How does credit reporting work when using CollBox?

Credit reporting is a common request from our customers and CollBox's partner agencies can help in many cases (but not all) so read on to find out if credit reporting is possible for your situation.

When businesses use our Collect service to help them get paid on their past-due accounts by getting matched with a great collection agency from our network, a really common request we get is about credit reporting and if we offer it. See below for some helpful information on the topic. 

What is credit reporting? 

Credit reporting is the process of reporting a debtor's delinquent accounts to one or multiple credit bureaus, which will have a negative impact on a debtor's credit score for not paying their debts. It can be a powerful tool in the collections process as it can hinder a debtor's ability to procure new credit down the line and often acts as a powerful motivation to bring the account current to avoid damaging their credit score.

Will CollBox report the debts to a credit bureau?

CollBox is not a collection agency and, as such, does not report to the credit bureaus directly. However, the collection agency we match you with in our Collect service may be able to report that for you. 

Is the debt I'm pursuing eligible to be reported to a credit bureau?

It depends on the type of debt you're working with and, if possible, is at your discretion. Here are a few things to know:

• • • When you're pursuing Consumer debt (that is, debt owed to your business by an individual consumer), credit reporting is available from our partner agencies and is, in fact, encouraged as a powerful tool in compelling a debtor to pay you for your work. Based on your request (meaning it is not done automatically), the agency you work with can report the debt(s) to various credit bureaus but will often reserve that for when a debtor refuses to pay and they need a way to escalate the situation.
      • The agency you get matched with via CollBox's Collect service may request additional information from you or ask that you fill out certain forms for them and you'll need to do so to proceed if you wish to have the debts reported.
      • Credit reporting is not required and is at your discretion. The agency will only do so (where possible) if you'd like them to do so, though, it is often encouraged as it typically results in increased odds of success.
    • When you're trying to collect on Commercial debt (that is, debt owed to your business by another business), credit reporting is not available as it is not a standard industry practice for commercial collection agencies to report on an individual consumer's credit (even when there is a personal guarantee in place). There are a variety of reasons for this but it mostly comes down to compliance and risk of litigation so agencies handling commercial debt often do not offer this service to protect not only their business but yours as well.
      • As of today, there are no Commercial agencies in the CollBox network that offer credit reporting on individual debtors.
      • There are other resources available for Commercial debts that aren't successfully collected, including filing a lawsuit (which becomes a public record and has a similar effect in terms of a reputation risk for debtors who don't pay)

What about "Business Credit" scores? Can I report against those?

In the US, there are some B2B / Commercial credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet being the most well known), however, the concept of and practice of influencing a business' "credit" is not nearly as streamlined as Consumer credit is. With that being said, CollBox nor the commercial collection agencies in its network currently report anything to these B2B credit bureaus. Put more simply, we haven't seen that it has much effect so we focus on other ways to help you get paid.

Have more questions or want to start getting paid for your hard work?

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