MicroBilt granted patent for payment reporting and scoring service

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently granted a patent to risk management firm MicroBilt for its PRBC bill payment reporting and scoring process. The company collects data on commonly recurring bill payments and filters it all into a credit file, credit report and credit score. The report includes common monthly payments that traditional credit bureaus don't collect, such as rent, private mortgages, non-prime auto loans, phone bills, utilities and short term advances. MicroBilt's PRBC report gives business owners a more complete source of consumer information that incorporates the FICO Expansion score, employment information, property records, payment trade lines and public records data. "Businesses today need every business opportunity and every advantage they can find," said Walt Wojciechowski, MicroBilt's chief executive officer. He added that the PRBC report gives companies decision-critical data and a reliable FICO score with which to inform their business credit decisions. Having a trustworthy source of credit information can help companies avoid confusion. In California, consumers recently filed a lawsuit against the Experian credit bureau, claiming the company deliberately misleads customers, fraudulently misrepresents its credit scores and does not fulfill services promised to customers who sign up on the firm's FreeCredit Report.com and FreeCreditScore.com websites.