I may miss a payment
Use the verified contact on your statement and prepare a realistic budget. Ask about the costs and written terms of any assistance.
Prepare a hardship conversation →US borrowing · Practical next steps
Loan repayment and account help
Find next steps for missed payments, payoff quotes, failed payments, consolidation follow-up, credit-report errors and suspicious loan requests.
I want to pay the loan off
Use the actual dated payoff quote. Keep accrued interest, quote expiry and posting confirmation separate.
Explore payment timing and interest →A payment failed or looks wrong
Keep the transaction dates, attempted payment, posted entries and correspondence together. Do not submit account details here.
Organize a servicing evidence packet →I consolidated other balances
Confirm the old creditor received the funds and verified its remaining balance. Funding the new loan is one stage of the process.
Check old-account payoff confirmations →My credit report looks wrong
Review the actual report and use the relevant dispute process. Keep it separate from a servicing complaint.
Read the credit-report dispute guide →A contact or request seems suspicious
Verify the organization independently before following payment or document instructions.
Organize suspicious-request notes →Keep a current cash plan
Map scheduled payments and paydays before choosing an extra repayment. Compare payoff scenarios with the actual contract rate and balances. Neither tool changes a payment instruction or sends money.
Official help
CFPB consumer tools and complaint instructions explain available resources. For a mortgage payment problem, the CFPB mortgage-help guidance is a separate starting point. Follow the current instructions for your specific product and issue.
Source checked November 9, 2026. This page organizes existing guides; it does not promise an assistance arrangement, complaint outcome or reporting change.
Separate the problem, the evidence and the requested answer
| Issue | Gather privately | Ask the verified provider |
|---|---|---|
| Payment not posted | Bank debit date, amount, lender ledger and reference. | Was it received, where was it applied, and how can a duplicate payment be avoided? |
| Payoff quote | Balance date, quote expiry, payment instructions and pending transactions. | What dated amount is needed and how will final posting and zero balance be confirmed? |
| Temporary assistance | A take-home budget, expected duration and the relevant notices. | Which amounts are deferred, whether interest or fees continue, and what happens when the arrangement ends? |
| Unexpected charge | Contract section, statement line, dates and earlier correspondence. | What contractual basis and calculation produced this amount? |
Two arithmetic checks to use before a conversation
A dated payoff can differ from a statement balance
In a hypothetical actual/365 simple-interest model, $5,000 at 12% accrues $16.44 over ten days: $5,000 × 0.12 × 10 ÷ 365. Fees, earlier unpaid interest, changing principal and contract day-count rules are excluded. This is not a payoff quote.
A temporary payment reduction can leave an amount to resolve
Reducing a hypothetical $450 payment to $250 for three months reduces immediate payments by $600. The arithmetic does not say the $600 is forgiven, deferred without interest or due at a particular date. Ask for the actual treatment in writing.
After the conversation, record the confirmed action, reference, follow-up date and unanswered questions privately. Follow the current official instructions for the product; this organizer does not submit a complaint, dispute or payment.
Scope and next steps
Educational planning only. Confirm actual costs, dates and terms before making commitments. Financial disclaimer · Editorial standards.