Credit & Credit Reporting Terms

Terms covering how debt and its resolution show up on a credit report.

• Debt Consolidation Loan

  A new loan used to pay off multiple existing debts at once, leaving you with a single monthly payment — usually at a lower interest rate, but only if your credit still qualifies for one.

• Charge-Off

  An accounting designation a creditor uses when it writes off a debt as unlikely to be collected, though the debt can still be collected or sold.

• Pay-in-4

  The most common Buy Now, Pay Later structure — a purchase split into 4 equal installments over about 6 weeks, usually with no interest charged.

• Loan Stacking

  Taking on multiple Buy Now, Pay Later or short-term loans at once, often across different apps, without any single lender seeing the full picture of what you already owe.

• 1099-C (Cancellation of Debt)

  An IRS form a lender files when it forgives $600 or more of debt, which can create taxable "phantom income" for the borrower.

• Credit Report Dispute

  The formal process under the FCRA for challenging inaccurate information on a credit report with the bureaus or the furnisher.

• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

  The federal law governing how credit bureaus collect, use, and correct information on your credit report — the legal basis for disputing an error.

• Credit Freeze (Security Freeze)

  A free, reversible lock on your credit report that blocks new lenders from accessing it — stops most new-account identity theft.