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Disclaimer

Updated

The short version

ScoreTuner teaches how credit works and gives you tools to plan. It's not legal, financial or credit repair advice, it can't promise any score or approval, and it isn't connected to FICO, VantageScore, the credit bureaus or any government agency.

On this page

Education, not advice

Everything on ScoreTuner, including guides, reference pages, tool results, letter templates and emails, is general educational information. It isn't legal advice, financial or investment advice, tax advice, or credit counseling, and it isn't tailored to your situation. Using ScoreTuner doesn't create an attorney-client, advisor or any other professional relationship.

Mortgage, auto and rental guides describe published program rules and common lender practice. Individual lenders, landlords and insurers make their own decisions and can set requirements stricter than the program minimums. Ask the lender about your specific application.

Not a credit repair company

ScoreTuner doesn't offer or sell any service to remove, change or improve information in your credit file. We don't contact credit bureaus, creditors or debt collectors for anyone, we don't file disputes on anyone's behalf, and we never charge for disputes. ScoreTuner Plus is organizing and reminder software. You can dispute errors on your own credit reports directly with the bureaus, for free.

No guarantees

Credit scoring formulas belong to FICO and VantageScore and aren't public, and neither company publishes point tables. Nobody outside those companies can say exactly how much a given action will move your score. We don't promise that any step will raise a score by any amount, remove any item from a report, or get you approved for credit, a loan, an apartment, a rate or a job. Results depend on your full credit file, the scoring model used, and the decisions of the companies you apply to.

Tools, examples and estimates

Our tools calculate from the numbers you enter and the published rules they're built on, such as reporting time limits in the Fair Credit Reporting Act or a pricing grid a mortgage investor publishes. If an input is wrong, the result will be too. Dates are the latest a rule allows, and the real date on your report may be earlier. Dollar figures are estimates; rates and fees change daily. Examples in guides are labeled as examples and use round numbers to show how a rule works, not to describe any real person.

Accuracy and dates

We work from statutes, regulators and the scoring companies themselves, list our sources on each guide, and show the date each page was last updated. Laws, regulations, program rules and scoring models do change, sometimes quickly. Check the date on a page and the linked primary sources before you make a decision that matters. If you find an error, tell us; we fix errors and log corrections under our editorial standards.

When to get professional help

  • If you've been sued over a debt, talk to a consumer attorney or your local legal aid office. Court deadlines are short.
  • If you're thinking about bankruptcy, talk to a bankruptcy attorney.
  • If you're behind on bills and want a repayment plan, a nonprofit credit counseling agency can review your budget. Our guide to debt management plans explains how they work.
  • If you're a victim of identity theft, start at IdentityTheft.gov, run by the Federal Trade Commission.
  • If a company won't fix a reporting error, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

We link to government agencies, the credit bureaus, scoring companies and other sources so you can check our work and reach official forms. We don't control those sites and aren't responsible for their content, accuracy, privacy practices or availability.

Trademarks

FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation. VantageScore is a registered trademark of VantageScore Solutions, LLC. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are trademarks of their respective owners. Metro 2 is a registered trademark of the Consumer Data Industry Association. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other names mentioned on ScoreTuner belong to their owners. We use these names only to identify the companies and products we're describing.

Who we are not affiliated with

ScoreTuner is independent. It isn't affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), VantageScore Solutions, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, any specialty consumer reporting company, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or any government agency, including the CFPB, FTC, HUD, FHFA and the U.S. Department of Education. AnnualCreditReport.com is the official free credit report site run by the three bureaus, and we link to it because it's the free source the law created.

Questions about this page: help@scoretuner.com.