Who Can Report to Credit Bureaus?

Your bank sends late‑payment data straight to the credit bureaus, generally once the account is 30 days past due, and continues reporting as the delinquency deepens.

• 30 days late  -  negative information appears on your credit report, lowering your score modestly
• 60 days late  -  the mark becomes more severe; interest and fees often increase, further hurting the score
• 90 days late  -  the account may be charged off, a major derogatory entry that can stay for up to seven years
• Types of accounts  -  mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, and other bank‑issued credit lines are all eligible for reporting
• Banks only report delinquencies; on‑time payments are not sent to the bureaus (as discussed in the upcoming 'credit cards track your charges' section)

Credit card issuers monitor every swipe and automatically report negative information to credit bureaus, typically after 30 days late. The moment a bill slides past the grace period, the account flags as a delinquency, regardless of how many times the card was used responsibly before.

Only the missed payment, not the purchase amount, reaches the bureaus; on‑time activity stays invisible. After 60 days most issuers hand the debt to a collection agency, which will be covered in the next section on debt collectors. (If you enjoy the paperwork, how credit card companies report to credit bureaus offers a tidy read.)

Debt collectors can report your delinquencies to the credit bureaus once an account is 30 days past due. They handle many kinds of unpaid bills, from medical charges to charged‑off credit cards.

• They report medical, utility, auto‑loan and other consumer debts after the account is typically 30 days late, and they may update the file at 60 or 90 days if the debt remains unpaid.
• Collections agencies furnish the negative information directly to the bureaus through standardized data feeds, matching the borrower's name, SSN and account number.
• Each new collection entry can knock 100 - 150 points off a FICO score and stays on the report for up to seven years, even if the balance is later paid.
• When the debt is resolved, the collector must update the bureau to show a 'paid' status, but the original delinquency date remains on the record.
• Next, landlords may add missed‑rent delinquencies to the same bureaus, extending the reporting ecosystem beyond traditional creditors.

Landlords can send missed‑rent information to credit bureaus, usually after the rent is 30 days past due.

When a landlord reports, the bureau records the delinquency just like a late bank payment, and it can lower the tenant's credit score.

• Reporting starts typically after 30 days of non‑payment; some agencies wait 60 days.
• Only landlords or property‑management firms that have a data‑furnisher agreement with a bureau (often via Experian RentBureau, TransUnion ResidentScore, or third‑party aggregators) can submit the information.
• The report includes date missed, amount owed, and status; it does not contain on‑time payments.
• Large multifamily owners are the most common reporters; many individual landlords do not participate.
• Tenants can dispute the entry by contacting the reporting bureau and providing proof of payment or lease violations.

Because rent reporting follows the same timeline as other negative information, a missed‑rent entry appears alongside credit‑card late payments and debt‑collector delinquencies, setting the stage for the next category of services that flag unpaid bills.

Phone companies can report unpaid bills to credit bureaus, typically after a 30‑day delinquency. This follows the bank and credit‑card sections and leads into the doctor‑reporting discussion later.

1. The bill misses its due date and the carrier marks the account as past due.
2. After the account is 30 days late, the carrier may either report the delinquency directly or forward the account to a collection agency that then reports the unpaid bill to the credit bureaus.
3. Some carriers wait 60 - 90 days, using internal collection efforts first; they still report negative information once the chosen threshold is reached.

For detailed guidance, see the Federal Trade Commission guidance on telecom credit reporting.

Doctors and other medical providers can report unpaid bills to credit bureaus as negative information, usually after the account is thirty days past due and often after it has been forwarded to a collection agency. Not every practice reports directly; many rely on third‑party collectors who handle the filing.

When the debt is reported, it appears as a delinquency on your credit file and behaves like other late payments - it can lower your score for up to seven years. The timeline mirrors earlier examples: after phone companies flag unpaid balances, medical providers add their unpaid bills to the mix, before we move on to how BNPL services track late buys. For more detail see how medical debt impacts credit scores.

Buy‑now‑pay‑later (BNPL) platforms can report a missed payment as negative information to the credit bureaus, typically after the account is 30 days past due. The report shows up as a delinquency and can lower your credit score just like a late bank or credit‑card payment.

Examples include:

• Afterpay reports a late buy after 30 days of non‑payment BNPL reporting guidelines.
• Klarna may wait 60 days before reporting, especially on balances over $500.
• Zip and PayPal Credit generally send a report once the account is 30 days overdue.

These reports appear alongside other delinquencies such as unpaid bills or missed rent, reinforcing the importance of staying current with any BNPL agreement.

Gyms can send a member's canceled contract to credit bureaus when the account shows an unpaid balance.

If a member quits and leaves a past‑due bill, the gym typically follows this process:

• Verify the amount is at least $25 and has been overdue for 30 days or more,
• Send a written notice demanding payment,
• Report the delinquency as 'unpaid membership fees' to the major credit bureaus (often after the notice period expires).

Some gyms first refer the debt to a collection agency; the agency then reports the same negative information. For details, see FTC guidance on gym membership reporting.

Next, we'll look at how child support obligations can affect your credit score.

Missed child‑support payments can be reported to credit bureaus, and the negative information will lower your score.

State child‑support agencies treat a payment that is 30 days overdue as delinquent; if it remains unpaid for 60‑90 days they may send the account to a collection agency, which can file a civil judgment that appears on your credit report as a delinquency. This entry is treated the same as any other unpaid bill and can drop a FICO score by 30‑100 points, depending on other factors.

Because the government does not share child‑support data directly, the reporting comes through collection actions, not the employer. The next section shows why employers cannot report personal debts at all.

Employers cannot report debts to credit bureaus because they are not classified as creditors; the bureaus only accept negative information from entities that extend credit or provide services, such as banks, credit‑card issuers, debt collectors, landlords, phone companies, doctors, BNPL providers, gyms, and government agencies that track child‑support obligations.

Even if an employee owes wages, a salary advance, or a settlement, the employer lacks the legal relationship that triggers reporting typically after 30 days late, so no delinquency or unpaid‑bill data ever reaches the bureaus from a workplace source.