You care whether he has a history of not paying his ISP bill. Merchants, ISPs, wireless providers, and online banks that join the Internet Credit Bureau have access to bad-credit reports about customers. If a customer's online credit history is good, he won't be listed. In other words, the merchant pays only when there is a bad credit history for a prospective customer. Members can send their own bad debt records to Internet Credit Bureau, as they comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which states that a customer who is turned down for credit based on their report has 60 days to request a credit report from them.
Consumers have the upper hand when it comes to shopping online.
Credit cards put the burden of proof on the merchant. Merchants, ISPs, wireless providers, and banks extend credit to customers for products and services that cost only a few dollars, making traditional credit checks unaffordable for most enterprises. Internet Credit Bureau helps balance the risks for online merchants. Merchants and ISPs that don't want to bother collecting directly from customers should consider using payment systems like Achex , iPin , and Chargit Dial , which either debit the checking accounts of the customers or bill their phone bills directly. Text Related Links ECommerce Webopedia Search our new encyclopedia and navigate the seas of ecommerce jargon.