https://thecreditrecord.org/updates/ What changed on The Credit Record: new Library pages, Register assessments, and public corrections. en-us https://thecreditrecord.org/library/ 2026-09-13-2 new Library pages: FICO vs. VantageScore, and debt validation letters Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT How the two credit scoring models actually differ in practice (minimum history, paid-collection treatment, trended data) and where mortgage lending stands as of September 2026, plus what a debt validation letter under the FDCPA actually forces a collector to do. https://thecreditrecord.org/library/ 2026-09-13-2 new Library pages: furnisher disputes, secured cards & credit-builder loans Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT The lesser-known right to dispute directly with the company that reported an item, plus how secured cards and credit-builder loans actually work as a legitimate build-forward alternative to paying a credit repair company. https://thecreditrecord.org/register/ 2026-09-13-2 more Register assessments logged Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Credit Associates (fail) and Better Qualified (pass, held back pending direct verification of its guarantee wording) checked against the standard, bringing the Register to 18 total assessments. https://thecreditrecord.org/register/ 2026-09-13-Companies that pass, by name: a new public directory Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Register now names the 7 companies that have passed every point on our standard, grouped by category, with a direct link to each. The anonymous-only policy for failing companies is unchanged and permanent — a passing verdict is a positive, checkable claim, not an accusation. https://thecreditrecord.org/library/state-bonding-registration-explained/ 2026-09-13-New: state-by-state credit-repair bonding and registration, explained Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT CROA doesn't require any state to register or bond a credit repair company. Most states added that layer themselves, one bans the industry outright, and some have nothing at all. https://thecreditrecord.org/register/ 2026-09-13-3 more Register assessments logged Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT DMB Financial, Century Support Services, and National Credit Federation checked against the standard, bringing the Register to 16 total assessments. https://thecreditrecord.org/library/advance-fee-rule-explained/ 2026-09-13-Correction: an FTC disclosure-requirement date was off by a month Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT The FTC's debt-relief disclosure requirements took effect 27 September 2010, not 27 October 2010 (that date is actually the separate advance-fee ban, which took effect a month later). Corrected on the debt-settlement explainer and retroactively on the already-published advance-fee-rule page. https://thecreditrecord.org/library/debt-settlement-what-to-expect/ 2026-09-13-New: what to actually expect from debt settlement Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT The dedicated account, the credit damage it requires before it can work, the tax bill many people don't see coming, the lawsuit risk, and how many people actually finish. https://thecreditrecord.org/register/ 2026-09-13-3 more Register assessments logged Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT CreditFirm.net, ClearOne Advantage, and New Era Debt Solutions checked against the standard, bringing the Register to 13 total assessments. https://thecreditrecord.org/library/nonprofit-credit-counseling-explained/ 2026-09-13-New: nonprofit credit counseling and debt management plans, explained Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT What real NFCC/FCAA accreditation requires, what a DMP actually costs, what it does to your credit, and how to spot a fake "nonprofit." https://thecreditrecord.org/register/ 2026-09-13-2 more Register assessments logged Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT The Credit People and Pacific Debt Relief checked against the standard, bringing the Register to 10 total assessments. https://thecreditrecord.org/register/ 2026-09-13-First 8 companies checked against the standard Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT 5 credit repair and 3 debt settlement companies assessed against the 9-point standard for the first time — 3 passed. Per our anonymous-only policy, findings were reported in aggregate only at this stage. https://thecreditrecord.org/library/ 2026-09-13-5 new Library pages: the foundation Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT What credit repair actually is, the advance-fee rule that governs it, how credit repair compares to debt settlement and nonprofit consolidation, why "CPN" credit-profile-number schemes are a federal crime rather than a loophole, and ten warning signs to watch for before signing anything. https://thecreditrecord.org/standard/ 2026-09-13-The Credit Record launches Sun, 13 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A 9-point standard tied to federal law (the Credit Repair Organizations Act's advance-fee ban, the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule Advance Fee Rule), a public Register that reports findings honestly, and a Library of plain-English explainers — no paid placements, no affiliate links, no proprietary ranking algorithm.