ICSM owner Ian Carrotte said that the company had to write off almost £100,000 in debt on behalf of its customers in January due to incorrect company or debtor identities.

He added: "A simple credit check and a proper credit application form could have saved this money. Despite ICSM’s full trace facility, some had such bad information on their customer that they were impossible to locate.

 "We have seen more and more companies plunging their heads into the sand, only to discover, when pulling out and peeping around, that they no longer have a business. This is having a domino effect within the printing and other industries. Many of the issues could have been resolved with prompt decisive action where payments were slowing down."

ICSM has rolled out access to its international report service, which provides live data on companies from 19 countries, including the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Spain and the USA.

It has also upgraded its database to handle complaints about non-UK "problem customers".

Carrotte, who said that ICSM had to write off nearly £6m worth of debts last year due to insolvencies, added: "If members feel a customer is abusing their credit facilities, they should let us know. The information may save another member from picking up a headache they can’t afford."