Originally Posted by spacedog

I spent over 11 years working at law firms & financial institutions doing collections.. Unless you have written & signed contracts stating that an unpaid debt will go into collections if unpaid, you can not place it into collections.

A debtor needs to be notified in writing that you intend to default them & place their account into collections prior to you doing so.

Once the account is placed into collections, the attorney or debt collector will send demand for payment & advise the debtor that if they fail to dispute the debt or pay it, that it will be placed on their credit report as a debt in collections, which will bring their credit score down.

If the debtor is a business, the debt will be reported to Dunn & Bradstreet whom maintains credit reports on businesses although a business debt can be placed on both business & personal reports.