• Customer Employment
• Employment Address
  

• Joint Customer Tab

3.    How to ....

Company Setup

• Company Name - The name of your company
• Address - Your company's physical address
• City, State, Zip - Your company's city, state & zip code
• Phone Number - Your company's phone number
• Company ID - An unique code at least 5 digits but no more than 20 that is issued by the credit bureau
• Equifax ID - Equifax customer number which is assigned by Equifax
• Experian ID - D# (4 to 5 digit code which is assigned by Experian)
• TransUnion ID - TransUnion subscriber code which is assigned by TransUnion
• Innovis ID - Innovis ID number which is assigned by Innovis

Company Defaults

• Account Type - your company's default account
• Portfolio Type - your default portfolio
• Frequency - your reporting cycle

Account

Account Number - Report the individual's complete and unique account number as extracted from your file. If you are changing an existing accout number you will need to click on the "Change" button to the right of the field and enter in the new account number. The account number will be updated the next time you report to the credit bureau.

Account Type - Account type that identifies the account classification. Refer to the reference section on Account Type Codes and Account Type Codes By Industry for detailed information.

Portfolio Type - Type of account portfolio. Refer to the reference section on portfolio type for available values and their definitions.

Date Opened - Report the date the account was originally opened. Retain the original Date Opened regardless of future activity, such as transfer, refinance, lost or stolen car, etc. Valid Dates Opened must be reported - field cannot be zero or blank filled, nor contain a date in the future. For companies who report returned checks, such as collection agencies, report the date of the check.

Date Closed - For all portfolio types, enter the date the account was closed to further purchases or paid in full. For Line of Credit, Open or Revolving accounts, there may be a balance due. If not applicable, leave blank.

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Original Charge-Off Amount - Only report this value if the account status is:

• Account paid in full, was a charge-off (64)
• Unpaid balance reported as a loss by credit grantor (charge-off) (97)

This field will be grayed out for any other account status. Report the original amount charged to loss, regardless of the declining balance. Report whole dollars only. If payments are received from the consumer, report the outstanding balance in the Current Balance and Amount Past Due fields.

Credit Limit - This field will only be active if the portfolio type is Line of Credit or Revolving. If this field is active report the assigned credit limit, report whole dollars only. If this field is inactive, grayed out, do not report a credit limit.

Highest Credit or Original Amount (Largest Balance)- This value depends on the portfolio type for this account. For companies who report returned checks, such as collection agencies, report the original amount of the check, excluding fees and interest.

Current Balance - Report the total current balance of the account, whether increasing or declining, in whole dollars only. This amount can include late charges and fees. Report credit balance (negative balances) as zero. For accounts that have a portfolio type of mortgage, report the principal balance plus the interest due this month. Do not include future interest, escrow, fees or insurance payments.

Account Status - Report the account status that properly identifies the current condition of the account as of the Date of Account Information.

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Term & Payment

Payment Frequency (Also called Terms Frequency) - Report the frequency for payments due. Values available:

Exhibit 3 in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual provides definitions of the Terms Frequency Codes. Note: When reporting Deferred loans, report the Deferred Payment Start Date in the Specialized Payment Information section.

Terms Duration - Contains the duration of credit extended. This value should be reported in months, years or other depending on the portfolio type of the account.

Note:See the reference section in M2 Reporter 2007 help manual on Terms/Payment Amount Conversion to Monthly  for specific conversion information.

Date of Account Information (Also called Billing Date)- All account information, such as Account Status and Current Balance, must be reported as of the date in this field.

Cycle Reporters- Report the date of the current month's billing cycle. This method is preferred to facilitate accurate and timely reporting of account information

Monthly Reporters - Report the date of the most recent update to balances, such as mid-month (08/15/2004) or end of month (08/31/2004)

Note: This date must not reflect a future date. This date should not change after the account has been reported as paid or transferred.

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Date of Last Payment - Report the date of the most recent consumer payment, whether full or partial payment is made. If the day is not available use 01 for the day.

Scheduled Payment (Also called Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount) - Report the dollar amount of the scheduled monthly payment in whole dollars only. Amount you report will depend on the portfolio type of the account.

Note: See the reference section in M2 Reporter 2007 help manual on Terms/Payment Amount Conversion to Monthly for specific conversion information.

Last Payment Amount - Report the dollar amount of the monthly payment actually received for this reporting period in whole dollars only. If multiple payments are made during the reporting period, the total amount should be reported.

Amount Past Due - Report the amount past due in whole dollars only. This field can include late charges and fees. Do not include current amount due in this field.

Payment Rating - This field will only be active for specific account status codes. If this field is active report the correct portfolio type. If this field is inactive, grayed out, do not report a credit limit.

First Delinquency Date- The value to report in this field depends on the Account Status and Payment Rating. If you are reporting a Consumer Information Indicator  this may effect the value you report also.

This date is used to ensure compliance with the FCRA.See the reference section in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual on Date of First Delinquency for detailed reporting instructions, examples and an excerpt from the law (FCRA)

Note: First-time reporters should refer to the FAQ section in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual for First Time Reporters.

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Payment History - Contains up to 24 months of consecutive payment activity for the previous 24 calendar months prior to the Date of Account Information (Field 24) being reported. Report one month’s payment record in each byte from the left to right in most recent to least recent order. The first byte should represent the previous month’s status. Values available:

If a full 24 months of history are not available for reporting, the ending positions of this field should be filled with Bs. The Payment History Profile is intended to be used to report monthly history, regardless of the Terms Frequency. Reporting of the Payment History Profile provides a method for automated correction of erroneously reported history.

Exhibit 5 in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual provides examples of reporting payment history.

For important information:

• Paid accounts - refer to Frequently Asked Question 38.
  
• First-time reporters - refer to Frequently Asked Question 25.

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Commnets

Special Comment - Used in conjunction with Account Status and Payment Rating to further define the account closed (e.g. closed accounts or adjustments pending). the special Comment Code must be reported as long as the condition applies.

See the reference section in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual on Special Comment Codes by Portfolio and Special Comment codes for detailed list of codes and information of comments by portfolio.

For examples of how Account Statuses, Payment Ratings and Special Comments interact, refer to Frequently Asked Question section in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual.

Compliance Condition - Allows the reporting of a condition that is required for legal compliance; e.g., according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) or Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA). This condition may refer to accounts closed at consumer’s request, accounts in dispute under FCRA or accounts in dispute under FCBA. The code should be reported one time and will be deleted only when another Compliance Condition Code or the XR (Remove value) is reported.

See Exhibit 14 in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual for a list of Compliance Condition Codes and an example that demonstrates how to report these codes.

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Outside Agencies

Original Creditor

Original Creditor Name - The original creditor name is the name of the company or agent who originally opened the account for the consumer.

This free-form description of the original creditor name is used by collection agencies, debt collectors, factoring companies, check guarantee companies, student loan guaranty agencies, and the U.S. Department of Education.

For companies who report returned checks, such as collection agencies, report the name of the payee.

To assist with compliance of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, companies who report medical debts or returned checks for medical purposes must report Creditor Classification ‘02’ (Field 3) to indicate ‘Medical/Health Care’. The actual name of the original creditor should continue to be reported in Field 2.

One of the following three options should be used when reporting a creditor’s name that would reveal sensitive information about the consumer.

1. Report the name of the institution, but do not include reference to the type of service. For example, use the hospital name without identifying that it was the psychiatric unit that provided care. If a hospital’s name reveals sensitive information, abbreviate the name.
2. Use the corporate name if it is different from the commercial name of a mental institution or drug rehabilitation center.
3. Do not report the account if either of the above two options would not sufficiently protect the consumer’s privacy.

Note: Encoded information is not acceptable in this field.

Original Creditor Classification - Contains a code indicating a general type of business for the Original Creditor Name. Values available:

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Purchased Account From or Sold To

Other Creditor - This option may be used to report the name of the company from which the portfolio or partial portfolio was purchased or the name of the company to which the portfolio or partial portfolio was sold.  

Account Transaction - Contains a code representing the type of information being reported. Values available:

 1 Portfolio Purchased from Name
 2 Sold Name  
 9 Remove Previously Reported Information

Note: Account Purchased information should not be reported by collection agencies, debt purchasers, factoring companies, check guarantee companies, student loan guaranty agencies and the U.S. Department of Education.

Mortgage Agency - This option is used to indicate a secondary marketing agency's interest in a loan by providing the applicable account number as assigned by the secondary marketing agency. It is also used to report the Mortgage Identification Number (MIN), when available

Mortgage Agency - Contains a code indicating which secondary marketing agency has interest in this loan. Values available:

00 Agency Identifier not applicable (Used when reporting MIN only)
01 Fannie Mae
02 Freddie Mac

Account Number - Contains the account number as assigned by the secondary marketing agency. Do not include embeded blanks or special characters.

If the Agency Identifier is 00, Agency Identifier not applicable, this field should be blank .

Mortgage Identification Number (MIN) - Contains the Mortgage Identification Number assigned to a mortgage loan. The MIN indicates that the loan is registered with the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), the electronic registry for tracking the ownership of mortgage rights. For more information, see http://www.mersinc.org

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Specialized Payment Info - This option can be used to report information on specialized payment schedules for either deferred payment or balloon payments.

Specialized Payment - Contains a code describing the specialized payment arrangements. Values available:  

• 01 Balloon Payment
• 02 Deferred Payment  

Deferred Payment Date - Report the date the first payment is due for deferred loans. If the day is not available, use 01. This date is only reported when the Terms Frequency indicates Deferred.  

Balloon Payment Due - Report the date the balloon payment is due, if applicable. If the day is not available, use 01.  

Balloon Payment Amt - Report the amount of the balloon payment in whole dollars only.

Customer

Last Name - Report the last name of the primary consumer. Titles and prefixes should not be reported.

If the surname contains multiple last names, hyphenate the two surnames. For example, Smith-Jones requires the hyphen. If the surname contains two separate words, the hyphen is not required. For example, report Van Dyke with a space between the two words.

If reporting Hispanic names, hyphenate the two surnames: Paternal Name - Maternal Name.

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Note: Do not report trustee or estate accounts.

First Name - Report the first name of the primary consumer. If reporting multiple first names, hyphenate the two first names.

Middle Name - Report the middle name or middle initial of the primary consumer, if available. If reporting multiple middle names, hyphenate the two middle names.

Suffix - Used to distinguish Junior, Senior, II, III, IV, etc. If not available leave blank. Values available:

J = Junior S = Senior 2 = II 3 = III 4 = IV

5 = V 6 = VI 7 = VII 8 = VIII 9 = IX

Social Sec# - Report the Social Security Number of the primary consumer. Report only valid SSNs. If not available leave blank.

Note: Do not report Tax Identification Numbers in the field.

Date of Birth - Contains the date of birth of the primary consumer. Reporting of this information is highly recommended as the date of birth greatly enhances accuracy in matching to the correct consumer. If the month and day are not available, use 0101 with the four digit year. The four-digit year is required. If no date is available leave blank.

Note: Do not report accounts of consumers who are too young to enter into a binding contract.

Home Phone - Contains the telephone number of the primary consumer (area code + 7 digits)

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Customer Address

Country - Contains the standard two-character country abbreviation.

Address Line 1- Contains mailing address for the primary consumer and usually includes street number, direction, street name, and type of thoroughfare.

If the mailing address is a PO Box or Rural Route, include Box or Route followed by the number (e.g., PO Box 100). Do not report both a street address and a PO Box.

Eliminate internal messages such as: "Do not mail," "Attorney," " Charge-off," "Chapter 13," "Fraud," etc.For further information see the Reference section in the M2 Reporter 2007 help manual on General Rules for Address.

Address Line 2 - Contains second line of address, if needed, such as apartment or unit number, or private mailbox number (PMB).

Eliminate internal messages such as: “Do not mail”, “Attorney”, “Charge-off”, “Chapter 13”, “Fraud”, “Trustee”, or “Estate of”, etc.

City - Report the city name for address of primary consumer. Truncate rightmost positions if city name is greater than 20 characters or use standard 13-character U.S. Postal Service city abbreviations.

State - Contains the standard U.S. Postal Service state abbreviation for the address of the primary consumers.

Zip Code- Report the Zip Code of the primary consumer's address.

Rent/Own - Contains the one-character residence code of the address of the primary consumer. If not available or unknown, blank fill. Values available:

• O = Owns
• R = Rents

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Address Verified - Contains one of the following values for the address.

Y = Known to be address of primary consumer
N = Not confirmed address
B = Business address — not consumer's residence
U = Non-deliverable address/Returned mail
D = Data reporter’s default address
M = Military address
S = Secondary Address
P = Bill Payer Service — not consumer’s residence
If indicator not available or unknown, blank fill

ECOA - Defines the relationship of the primary consumer to the account and designates the account as joint, individual, etc., in compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Values Available:

1 = Individual (this individual has conractual responsibility for this account and is primarily responsible for its payment)
2 = Joint Contractual Liability (joint account for which this borrower has contractual responsibility)
7 = Maker (Account for shich subject is liable but a co-maker is liable if maker defaults.)
T = Association with account terminated
W = Business/Commercial (used to identify that the compnay reproted in the name fields is contractually liable for the account)
X = Consumer Deceased
Z = Delete Borrower. Note: Only inaccurately reported consumers should be deleted.

Note: Codes 0 (undesignated), 4 (joint) and 6 (On-Behalf-Of) are obsolete as of September 2003 and may no longer be reported.

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Consumer Information Indicator- Contains a value that indicates a special condition of the account that applies to the primary customer.

This special condition may be that a bankruptcy was filed, discharged, dismissed or withdrawn; a debt was reaffirmed; or the consumer cannot be located or is not loacted.

The indicator should be reported one time and will be deleted only when the approprate removal code (Q, S, U) is reported.

Consumer Transaction Type - Used to indicate a new record, a new borrower or a change in consumer identification. values available:

1 = Newly opened account, or new borrower associated with existing account
2 = Name change
3 = Address change
5 = Social Security Number change
6 = Name & Address change
8 = Name & Social Security Number change
9 = Address & Social Security Number change
A = Name, Address and /or Social Security Number change If account or borrower is not new, or if no change in consumer information do not report a value.

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Customer Employment

Customer Occupation - Report title or position for primary consumer

Customer Employer - Report the name of the employer for the primary consumer.

Employment Address

Address Line 1- Contains the mailing address for the employer and usually includes street number, direction, street name and type of thoroughfare.

Address Line 2 - Contains second line of employer’s address, if needed.

City - Contains city name for employer’s address. Truncate rightmost positions if city name is greater than 20 characters or use standard 13-character U.S. Postal Service city abbreviations.

State - Contains the standard U.S. Postal Service state abbreviation for the address of the employer. Exhibit 12 provides a list of State Codes.

Zip - Report the zip code of the employer’s address. Use entire field if reporting 9-digit zip codes. Otherwise, left-justify and blank fill.

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Joint Customer

Last Name - Report the last name of the associated consumer. Titles and prefixes should not be reported.

If the surname contains multiple last names, hyphenate the two surnames. For example, Smith-Jones requires the hyphen. If the surname contains two separate words, the hyphen is not required. For example, report Van Dyke with a space between the two words.

If reporting Hispanic names, hyphenate the two surnames: Paternal Name - Maternal Name.

Note: Do not report trustee or estate accounts.

First Name - Report the first name of the associated consumer. If reporting multiple first names, hyphenate the two first names.

Middle Name - Report the middle name or middle initial of the associated consumer, if available. If reporting multiple middle names, hyphenate the two middle names.

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Name Suffix - Used to distinguish Junior, Senior, II, III, IV, etc. If not available leave blank. Values available:

Social Sec# - Report the Social Security Number of the associated consumer. Report only valid SSNs. If not available leave blank.

Note: Do not report Tax Identification Numbers in the field.

Date of Birth - Contains the date of birth of the associated consumer. Reporting of this information is highly recommended as the date of birth greatly enhances accuracy in matching to the correct consumer. If the month and day are not available, use 0101 with the four digit year. The four-digit year is required. If no date is available leave blank.

Note: Do not report accounts of consumers who are too young to enter into a binding contract.

Home Phone - Contains the telephone number of the associated consumer (area code + 7 digits)

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Joint Address

Note: If the associated consumers address information is identical to the primary consumers address information you can check the Same Address box.

Country - Contains the standard two-character country abbreviation.

Address Line 1- Contains mailing address for the associated consumer and usually includes street number, direction, street name, and type of thoroughfare.

If the mailing address is a PO Box or Rural Route, include Box or Route followed by the number (e.g., PO Box 100). Do not report both a street address and a PO Box.

Eliminate internal messages such as: "Do not mail," "Attorney," " Charge-off," "Chapter 13," "Fraud," etc.

Address Line 2 - Contains second line of address, if needed, such as apartment or unit number, or private mailbox number (PMB).

Eliminate internal messages such as: “Do not mail”, “Attorney”, “Charge-off”, “Chapter 13”, “Fraud”, “Trustee”, or “Estate of”, etc.

City - Report the city name for address of associated consumer. Truncate rightmost positions if city name is greater than 20 characters or use standard 13-character U.S. Postal Service city abbreviations.

State - Contains the standard U.S. Postal Service state abbreviation for the address of the primary consumers.

Zip Code- Report the Zip Code of the associated consumer's address.

Rent/Own - Contains the one-character residence code of the address of the associated consumer. If not available or unknown, blank fill. Values available:

O = Owns
R = Rents

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Address Verified - Contains one of the following values for the address.

Y = Known to be address of primary consumer
N = Not confirmed address
B = Business address — not consumer's residence
U = Non-deliverable address/Returned mail
D = Data reporter’s default address
M = Military address
S = Secondary Address
P = Bill Payer Service — not consumer’s residence
If indicator not available or unknown, blank fill

ECOA - Defines the relationship of the associated consumer to the account and designates the account as joint, individual, etc., in compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Values Available:

2 = Joint Contractual Liability (joint account for which this borrower has contractual responsibility)
3 = Authorized User (This consumer is an authorized user of this account; another consumer has contractual responsibility.)
5 = Co-Maker or Guarantor (Account for which the consumer is the co-maker or guarantor, who becomes liable if the maker defaults; no spousal relationship.)
T = Association with account terminated
W = Business/Commercial (used to identify that the compnay reproted in the name fields is contractually liable for the account)
X = Consumer Deceased
Z = Delete Borrower. Note: Only inaccurately reported consumers should be deleted.

Note: Codes 0 (undesignated), 4 (joint) and 6 (On-Behalf-Of) are obsolete as of September 2003 and may no longer be reported.

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Consumer Information Indicator - Contains a value that indicates a special condition of the account that applies to the associated customer.

This special condition may be that a bankruptcy was filed, discharged, dismissed or withdrawn; a debt was reaffirmed; or the consumer cannot be located or is not loacted.

The indicator should be reported one time and will be deleted only when the approprate removal code (Q, S, U) is reported.

Consumer Transaction Type - Used to indicate a new record, a new borrower or a change in consumer identification. values available:

1 = Newly opened account, or new borrower associated with existing account
2 = Name change
3 = Address change
5 = Social Security Number change
6 = Name & Address change
8 = Name & Social Security Number change
9 = Address & Social Security Number change
A = Name, Address and /or Social Security Number change If account or borrower is not new, or if no change in consumer information do not report a value.

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Importing requirements for M2 Reporter 2007

The import feature in M2 Reporter 2007 can save you time by avoiding double data entry. The import feature can be used by customers who maintain their accounts in another software package/database.

To import your accounts into M2 Reporter 2007 the data file you are going to import into the program must be in a comma-delimited .txt or .csv format. The data in the import file must match the fields and order of the Import Accounts setup in M2 Reporter 2007 so that the correct information is imported into the correct fields. You can choose the fields and put them any order in the Import Accounts setup.

There are no required fields for the import but we suggest that you import at least the following information which is required by the credit bureaus for reporting consumer accounts. Any information which is required by the credit bureau you are reporting to that is not imported into M2 Reporter 2007 will have to be manually entered.

Fields Recommended for reporting Consumer Information

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* Can be setup as a default or a mapped code
** Required for Collection Agencies

All available import fields

• Create your .txt or .csv file for import
• Open M2 Reporter 2007
• Go to the Tools Menu
• Go to Import Accounts
• Select "From a Text File"
• In the Import File field type in the path for your import file or browse for it by clicking on the Browse... button
• Choose the file format, Delimited or Fixed Length
• Select the type of import, New Records or Update Existing
• If you have a Header Record in your import file click on the "Ignore First Line of Data" box
• Select the fields you are importing from the Available Fields list on the left hand side. Make sure you select each field your are importing and put the fields in the same order as you import file.
• Setup any Map Codes or Default Codes
• Click on Save Settings
• Click on Import

Setting Default Codes

If the value or code for a specific import field is the same for all of your accounts or if you have some accounts that have a blank value for a specific field you can set a default code.

• In the Import Accounts setup click on the  Map Codes button at the bottom of the screen
• From the Code Category list choose the field you want to set the default code for
• From the Default Value list choose the value you want the specified field to have
• Click the Ok button at the bottom of the window

Setting up Mapped Codes

If you have a value or code for a specific import field in your import file and it does not match the metro 2 value in the M2 Reporter 2007 you will need to setup a mapping code for each value you are importing.

• In the Import Accounts setup click on the  Map Codes button at the bottom of the screen
• From the Code Category list choose the field you want to set the mapped code for
• You will now see a list of Metro 2 Codes and their descriptions in the middle of the window
• To the far right will be a list call Your Code. This list is defaulted with the metro II code. For each code that you need to map change the metro II code in the Your Code list to the code or description that you are using in your import file.
• Click the Ok button at the bottom of the window
  

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1. First enter in all new accounts and update any existing accounts
2. Click on the "Mark All"  button on the Customer Accounts window (accounts are marked for reporting if they have an * by them)
3. At the bottom of the window click on the "Create File" button
4. A "Save As" window will open. Click save to the right of window. Do not change anything in this window.
5. Now you will get an "Activity Date" window. If you are reporting the current months accounts you can leave the date as is. If you are reporting a previous months accounts change the date to the last day of that month. The format must be mm/dd/yyyy.
   
• Example:
  
1. Todays date is 10/27/2007 and you are reporting your October 2007 accounts which you just updated, do not change the activity date.
   
2. Todays date is 10/27/2007 and you are reporting your September 2007 accounts. Change the activity date to 09/30/2007.
6. You will now get a message in the upper most right corner of your screen letting you know the status of your report. When the report has been created you will get a message, File: C:\M2R\.....RPT has been created .... You will need to take note of this information.
7. You will now be prompted to print a transaction report for your records if you want to.
8. Your Metro II file has now been created and saved to the M2 Reporter directory. You are now ready to send you file to the credit bureau

Sending a Metro II file to your credit bureau

1. First go through the Creating a Metro II File steps above
2. Now go to your credit bureaus web site and log onto your account
3. browse to their consumer reporting section
4. Choose upload new file
5. Once the upload is complete you will get an "upload complete" or "upload successful" message.

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