How to Report to a Credit Company

Reporting a delinquent or late payment on a debt may not be something you want to do, but it can be an important part of your business. Small business owners are often confronted with debtors who can't or won't pay a debt. Knowing how to report these delinquencies is important, and understanding the various ways it can be done affords you more options.

Instructions

1

Hire a collections agency. One of the easiest, and most common, ways to report a delinquent or late payment on a debt is to hire a collection agency. These companies will often be members of one of the credit reporting agencies (CRA's) and will be able to report the delinquency on your behalf. Collections agencies typically report the late payment to the CRA before they begin a collections action.

2

Contact a credit reporting service. Some small businesses may not want to hire a collections agency but will still want to have the delinquency reported. Because the CRA's do not allow every business to be a member, small businesses can employ a credit reporting service. These are companies that report to the CRA's on the creditor's behalf. Unlike the CRA's, they don't generally provide consumer credit reports themselves. Instead, they maintain memberships with one of more the the CRA's and allow their customers to file through them.

3

Sign up with the credit reporting agencies. The three companies that provide consumer credit reports (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) each monitor a consumer's credit history. They do this by receiving information from reporting parties like credit card companies, loan companies, etc. While each of these companies has different requirements about who can provide them information on consumer credit, you might be able to sign up with them directly. An application process and a fee is usually involved.