Who can report non-payment to your credit?

[Sporqster]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

I have a dispute over a relatively small (though not trivial) $350 bill which I, and every impartial party I have discussed this with beleive I am in the legal right to not pay. The company which claims I personally owe this to them (over a disagreement about a shipping contract) has turned the debt over to a collection agency, who threatened legal action within 15 days if the 'debt' is not settled.

In short, I have no long term agreement or credit with this company, I hired them to do one job for a set price. I needed a collection of car parts shipped across the country- and had no way of weighing them. I guestimated the weight at 400lbs. I told the company doing the shipping that I had no way of weighing the items, but gave them an itemized list, picture, and told them that I reasonably believed the weight to be in the neighborhood of 400lbs. They then brokered a 3rd party to do the shipping and told them the weight was 400 lbs. The weight, according to the shipping company, turned out to be 770 lbs, and they want $350 compensation for the weight difference. I have offered to split the difference with them, but this offer was declined. But this is not really the issue I'm seeking advice on.

Though I am confident that I am in the legal right concerning this matter, I do not want this ordeal to adversely affect my credit - can any company who decides you owe them something report non-payment to credit services without any legal due process?

[Chien]

can any company who decides you owe them something report non-payment to credit services without any legal due process?

Theoretically, it’s close to that. If you work backwards through the FCRA, CRA’s are entities that “compile and maintain” files on consumers for “the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties” using information derived from:
1) Public Records.
2) Credit account information from persons who furnish that information regularly and in the ordinary course of business.

That would appear to cover anyone or anything falling into the second category. As a practical matter, CRAs have contractual relationships with their permissible users and receive and provide almost exclusively from and to them. In other words, they accept from those that they’re paid to provide to. But, that makes for a very large ballpark. Excluding you or I, who may not have a contractual relation with at least one, it certainly could encompass your subject company.

And since the subject obligation hasn’t “gone legal” and you haven’t been deprived of any of your Constitutional rights (according to your post), due process hasn’t entered into the picture yet.