Protect yourself
Check federal protections and find official reporting channels for predatory lending, collection abuse, identity theft, and suspected scams.
Open guide → 4federal laws below
Four federal laws
Each law covers a different problem.
The four laws cover credit reporting, third-party debt collection, lending disclosures, and credit discrimination.
Read the closest summary, then use the source link to check whether the law covers your situation.
FCRA
Fair Credit Reporting Act
Gives consumers the right to dispute inaccurate credit-report information and requires the companies involved to investigate.
Primary source
- FTC Fair Credit Reporting Act — Federal Trade Commission
- CFPB credit dispute timing — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
FDCPA
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Limits abusive, deceptive, and unfair practices by covered third-party debt collectors.
Primary source
- FTC debt collection FAQs — Federal Trade Commission
- FTC Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — Federal Trade Commission
TILA
Truth in Lending Act
Requires creditors to disclose consumer credit terms and costs, including the APR and finance charge.
Primary source
- Federal Reserve Truth in Lending Act — Federal Reserve
ECOA
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Prohibits creditors from discriminating based on protected characteristics, public-assistance income, or the good-faith exercise of certain consumer-credit rights.
Primary source
- FTC Equal Credit Opportunity Act — Federal Trade Commission
