About this site and how it is written
Where the information comes from, what it is checked against, and the things this site deliberately does not tell you.
This is a reference site about consumer credit, debt and the federal law that governs both. It is published independently. It does not lend money, broker loans, generate leads for lenders, or earn a commission on anything you do after reading it.
Where the information comes from
Pages about your rights are written from the statutes themselves — principally the Fair Credit Reporting Act at 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692 — and from the published guidance of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission. Where a page states what the law requires, it names the section it is drawn from so you can read it yourself rather than take our word for it.
What we deliberately leave out
No interest rates, APRs or fee figures. A rate is accurate for about a week, we have no live data feed, and a stale number on a page about borrowing is worse than no number. Where a rate matters to a decision, the page explains what moves it and sends you to a source that updates daily.
No lender recommendations and no application links. A site that earns on referrals has a reason to point you somewhere, and you cannot tell from the outside whether that reason shaped the advice. Removing the incentive is simpler than disclosing it.
What this is not
It is not legal advice and it is not financial advice. It describes how the law and the system generally work; it cannot tell you what to do about your situation. Statutes of limitation, court procedure and collection rules vary by state, and a page that pretended otherwise would be worse than useless to whoever it was wrong for. If you are being sued, or the amount is significant, speak to a lawyer — legal aid and state bar referral services exist for exactly this.
Corrections
If something here is wrong, it should be fixed rather than defended. The law changes, guidance is reissued, and a page written accurately can drift out of date. Where a page has been revised, the date at the top reflects it.