Want to know who you need to call when disputing an error on your credit report? Are you curious about what a “reverse mortgage” is? Well, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has just launched a new interactive service that fields questions like these and provides answers without all the usual fancy finance jargon.

The new Ask CFPB service allows people to do just that, ask the Bureau questions in any of the three following general categories:
Definitions: If your bank or lender is throwing around terms and phrases that you don’t understand or want help clarifying, the CFPB will try to translate it into as clear a statement as possible.

Explanations: Need help understanding how the APR on your credit card is being figured? The Ask CFPB tool provides consumers with general information on and explanations of terms and features of financial products.

Situations: If you feel like you’re at a disadvantage when you’re talking to the bank/credit card company/mortgage servicer because they do this on a daily basis and you’re just a regular Joe/Jill, the Ask CFPB service can provide you with information and tips to help you work through situations like when a lender raises the quoted interest rate at closing.

In addition to the interactive portion of the service, Ask CFPB already includes an FAQ with 350 common questions like “Can debt collectors call me anytime they want, day or night, about my debt?” and “I want to sue the card issuer that issued my credit card, but they tell me I have to use arbitration. Is that right?“

The service, along with the various complaint-filing portals operated by the CFPB, can be found at ConsumerFinance.gov.

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