Two situations that can’t wait
If you were served with a lawsuit or your wages are being garnished, skip everything else and go to what to do if you’re sued or wage garnishment basics. Court deadlines are measured in days, and missing them usually means losing automatically.
What should I do in the first hour?
Breathe. This is fixable, and you have rights.
Federal law gives you specific, enforceable rights: the FCRA covers your credit reports, and the FDCPA covers how collectors may treat you. Millions of people work through collections, lawsuits, and bankruptcy every year — none of it makes you a bad person, and none of it is hopeless.
Get your actual credit reports — free, from the official source.
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com — the only federally authorized source — and pull all three reports (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). They’re free weekly. Don’t pay a site that ranks above the official one.
Sort your situation by urgency, not by stress.
Lawsuit or garnishment → days. Debt validation notice → the 30-day window matters. Credit report errors and rebuilding → weeks and months, on your schedule. Use Find Your Situation to get routed in under a minute.
Start a paper trail today.
One folder (physical or digital): every letter, envelope, email, and a log of every call — date, time, company, person, what was said. In credit and debt disputes, the person with the paper trail usually wins. Our call log template makes this easy.
Learn before you pay anyone — including collectors.
Small payments can restart the clock on old debt in some states; credit repair companies can’t do anything you can’t do yourself for free; and some “relief” programs make things worse. Fifteen minutes in the right hub below can save you real money.
What kind of credit help do I need?
Whatever your credit troubles look like, they usually fall into one of these situations.
A report has something wrong on it
An account that isn’t yours or a balance that’s wrong is a dispute, and disputing it is free under the FCRA. Start with the credit reports hub.
A credit card itself is the problem
A denied application, a surprise interest charge, or a wrongly closed account each has its own free way to fix or escalate — see card problem guides.
A debt collector is contacting you
You have free validation rights before you owe anyone a response — see the debt collection hub.
You are considering paying a company to fix your credit
No company can remove accurate, current information, and the law forbids charging you before the work is done. Read what credit repair services can and cannot do before you sign anything.
The debt is bigger than any one bill and you are weighing your options
Consolidation, counseling, settlement, and bankruptcy each fit a different situation. Compare every debt relief option neutrally, or go straight to how to find a bankruptcy attorney if a filing is on the table.
You were served with a lawsuit, or your wages are being garnished
Deadlines here are measured in days, and this is the one situation on this page where getting a lawyer’s advice quickly is worth considering. Start with the credit defense hub.
You're overwhelmed by payments and don't know where to start
Free nonprofit credit counseling looks at your whole budget and debts, not just one account. “Nonprofit” alone isn’t a guarantee of low cost, so see the FTC’s guide to choosing a credit counselor before you pick one.
Your score is just low, and nothing looks wrong
That’s a building problem, not a fixing problem — see how to improve a credit score.
Something is actually wrong, beyond a single report error
See fix credit: what works and what can’t for the full, ordered process and what no one can legally do for a fee.
What this site will and won’t do
We explain how things generally work, with sources you can check. We won’t tell you what you specifically should file, sign, dispute, or pay — that’s individualized advice only a licensed professional can give. Every guide tells you when that point has been reached.