This document provides information on how to repair damaged business credit. It discusses obtaining business credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies and disputing any inaccurate or outdated information directly with the agencies and creditors. The key strategies outlined are sending debt validation letters, disputing accounts, settling debts by paying outstanding balances, and proactively building new positive business credit to offset negative items on the reports over time.

1. How to Repair Damaged
Business Credit

2. Ty Crandall
Director of Business Services
(877) 600-2487
ty@creditsuite.com

3. Business Credit
• Business Credit is credit that is obtained in a
Business Name
• With business credit the Business builds its
own credit profile and credit score
• With an established credit profile and score,
the business will then qualify for credit

4. Business Credit
• This credit is in the business name and based
on the business’s ability to pay, not the
business owners
• Since the business qualifies for the credit, in
some cases there is no personal credit check
required from the business owner

5. Business Credit
• The business can use its credit to qualify for
revolving store credit cards like Staples,
Lowes, Sam’s Club, Costco, BP, Wal-Mart,
even MasterCard, Visa, and AMEX
• The business can also qualify for credit
lines and loans

6. Business Credit Benefits
• A credit profile can be built for a business that
is completely separate from the business
owner’s personal credit profile
• This gives business owners DOUBLE the
borrowing power as they have both Personal
and Business credit profiles built

7. Business Credit Benefits
• Business credit scores are based only on
whether the business pays its bills on time
• A business owner can obtain credit much
faster using their business credit profile versus
their personal credit profile.

8. Business Credit Benefits
• Approval limits are much higher on business
accounts versus personal accounts
• Per SBA, credit limits on business cards are
usually 10-100 times higher than consumer
credit

9. Business Credit Benefits
• When done correctly Business Credit can be
built without a personal credit check
• Business credit can quickly be obtained
regardless of personal credit quality

10. Business Credit Benefits
• Most business credit can be obtained without
the owner taking on personal liability, or a
personal guarantee
• This means in case of default, the business
owner’s personal assets can’t be pursued

11. Business Credit Reporting Agencies
• There are three major companies that collect
business information and publish it
• These are Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and
Business Equifax
• D&B is by far the largest, but the other two
are catching up quickly

12. Dun & Bradstreet
• Dun and Bradstreet is the
biggest and major business
credit reporting agency
• Dun and Bradstreet is a
publically traded company
with a headquarters in Short
Hills New Jersey, and trades
on the New York Stock
Exchange

13. Dun & Bradstreet’s Score
• The main credit score used in
the business world is known as
a Paydex score, provided by
Dun and Bradstreet
• The Paydex score ranges from
0-100, with 100 being the best
score a business can obtain

14. Experian
• Experian was formerly a
division of TRW, an automotive
electronics giant
• TRW was originally founded in
1901 as the Cleveland Cap
Screw Company
• Experian’s most recent score
system is known as Intelliscore
Plus, which they boast of as the
next level in credit scoring

15. Equifax
• Equifax is called the “Small Business Financial
Exchange” and is the most important for cash
lenders such as banks
• Equifax’s main business credit scoring model is
the Credit Risk Score
• Credit scores range from 1-100, with a lower
score indicating a higher risk of serious
delinquency

16. How to Fix Damaged
Business Credit

17. Most Don’t Report
• Many business owners think they have items
reporting on their business credit reports that
really aren’t reporting
• Over 90% of trade vendors don’t report to the
business CRA’s
• So chances are good that the negative
information you think is on your report might
not even be there

18. Notices
• Remember most don’t report to the business
CRA’s, so when they do they also send alerts
• The creditor will almost always notify you in
writing before they report the data to the
business credit reporting agencies
• They will even notify you multiple times in
some cases that they are about to report the
item on your report

19. Notices
• In many cases reporting agencies like Experian
will notify you before they report
• They might even send you 3 or more notices
CLEARLY telling you that someone is about to
report something negative on your
report and advising you to call the
creditor and resolve the dispute

20. Obtain Business Credit Reports
• Business Credit reports are
offered by Experian, Dun &
Bradstreet, and Equifax
• You will first want to get a copy
of your business
credit reports to
see what is being reported

21. Dun & Bradstreet
• You can also enroll for the
DNBi SelfMonitor to monitor
your credit during the building
process
• http://mycredit.dnb.com/mon
itor-business-credit/
• A subscription for D&B Self
Monitoring is $39-99 per
month

22. Experian
• Visit https://www.experian.com/small-
business/business-credit-reports.jsp for a
copy of your Experian report
• $36-175 for report

23. Equifax
• You can purchase a copy of your Equifax Small
Business Credit Report here
http://www.equifax.com/small-business/credit-
report/en_sb
• $99 for a full report

24. FCRA
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act outlines
consumer’s rights to dispute inaccurate
information on their credit reports
• This law does NOT apply to business credit
repair
• There is no currently laws which outline
business owners rights regarding
credit disputing

25. FCRA
• The FCRA also requires credit issuers to notify
you of what bureaus they pulled to determine
your denial for financing
• In the business credit world this is not the
case, you rarely ever know the source pulled
your business credit or which reporting
agencies they pulled it with

26. Debt Validation Letter
• If you see accounts or details you don’t
recognize or you feel are inaccurate, request a
debt validation for that account
• A debt validation is where you solicit the
creditor for verification of the account details
they are reporting
• They will typically send you back details of your
account that they are reporting

27. Debt Validation Letter
• The FCRA and FDCPA apply to consumer debts,
not business debts
• So you can send a debt validation letter, but
the creditor is not required by law to respond
to your dispute

28. Debt Validation Letter
• Your request must be sent to the creditor in
writing
• Dispute the debt with the credit reporting
agencies
• If no response is received within 30 days of
mailing the letter, then you should then
dispute the account with the business CRA

29. Disputing with the CRA
• Contact customer service with any
of the three reporting agencies
for billing disputes, challenging
payments and outdated public
filings that appear on your report
• When you dispute an item they
business CRA will have vendors
re-verify payments and remove
charges if the vendor cannot
verify the information

30. Disputing with the CRA
• The business CRA’s can also help to clear up
issues that have been settled or dismissed,
yet still appear in your report
• You may be asked to send in
documentation to verify a settlement or
dismissal
• The business CRA will recheck
the status of the public filing
if you do not have
documentation

31. D&B iUpdate
• iUpdate provides US based Small Businesses
and Non-publicly traded companies
convenient access to D&B's information on
their business
• Registered users can view, print, and submit
updates to their D&B Business Information
Report

32. D&B Credibility
• D&B Credibility provides credit monitoring
services through D&B, not D&B themselves
• Do NOT get upsold by DBC
• You do NOT need their business credit
building package as it really won’t help you

33. Experian
• http://www.experian.com/small-
business/business-credit-information.jsp
• Or Google “Experian update business credit”

34. Equifax
Equifax does provide dispute services through
their online credit monitoring platform in their
member center under “Disputes”

35. Tip
• Keep in mind, the business CRA may not be
allowed to release the name of the person
making the reference on your report
• REMEMBER, you don’t have the same rights as
you do with consumer credit reporting as
there is no FCRA
• However, you can contact customer service to
discuss the item on your report
as well as your options

36. Settling the Debt
• If your debt validation and investigation don’t
net you the deletion, next you need to contact
the creditor
• Find out from them what you must do to have
the item removed from the business credit
report
• Usually, they will remove the account if you
pay the outstanding debt

37. Settling the Debt
• The main reason for a
derogatory item to be on
the report is usually
because the creditor feels
there is an outstanding
balance owed
• So they will typically
remove the account if you
pay the outstanding debt

38. Settling the Debt
• If you reach an agreement for deletion, get
the agreement in writing
• And insure they provide you a time frame of
when they will correct the damage on your
report

39. If all Else Fails…
Build Your Business Credit

40. Building New Credit
• Business credit scoring is based on how you
pay your bills
• If you pay the majority of reported accounts
on time or early, you will have a good score

41. Building New Credit
• Most business owners
have little to no credit
reporting
• So even one negative
account can have a BIG
impact on the business
credit score

42. Building New Credit
• It is essential that you continuously build your
business credit profile just as you do with your
consumer credit
• One of the best ways to battle negative
information on your report is to offset it with
LOTS of positive information

43. Building New Credit
• One of the best ways to battle negative
information on your report is to offset it with
LOTS of positive information
• Continuously build your business credit profile
just as you do with your consumer credit

44. Learn more about business credit at
www.CreditSuite.com
Ty Crandall
877-600-2487
ty@creditsuite.com