Credit reporting can be helpful in extreme cases, but it is often misrepresented by collection agencies trying to sell their services. When a collection agency reports a delinquent account to a credit bureau, it does not get the business any money today. What is does is provides a 'wish' for a payment some unknown time in the future if the debtor ever has to do a financial transaction that involves a creditor that checks their consumer credit report.

The issue is that credit reporting also can create a liability for businesses because of collection agencies reporting accounts that were not valid debts. This can open the business to legal action - something no businesses needs. It has been esitmated that over 41% of the information contained in consumer credit reports is not accurate, and with identity theft on the rise, a business must tread lightly when considering credit reporting.