Plain-English educational materials for U.S. consumers who want to understand credit reports, credit scores, and credit report disputes without hype or product pitches.
Maintained by: Credit Plainly
Contact: contact@creditplainly.com
- A public reference hub with curated links to official government and program pages.
- Navigation aids (topic matrix, starting-point lists, glossary indexes) so you can find the right next read.
- Structured data for maintainers (
data/site-pages.json,data/resource-cluster-map.json). - Pointers to sibling GitHub repos that go deeper on disputes, scores, glossaries, and monitoring.
You can use this repo without visiting Credit Plainly again, but when a long guide or checklist would help, we link to it directly.
- Not legal advice, tax advice, or individualized financial advice.
- Not a credit repair service and not a substitute for reading your own reports and notices.
- Not a product directory: we do not rank lenders, cards, monitoring subscriptions, or repair companies.
- Not a place for paid placements, partner links, or outcome guarantees.
| If you want to… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Pull and read your reports | How to get your free credit report · How to read a credit report |
| Understand scores | How to check your credit score · FICO vs VantageScore |
| Fix possible report errors | How to dispute credit report errors · Credit report error checklist |
| Decode vocabulary | Credit report terms glossary · Credit score terms glossary |
Site section hubs (overview pages): Credit reports · Credit scores · Disputes · Resources & tools
- Unfamiliar with report layout → How to read a credit report
- Need lawful free access → Free credit report basics
- Report vs score confusion → Credit report vs credit score
- Equifax / Experian / TransUnion roles → The three major credit bureaus
- Pattern matching for mistakes → Common credit report errors
- Wrong or old address → Wrong address on your credit report
- Possible fraud lines → Identity theft on your credit report
- Where scores come from → How to check your credit score
- Band labels (fair, good, etc.) → Credit score ranges explained
- Different numbers in different apps → FICO vs VantageScore
- Factor categories → What affects your credit score
- Utilization math (educational) → Credit utilization calculator
- Building or improving over time → How to build credit · How to improve your credit score
- Full workflow → How to dispute credit report errors
- Letter starting point → Credit dispute letter template
- Editable draft tool → Dispute letter generator
- Evidence prep → Credit dispute document checklist
- Collection line review → How to dispute a collection · Collection dispute checklist
- Late payment reporting dispute → How to dispute a late payment
- Bureau-specific entry → Equifax · Experian · TransUnion
- Alerts vs full reports → Credit monitoring: what it does and cannot do
- Secured card mechanics → How secured credit cards work
- Realistic repair limits → What credit repair cannot do
- Scam red flags → Credit repair scams
Full question → link mapping: docs/topic-matrix.md.
Government and official program links (independent of Credit Plainly):
- Reports: AnnualCreditReport.com · CFPB credit reports & scores · FTC free credit reports
- Disputes: CFPB dispute FAQ · FTC disputing errors
- Scores: FTC credit scores
- Fraud / identity: IdentityTheft.gov · FTC freezes & fraud alerts
- Repair scams: FTC fixing your credit FAQs
Expanded directory with “when to use” notes: docs/official-consumer-credit-resources.md.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
docs/topic-matrix.md |
Match user questions to guides, repos, and official sources |
docs/credit-report-starting-points.md |
Short report reading path |
docs/credit-score-starting-points.md |
Short score literacy path |
docs/credit-dispute-starting-points.md |
Short dispute path |
docs/glossaries.md |
Links to on-site glossaries |
docs/tools-and-checklists.md |
Educational tools index |
docs/linking-policy.md |
How and why we link |
docs/resource-cluster-map.md |
Full public GitHub cluster map |
docs/maintenance-checklist.md |
Maintainer QA steps |
| Repository | Role |
|---|---|
| credit-report-dispute-starter-kit | Step-by-step dispute path |
| credit-score-learning-path | Score concepts in order |
| credit-report-glossary-map | Term tables with guide links |
| credit-monitoring-basics-guide | Monitoring vs reports vs scores |
| Repository | Role |
|---|---|
| credit-report-error-checklist-kit | Error review checklists before disputing |
| credit-bureau-dispute-resource-map | Bureau dispute portals and prep |
| free-credit-report-resource-map | Official free report sources |
| credit-utilization-learning-kit | Utilization concepts and examples |
| secured-credit-card-education-map | Secured card mechanics (no product list) |
| identity-theft-credit-report-starter-kit | Fraud warning signs and recovery steps |
Organization profile: github.com/creditplainly.
This repository is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice or financial advice. Credit Plainly does not guarantee score changes, loan approvals, dispute results, or removal of accurate negative information. Disputes address incomplete or inaccurate reporting; accurate negative history generally remains until it ages off under applicable rules.
- Linking rules:
docs/linking-policy.md - Quarterly review:
docs/maintenance-checklist.md - Broken official link? Use the issue template.
- Contributions:
CONTRIBUTING.md(official sources only; no commercial pitches).
Repository structure and official links last expanded: 2026-05-16.