Credit Education

The Learn Library

Plain-English guides to collections, disputes and the paperwork that protects you.

November 2, 20268 min read

How to Dispute a Collection the Right Way

A collection account is one of the most damaging items on a credit report, and one of the most mishandled. Here is the order that protects you: make the collector prove the debt, challenge what is inaccurate, and never pay for a deletion on a verbal promise.

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October 6, 20266 min read

Personal Info Cleanup

Before you dispute a single account, make sure your name, addresses and identifying details are correct. Bureaus match records by identifiers, and a wrong one can attach other people's accounts to your file.

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October 12, 20267 min read

Hard Inquiries

An inquiry is small on its own and frustrating in a stack. Here is how to tell which ones were authorized, which ones to dispute, and why phone calls and small batches work better than a mass dispute.

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October 18, 20266 min read

Outdated Details

Most negative information has an expiration date. Here is how the reporting clock works, how to spot a re-aged or duplicated account, and what a letter has to say when an item has outlived it.

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October 22, 20267 min read

Late Payments

A single 30-day late can outlast the loan it came from. Here is when a late payment is genuinely disputable, how goodwill requests work on otherwise clean accounts, and where CARES Act relief applies — and where it does not.

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October 26, 20267 min read

Charge-Offs

A charge-off is an accounting event, not a forgiveness. Here is what it means, how to challenge the accuracy of how it is reported, what to get in writing before you pay, and which charge-offs to leave alone.

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October 29, 20268 min read

Repos

After a repossession, the part that damages your credit is often the deficiency balance, not the car. Here is what the creditor has to prove, how UCC rules and state law apply, and how to check the math.

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November 1, 202610 min read

Master Guide

The complete do-it-yourself overview: the foundations, the order to work in, the letters you need, and a tracker that keeps every item straight. Everything in the Learn library, in one place.

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See how our dispute process works