top of page

RINGS OF FIRE

 

You should know... Linking your company’s positive payments to your D&B report can boost your credibility by as much as 90%, but attempting to do so through a non-verifiable transaction or “trade ring” vendor can be devastating to your business credit profile.  If the transaction or vendor cannot be verified by D&B, this could bring your profile under unnecessary scrutiny and could harm both businesses -- possibly embroiling you and your business in extensive, and expensive, legal battles.

 

Can your trade references clear the rings of fire and get added to your credit profile without your company getting burned?

 

Adding vendors and suppliers can be extremely beneficial, but each of these references will need to undergo a multi-step validation before even being considered as a possible candidate.  D&B looks very closely at any potential trade references to make sure they will pass all stages of the validation process.  They will check a variety of factors -- from their industry, to their physical location, to their own D&B report status -- even delving into your vendor's state or federal documentation.  D&B does this because it is their job to ensure any data they input into your report correctly reflects true payment habits, since this is the basis for any additional credit lines others may extend to you.

 

Oftentimes, business owners who have no credit history will ask friends or relatives to manufacture positive payment experiences in an attempt to portray non-existent credit limits, thinking this will help them to achieve higher approvals or build their credit profile faster.  These fraudulent attempts seldom make it through D&B's tight net.  Most will get declined in the preliminary processes and go no further.  D&B, however, does not just blindly discard the information they have just attained in the process.  They hold onto every little tidbit they have learned as part of their extensive data gathering network, and then watch for patterns or trends among vendors or vendor types.  They draw parallels between these businesses and their clients.  If these parallels begin to trend toward activity that could be perceived as fraudulent, D&B may investigate further to see if these businesses are acting as a "trade ring" for each other.

 

Trade rings are companies who provide false or inflated credit histories about their friends, relatives, colleagues, or business associations in an effort to portray a rosy image of an otherwise not-so-impressive picture.  They will do this for a number of businesses within a certain circle, whether that circle encompasses just a few close friends or a hundred or more associates.  They can do this in many ways, but few are successful.  There have been companies who qualify as a viable vendor who boast of an ability to provide a positive payment history to D&B “for a nominal fee".

 

There are people who form multiple businesses solely for the purpose of reporting good credit from one to another.  There are companies who take advantage of those who are less knowledgeable in this area to convince them to provide misrepresentations, ultimately causing irreparable harm to both their business reputations.  It is almost as if they think they are the first to have conceived this ill-fated technique.

 

Fortunately for the bulk of the business credit community as a whole, 175 years of data collection has taught D&B many hard lessons along the way.  They have been burned by these types of strategies and now block them time and time again.  Like the internet wizards who can spot a scam from a mile away, D&B can usually identify a potential tactic.  They have made it their business to keep the foxes (crooks) from being able to rob the proverbial henhouse (creditors).

 

For every sly, manipulative trick out there, D&B has continued to tighten the net, placing more strict guidelines in the paths of honest business-owners who are struggling to get the simplest of legitimate transactions placed into their files.  What some shysters may think is the newest trick of the day turns out to be another hoop that the average Joe will need to jump through in order to succeed.

 

At Starpoint Credit Solutions, we have been trained to spot these tactics and irregularities that can throw up the red flags of risk in D&B's eyes.  We know that if we can see there is a potential problem, there is absolutely no doubt that D&B will, as well, and roll out the roadblocks to your success.  We work very hard to make sure you are informed any time we see risky strategies you might implement in haste that could be perceived as suspicious or fraudulent and land you and others in a world of trouble later.  While we do not have access to D&B's 175 years of experience and vast databases, we can oftentimes identify fiery shortcuts and stop you from burning yourself or others while you are working so hard to get to your goals.

 

Understand that we will never make predeterminations that a vendor or transaction is illegitimate or that you are attempting something untoward -- just that we are looking out for your best interest and identifying potential roadblocks.  Reality is we live in a cruel world where innocently using one another to report on your mutual business experiences can draw suspicion, even if everything is 100% on the up-and-up.  If the transaction is perceived to be fraudulent, both companies can be flagged as Severe Risk and completely blocked from making any possible forward progress.  Like an infection, this red-flagged status can also spread to other businesses inside and outside the circle and has the potential to be catastrophic, even for other legitimate businesses who have reported verifiable transactions on your behalf.

 

It is our goal to assist our clients in building and maintaining a solid, responsible business credit profile so they can achieve credit approvals in their business name.  But we also work very diligently to train you as you go along so you can continue your success long after you finish our program.  While we cannot guarantee you won’t make your mistakes or struggle with flaming hoops in the future, we know that we can lessen your risk of getting burned by teaching you the value of verifiable information.  It is our creed to never knowingly provide - or ask you to provide - misinformation to D&B that could possibly endanger you personally, your business credit profile, or our own business reputation.

 

Providing false or misleading information for the purposes of obtaining credit is a felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000.00 fine.

 

Do you need to improve your business credit scores and ratings?

​

We can help...

​

30-Day Powerboost

​

The fastest, easiest, and most affordable way to build and boost your business credit scores and ratings...

​

And we do most of the work for you!

​

$99/month

Keep as long as you like or cancel at any time — even after just 1 month!

​

​

​

​

Subscribe using PayPal

or any debit/credit card

​

WE WILL:

  • Gain access to your business credit profile

  • Update the business information in your file

  • Dispute removable slow payments

  • Challenge outdated public filings

  • Gather your existing vendors and suppliers

  • Submit your trade references to D&B

  • Track your updates and scoring improvements

  • Send you an updated report as changes occur

  • Establish new trade lines for your business

  • Advise you against potentially risky behavior

  • Provide companies who can report payment history to the business credit bureaus

  • Register your business with SAM.gov

  • Provide you with guidelines and the training you'll need to keep making progress

  • Refer you to trustworthy lending sources for working capital and business lines of credit

  • Walk you through the application process and answer your questions along the way

  • Keep you on a consistent track to success

bottom of page