Advertising brand
Advertisement and site header
Which name brought me here?
Identify the actual creditor before you continue
The name on an advertisement may not be the company making the loan. Trace the offer to the creditor in the agreement, then check the role of any site collecting your information or company taking payments.
Bottom Dollar Payday is not the lender. This page helps prepare and compare decisions; it does not submit an application or access accounts or application records.
Site operator or intermediary
Terms and data-sharing notice
Who is operating this request process?
Creditor
Offer and credit agreement
Who extends the credit under this contract?
Identify the document that can answer
This selector organizes business-identity checks. It does not search companies or certify licenses.
Start with the mismatch you see
The website calls itself a matching service
Treat the website as an intermediary unless its documents establish another role. Ask who will receive your request and where the actual lender’s offer appears. A referral is not a credit decision.
The agreement names a different company
A brand and a legal entity can differ, but the relationship needs evidence. Compare the legal disclosure, creditor section and applicable registry; do not rely on a salesperson’s explanation alone.
A new company asks for repayment
It may be a servicer or another authorized recipient, but verify that role through the creditor and the written servicing notice. A message with a familiar logo is not enough to change payment instructions.
Build a four-name record
For an online loan request, the CFPB distinguishes lenders from lead generators that collect and pass information to other businesses. Use that distinction to organize the documents, not to assume that every company with a form lends money. [F05]
| Role | Where to look | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising brand | Advertisement and site header | Which name brought me here? |
| Site operator or intermediary | Terms and data-sharing notice | Who is operating this request process? |
| Creditor | Offer and credit agreement | Who extends the credit under this contract? |
| Servicer or payment recipient | Agreement and verified servicing notice | Who handles this payment and on whose behalf? |
Check consistency across documents
Write down the exact legal name rather than an abbreviated logo. Compare address, website, identifier and the state/product authorization. An NMLS record can help identify the business and its regulatory information, but the correct entity, jurisdiction and activity still matter. [F06]
A corporate registration, review profile or directory listing is not the same thing as lending authority. Conversely, not finding a bank in a nonbank category is not a complete finding about that bank; use the appropriate official lookup.
Ask about the relationship when names differ
Do not silently combine companies into one identity. Keep the discrepancy open until you can reconcile it.
| Situation | Evidence needed | Premature conclusion to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and legal name differ | Official disclosure connecting them | “Different name means fraud” |
| Request site and creditor differ | Handoff disclosure and actual offer | “The first site approved me” |
| Creditor and servicer differ | Verified servicing instructions | “Any payment message is authorized” |
| Registry website differs | Regulator or company confirmation through a known channel | “The registry’s name alone authenticates this link” |
Treat payment changes as a separate verification
Open the creditor’s known website yourself or use the contact information on an independently held agreement. Ask whether it issued the new payment instruction. Keep the date and response. Do not rely only on a number supplied in the suspicious message. Requests to prepay for guaranteed credit are warning signs; legitimate fees in other contexts do not make every such request trustworthy. [F09]
Move from identity to product fit
After identifying the creditor, review the net cash, actual charges, payment calendar and account requirements. Identity evidence does not mean the offer is affordable, available to you or better than another option. The license-check page helps you choose an official registry; the comparison tool addresses cost.
Keep unresolved identity questions out of the application
Pause before sending sensitive records if you cannot identify the intended recipient. This page does not check a company automatically or issue a “verified lender” label. Its output is a short verification route: the missing document, the name to match and the contact needed to resolve the inconsistency.
Questions before continuing
Is a lead generator automatically fraudulent?
No. It is a different business role. The important questions are what it actually does, what it discloses, who receives the information and which entity extends any credit.
Does a license number prove the link in a text is genuine?
No. A real number can be copied. Compare the legal entity and official contact or website information, then reach the business independently.
Will this page tell me whether a named company is licensed?
No. It does not perform a registry search. Use the license-check workflow and the appropriate official authority for that separate question.
Related decisions
Sources and scope
Sources describe rules and resources; they do not endorse Bottom Dollar or certify listed businesses. Numerical examples are calculations, not offers.
