My Business Credit Journey to 1,000,000

Hey guys,

I was emailing back and forth with a reader of the blog and we shared some info so then I asked her to write a little paragraph about what she was doing so that we can all learn from her trials and success. I didn’t expect such a detailed response but this is what she  had to say:

Hey mike,

Ok so the first thing I did was get a tax id and then incorporated my business with the state.  I then got a phone line for the business.  I then called D and B to get a Duns number.  I was told I needed to get the credit builder so I paid $500.  D and B  took a lot of information from me about my business.  They said I had 30 days to find my own trade vendors (6) so that they could start to build my business credit.  I searched and found online Uline, Associated Bag, Reliable and Quill.  I purchased items from all four as they all said they report to D and B.  I called D and B and gave them my four vendors.

A couple weeks later I got an e-mail from D and B saying my file had been updated.  I called D and B and they told me that Quill and Uline were not quilified to be vendors because they did not meet some kind of internet specifications.  He also stated that they had called Associated Bag and Reliable and they have not heard back from them.  Mind you I called each company to see if they reported to D and B and they each said yes.  I got really angry with the rep at D and B and told him when I first purchased the credit builder I asked for a list of vendors who reported to D and B and was told that they could not give me a list.  I then told him that it was riduculos to tell me I have  to find my own (6) vendors without any help and then to be told that two of the ones I gave them did not quilify and that they other two were not reachable.  He then told me that there was one vendor that did report on my credit but that he could not give me the name.  I told him he needed to extend the 30 day (D and B only give you 30 days to find your six vendors) because now I needed to find four more vendors and I only had a few days left.  He said there was nothing he could do but that he would keep calling the other two vendors I gave him.  I told him that it didn’t make scence how two of the vendors were not quilified to report to D and B, and that D and B was not able to get in touch with the other two vendors, and that one vendor was reporting on my credit report.  I told him that would be a total of five vendors and I only gave him four.  I asked him what their cancellation policy was for credit builder and he said 45 days from date of purchase.

I then called Associated Bag myself to find out why they had not called D and B back.  I was told by their credit department that they only report for accounts that purchase $1000 or more!!!  I said thanks for the info that would have been nice to know before I spent the money on their items.  I called Reliable and they said they said they do report once a month but the woman said she did not know when.

I then called Quill and Uline and they both said they do report to D and B.  None of this was making sense to me at this point I decided to call D and B back and I spoke nicely with a woman.  I went over my vendors with her and asked her which one was reporting.  She said “Uline”.   I said what?? I was told that they were not qualified to report to D and B.  She said that was true because they already report automatically to D and B.  She said credit builder is for those vendors who not not automatically report to D and B.  I said WTF!!!  (in my head of course).  I thanked her and got back online.

I soon found out that I didn’t need to purchase credit builder and that it makes no sense to get credit builder if you don’t already have business with any vendors.  I then saw that you can get a free D and B number if you will be doing business with the government (which is one of the things I do write grants).  I called D and B back and told them I apply for grants and wanted to cancel my credit builder and wanted the  $500 refund.   The guy asked for  information about the grant.  I picked up a grant off of my desk and gave him the identifying information.  He then typed in is computer and said I would get a refund in a couple of days.  I asked him if I could keep the same Duns number and he said yes and that I would have access to e-updates.

So then I searched and searched and discovered that there are different names for vendor accounts and found the term Net-30.  I then did a search for a list of these kind of accounts and I think that is when your list came up.  I called several companies on the list but ended up getting denied by almost all of them as it seems like companies are becoming more strict with extending Net 30 accounts.

Also several companies who have been listed on numerous websites now state that they no longer report to D and B (Nebs now Deluxe, Wearguard, Betty Mills).  I did order some things from Weargurad and Nebs even though they said they do not report.

Some say you have to purchase a few items first before they will give you a Net 30 (Bags and Bows, Grainger).  I will be purchasing items from these two once I get my refund from D and B.  I stumbled across a video blog from gboogie and he mentioned Seton as a goldmine for D and B and Equifax because they report right away due to them being a Net 10.  So I called them and purchased some items, they gave me credit immediately.

So vendors that I have found that 1) will give you Net terms over the phone no questions asked and 2) state and know their company reports to D and B and Equifax are

1) Uline
2) Reliable
3) Quill (stated that D and B pulls a sample of their customer credit data each month so I might not get reported every month but should get reported quarterly)
4) Seton

I have been denied by Staples, Radio Shack, all the gas cards,  and by numerous Net 30 vendors.  I think I should have waited to get a paydex first before applying for the credit cards.

Oh well live and learn.

Mary

Thanks a million mary and also much thanx to gboogie for that seton account.

- mike