Companies and organizations that are members of credit reporting agencies submit consumer information every month regarding the credit accounts that their customers have established. They also submit public record items such as tax liens, judgments and bankruptcies.
Membership
To submit information to a credit reporting agency, you must be a member. Companies that want to join must fill out an application and pay the fees associated with membership.
Trade Lines
The information submitted to a credit reporting agency is called a trade line. A trade line includes all of a customer's credit history with a creditor including the name of the creditor, account balance, date opened, date last paid, type of account, credit rating and the credit limit.
Credit Reporting
An account must be 30 days past due to be reported late with one of the credit reporting agencies. If you have a payment due with a credit card company on March 1 and you don't make the payment until April 2, it is 30 days late and will be reported to the credit bureaus.
Effects
Late payments can reduce your credit score. If your credit score is 680, a payment that is 30 days late can lower your score 60 to 80 points. A credit score of 780 can be lowered 90 to 110 points, according to the CreditCards.com.
Time Frame
Any type of bad credit such as collection accounts, foreclosures, judgments and repossessions must be deleted from your credit file after seven years. A bankruptcy can remain for 10 years, according to the Credit Info Center.
Credit Reporting Agencies
The three credit reporting agencies are Transunion, Equifax and Experian. You can dispute items in writing by contacting the agency reporting the derogatory information. Once a year, you can get a free copy of your credit report from the website Annual Credit Report.
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