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Re: Dunn & Bradstreet Aug 7, 2008 2:56 AM
D&B is not consistent or reliable in the business of reporting business credit. They also can't report anything but vendor and supplier terms, not lender or bank credit. The membership they are touting is something that they use to subjugate small businesses to their view of the business credit world. D&B has an antiquated model for determining viability of a business, such as whether or not you are in a brick building or a wood building, and whether you answer your own phone or not.
Most new businesses who buy their "credit builder" membership seeking to build business credit are quickly swept into "red flag" status with D&B, which means they won't report your credit to anyone else - until you ante up to get out of the red flag staus. Meanwhile, they just tell everyone you've been red flagged. Red flagging is done from a P.O. box in Pennsylvania, and you can't reach anyone there.
The number they say they will assign to you has likely already been assigned to you. If not, it will be as soon as anyone asks them about you. They tend to report very highly the companies that won't return their phone calls. Once they think you need them, look out.
Experian has entered the business credit market, and the other 'real' bureaus are following suit. And they don't charge you to be in the databases. I borrowed from Trade Capital Company in Las Vegas to get reported to Experian, which was a godsend. Jonathan Warren at Trade Capital clued me clued me in about D&B, and showed me some examples of cases that were blatantly extortionist. Ignoring D&B is the safest way to handle them.
