Official Rules
1. Sponsor
The Bill Relief Special (the "Contest") is sponsored by Compliance & Community Consultants, LLC d/b/a The Trusted Banker, 440 Burroughs Street #196, Detroit, MI 48202 ("Sponsor"). The Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram, Facebook, Meta Platforms, Inc. or TikTok. Entrants release those platforms from any liability connected with the Contest.
2. Eligibility
The Contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Entrants must be at least 18 years old (19 in Alabama and Nebraska) when they enter.
Each entrant must have been denied an application for credit within the 90 days before the date of entry. The entrant must be able to provide the written denial notice (the "adverse action notice") they received from the lender.
Employees and contractors of Sponsor, and members of their immediate families or households, are not eligible. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
3. Entry Period
The Contest begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on October 1, 2026 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 11, 2026 (the "Entry Period"). The Entry Period is divided into three judging rounds:
| Round | Entries received by | Winner announced by |
|---|---|---|
| October | 11:59 p.m. ET, October 16, 2026 | October 23, 2026 |
| November | 11:59 p.m. ET, November 13, 2026 | November 20, 2026 |
| December | 11:59 p.m. ET, December 11, 2026 | December 18, 2026 |
An eligible entry that is not selected in a round is automatically carried into each later round. Entries received after a round's deadline are judged in the next round.
4. How to Enter
To enter, complete all of the following during the Entry Period:
- Complete the entry form at thetrustedbanker.com/billrelief, including your name, email address and your Instagram, TikTok and Facebook usernames.
- Subscribe to The Trusted Banker newsletter. Sponsor uses the newsletter email address to contact entrants and winners. You may unsubscribe after the Contest ends.
- Follow The Trusted Banker on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook at @thetrustedbanker.
- Submit a written letter of no more than 500 words, following the instructions sent after you complete the form. The letter should describe the circumstances that led to your credit denial and your goals for moving forward. Do not include medical details, account numbers, your Social Security number or other sensitive personal information.
Limit one entry per person and per email address during the Entry Period. A person may win only once. Entries that are incomplete, late, illegible, submitted by automated means or through multiple identities will be disqualified.
5. Judging
Three panel judges appointed by Sponsor will score each eligible letter using these criteria:
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| The circumstances that led to the credit denial | 40% |
| The entrant's demonstrated commitment to rebuilding their credit | 30% |
| The educational value of the entrant's situation for The Trusted Banker community | 30% |
The highest-scoring entrants in each round become finalists. If there is a tie, the tied entry with the highest score on the first criterion wins. The judges' decisions are final.
6. Finalist Verification
Finalists must complete all of the following within 5 business days of Sponsor's request:
- confirm by screen check that they follow The Trusted Banker on all three platforms using the usernames on their entry
- provide a copy of their adverse action notice with account numbers and other sensitive information blacked out
- confirm their eligibility
A finalist who does not meet these requirements, or does not respond in time, will be disqualified and replaced by the next-highest-scoring finalist.
7. Prize
One prize will be awarded in each round, for three prizes in total. Each prize is $500, paid to the winner by check or electronic payment. The total value of all prizes is $1,500.
The prize is meant to help the winner pay a household bill, such as a utility, rent or mortgage, auto loan, phone, internet or insurance bill. Each winner is asked to use the prize for that purpose. How the winner uses the prize is their own decision and is not a condition of receiving it.
The prize cannot be transferred, and no substitution is allowed except by Sponsor if needed. Sponsor will pay the prize within 15 business days after receiving the signed Winner Consent & Release and any tax information required by law.
8. Winner Notification
Potential winners will be notified by email only, from [email protected]. A potential winner must respond within 5 business days and must sign and return the Winner Consent & Release. If the potential winner does not respond, is ineligible or does not sign the release, they forfeit the prize and an alternate winner will be selected.
Sponsor will never ask entrants or winners for payment, gift cards, passwords, bank account numbers or a Social Security number, and will never contact winners by direct message on social media.
9. Live Credit Education Session
Each winner is asked to take part in one live credit education session with Sponsor, as described in the Winner Consent & Release. The winner will obtain their own free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com and decide which parts to share. Sponsor will not obtain or pull any entrant's or winner's consumer credit report.
The winner chooses whether to appear with their first name only or anonymously, and whether to appear on camera. Declining to take part in the live session will not cause a winner to forfeit the prize.
10. Privacy
Entry letters are confidential. Only Sponsor's judges will read them, and they will not be published, read aloud or quoted without the writer's separate written consent. Personal information collected through the Contest will be used to administer the Contest and to send The Trusted Banker newsletter, as described in Sponsor's Privacy Policy.
11. Educational Content; No Credit Repair Services
The live session and all Contest content are general educational information only. They are not individualized financial, legal or tax advice. Sponsor is not a credit repair organization and does not promise or guarantee any change to a person's credit report, score or approval for credit. No fee is charged for any part of the Contest.
12. Taxes
The prize may be taxable income to the winner. Each winner is solely responsible for any taxes on the prize. Sponsor will issue any tax forms required by law and may request tax information from the winner for that purpose.
13. General Conditions
By entering, entrants agree to these Official Rules and to the decisions of Sponsor, which are final. Sponsor may disqualify any person who tampers with the entry process or violates these rules.
If the Contest cannot run as planned for reasons beyond Sponsor's reasonable control, Sponsor may cancel, change or suspend it. In that case, Sponsor may award prizes from among the eligible entries received before the change.
14. Release and Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent allowed by law, entrants release Sponsor and its owners, employees and agents from any claims, losses or damages arising from participating in the Contest or accepting or using a prize. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete or misdirected entries, or for technical failures of any kind.
15. Governing Law and Disputes
These rules are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. Any dispute will be resolved individually, without resort to any class action, in the state or federal courts located in Wayne County, Michigan.
16. Winners List
For the first names and states of the winners, email [email protected] with the subject "Bill Relief Winners" by January 31, 2027. Winners who choose to stay anonymous will be listed as "Anonymous."
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