How to request credit reporting

Want to report a debt to the credit agencies? Here’s how, as well as what information is required to do so.

Credit reporting 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.

The collection agency we match you with in our Collect service may be able to report that for you, depending on the type of debt you're working with.

Consumer

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.

Upon 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.

You must directly request credit reporting from your servicer working on your consumer debt. The best way to do so is via the ‘Message Servicer’ feature on our platform. Check out this Help Center article on how to access that feature.

The agencies in our network require both the debtor's date of birth and social security number for credit reporting to ensure that the debt is reported on the correct individual’s credit.

Commercial

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.

However, 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 reputation risk for debtors who don't pay).