Credit reports and scores · 10 guides
Tessa G. covers credit reports and scores: how collections and charge-offs are reported, how long they stay, how to dispute an error, and how to rebuild after settling.
Tessa G. is a pen name used by the Felix editorial team for this beat. Every guide lists the primary sources it relies on (the CFPB, the FTC, the IRS, the statute text) at the end, and none of it is legal, tax, or financial advice.
Credit Reports & Scores
Check that each settled account shows a $0 balance, then add on-time history and keep balances low. What works after a settlement, and how long it really takes.
Tessa G. · September 29, 2026 · 14 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
Every tradeline field on your credit report, explained in plain English: statuses, the payment-history grid codes, and the dates that decide when items fall off.
Tessa G. · May 27, 2026 · 13 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
Soft pulls never touch your credit score. Hard pulls typically cost fewer than five points and stop counting after a year. Here's who sees each, and when it matters.
Tessa G. · May 21, 2026 · 6 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
No scoring company publishes a fixed point drop for a collection. The size depends on where your score started, and FICO's research shows higher scores fall further.
Tessa G. · May 19, 2026 · 7 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
Federal law gives you a free reinvestigation of any credit report error: the bureau has 30 days and must delete what it can't verify. Here's how to file.
Tessa G. · May 14, 2026 · 13 min read
Letters & Templates
A free goodwill letter template for an accurate late payment, plus an honest look at when creditors say yes, who to send it to, and what to use instead.
Tessa G. · May 12, 2026 · 14 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
Pay for delete still happens, just less than advertised. Who actually agrees, how to ask in writing before you pay, and what to negotiate when they say no.
Tessa G. · May 7, 2026 · 13 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
Wrong entries can be disputed off for free under the FCRA. Accurate ones mostly can't be removed early, whatever the ads say. What works, and what's illegal to promise.
Tessa G. · May 5, 2026 · 17 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
A charge-off is an accounting status on your original account; a collection is a separate account someone else reports. You can have both, and still negotiate either.
Tessa G. · March 26, 2026 · 7 min read
Credit Reports & Scores
Seven years plus 180 days, measured from the date you first fell behind on the original account. Not from when the debt was sold, and not from when you pay it.
Tessa G. · February 17, 2026 · 9 min read
