Collection Agency And Debt Collector Reporting

This is an excerpt from the Metro 2 Format manual for reporting credit.

General Reporting Guidelines

A Collection Agency/Debt Collector is a company or individual who specializes in collecting outstanding debts for other businesses or individuals.

• Report data in the standard Metro 2 Format, including the Header Record.
• Report at least on a monthly basis.
• Report the complete name, address and social security number of the legally liable consumer(s), using the appropriate J1 or J2 Segments for reporting secondary names.

The first time you report to the credit reporting agencies, report your entire file. On subsequent updates, report the entire file, or at a minimum, newly opened accounts, paid accounts, and accounts which have had changes since the previous reporting period.

Report paid in full collection accounts before purging the accounts from your internal collection system.

Do not delete paid in full collection accounts.

Acceptable reasons for deleting accounts are:

• Accounts which have been canceled and returned to creditor.
• Accounts which have been forwarded to another entity.
• Accounts reported in error.

All parties reporting credit information must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and any applicable state laws.

The Date of First Delinquency is used to comply with FCRA sections 605 and 623 (obsolescence period). See below for detailed reporting requirements.

In the Identification Number field, report the internal code that identifies the collection agency/debt collector where information is verified.

All parties reporting credit information must respond to consumer inquiries.

The guidelines in this document are specific to your industry and should be used in conjunction with the specifications in the Metro 2 Format. Refer to the Metro 2 Format for detailed information on segments and field information.

Collection Agency And Debt Collector Reporting Guidelines

1. Report the following Account Status Codes:

• 93 - Account seriously past due and/or assigned to internal or external collections.
• 62 - Paid in full, was a collection account.
• DA - Delete account.
• DF - Delete entire account due to confirmed fraud (fraud investigation completed)

Acceptable reasons for deleting accounts are:

• Accounts which have been canceled and returned to creditor.
• Accounts which have been forwarded to another entity.
• Accounts reported in error.

Do not delete paid in full collection accounts.

2. Report the Consumer Information Indicator to specify when a consumer has filed bankruptcy or a consumer cannot be located. Refer to the Metro 2 Format manual for a list of available indicators.

3. Report Special Comments in conjunction with Account Statuses to further define the accounts.

Example: Special Comment AU (Account Legally Paid in Full for Less than the Full Balance) could be reported with Status Code 62.

4. Account Number

• Report the individual's complete and unique account number as extracted from your file.
• If the account number changes, report the L1 Segment. See field definitions in your Metro 2 Format manual.

Notify your local credit reporting agencies the first time the account number changes.

Account Type Codes:

• 12 - Education Loan
(for loans received from student loan guaranty agencies or the U.S. Department of Education)
• 48 - Collection Agency/ Attorney
• 77 - Returned Check

6. Date Opened = The date the account was assigned to the collection agency, or, when reporting returned checks, the date the check was written.

7. Report the Portfolio Type as O ( Open).

8. Terms Duration = Report as 001.

9. FCRA Compliance/Date of First Delinquency = The date of the first delinquency with the original creditor that led to the account being placed for collection. If this date is not available, use the date the account was opened with the original credit grantor.

Example: Credit Grantor Reports:

Account is transferred to collection agency/debt collector.

Example: Collection Agency/Debt Collector Reports:

The FCRA Compliance/Date of First Delinquency does not change due to subsequent repayment agreements.

When reporting returned checks, report the date the check was returned for non sufficient funds. If not available, report the date of the check.

10. Highest Credit or Original Loan Amount = Original assigned amount as of the date assigned. When reporting returned checks, report the original amount of the check, excluding fees and interest.

11. Current Balance = Balance amount, which may include fees and interest, depending on state and federal laws. If payments are made, the Balance amount should decrease accordingly.

12. ECOA Code = Used to designate an account as joint, individual, etc. in compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

Authorized users (ECOA Code 3) should not be reported because they are not contractually liable.

13. Report the K1 Segment, which contains the name of the original creditor and the creditor's classification. When reporting returned checks, report the name of the payee in the Original Creditor Name field.

Refer to the guidelines for the K1 Segment in the Metro 2 Format. ACB policy and some state laws stipulate that the original creditor must be identified.

See Also

- Credit Bureau Reporting Topics