US Financer is a new, independent personal-finance site, and we want to hear from readers. This page explains what we can help with, what we cannot, and where to turn for the things that fall outside our remit.
Report a mistake
If you spot an error in something we published, tell us. That includes a wrong interest rate, an outdated fee, a misread regulation, a broken calculation or a claim that no longer holds. Rates and terms change often, and a reader who catches a stale figure is doing everyone a favour.
When you write, include the page title, the sentence or figure you think is wrong, and, if you have it, where the correct information comes from. A link to a lender’s rate sheet, a regulator’s notice or a bank’s terms page lets us check and fix the error quickly. We will correct the page rather than quietly rewrite it.
Flag a company that misrepresents itself
Lending and credit products attract bad actors. If you have come across a lender, debt-relief firm, credit-repair service or “financial advisor” that you believe is misleading people, we want to know. Examples worth reporting:
- A lender advertising one rate and quoting a much higher one once you apply
- A debt-settlement company promising to erase balances or guaranteeing results
- A company using a name or logo designed to look like a government agency or a well-known bank
- Upfront fees for loans that never arrive
- A business we have mentioned on this site that you believe we described inaccurately
Give us as much detail as you can: the company name, what they claimed, what actually happened, and any documents or screenshots you are comfortable sharing. We cannot take action against a company ourselves, but reader reports shape what we investigate and write about. If you have lost money or shared personal information, also report it to the agencies listed below, since they can act in ways we cannot.
Suggest a topic
Much of what we publish starts with a question someone could not find a straight answer to. If you are trying to work out something specific, such as how a certain loan type is priced, what a particular fee means, how a state rule affects you, or whether a product is worth the cost, send it in. The more concrete the question, the more useful the eventual article.
General feedback
Tell us what is working and what is not. If an explanation was confusing, a worked example did not match your situation, or a page left out the one thing you needed, we would rather hear it than guess.
What we cannot help with
We are a publisher, not a lender, broker or adviser. For your protection and ours, we do not:
- Give personal financial advice or tell you what to do with your own money
- Review a loan offer you have received and say whether to accept it
- Help with, submit or follow up on applications for any financial product
- Negotiate with lenders, collectors or credit bureaus on your behalf
- Access, change or dispute anything on your credit report
Our articles are general information. Your circumstances, credit profile and state law all affect what is right for you, and that is not something we can assess from a message.
Where to go instead
If you need help with a specific problem, these are the right places:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The federal agency that oversees consumer financial products. You can file a complaint about a lender, servicer, debt collector or credit bureau, and the company is required to respond. The CFPB also publishes plain-language guides on mortgages, credit cards, student loans and debt collection.
Your state regulator. Most lending is also regulated at the state level, usually by a department of financial institutions, banking commissioner or state attorney general. State regulators handle licensing complaints, and for some products, such as payday or title loans, they are the primary authority. Search for your state’s name alongside “department of financial institutions” or “attorney general consumer protection” to find the right office.
A nonprofit credit counselor. If you are struggling with debt or want someone to go through your budget and options with you, a nonprofit credit-counseling agency can do what we cannot. Look for an agency affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or approved by the Department of Justice’s list of credit-counseling agencies. Initial sessions are typically free or low cost. Be cautious of any “counselor” that charges large upfront fees or promises to settle your debts for pennies on the dollar; those are usually for-profit debt-settlement companies, not counselors.
A note on what we are
US Financer is independent and newly launched. We are not owned by a bank, lender or lead-generation company, and no financial institution reviews or approves our content before it is published. If that ever changes, this page will say so.
Our contact address is being set up and will appear here once it is live.