Dunn and Bradstreet - Ruining Good Credit

I used to work for the company that at one time was the parent company of D&B. D&B, when it first came out, was excellent. To quote Gordon Gecko: "information is the most valuable commodity that I know. Tell me something I don't know". What worked was D&B HAD a great ground force that would visit or call companies for information and keep it VERY up to date.

Then, along came the FAX machine, and D&B could do the job even better... for a while. Where the wheels really fell off was when they neglected to evolve. All of a sudden this source of infinite information, the internet (or inter-web... name the quote) came along and D&B did not innovate or adapt as a company. So here was this strong brand with a weak product. Dino & saur Street as many in the industry call it.

One company that my clients have started using more is the Business Information option with Coface. They allow you to select Equifax, Experion and Bernard Sands reports. In addition, because they use this information to evaluate credit limits for their accounts receivable insurance (so their $ is behind it) you can ask for their underwriters option of how much credit they'd extend if the limit was covered under their insurance policy. And for $25 they'll email you if their opinion changes. It's the only one I recommend these days.

My contact at Coface is Robert Emery (robert_emery@coface.ca) 647-426-4037.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
To give you an update.... After 2 years of fighting with D & B, I spoke with one person who was extremely helpful and willing to listen to my situation. I, in turn, found out that a factoring company was sending them the wrong information and had the terms and dates all wrong.

After they revised their info and sent back to D & B, my score went back up to where it should be.

My advice.... look for the factoring companies which send the information to D & B. My terms are 30 days from receipt of paperwork. They were entering the date the invoice was made, so in some cases I wouldn't even receive the paperwork till 30 days after their system had the invoice running!

Alot of hassle, but was well worth the fight...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Factoring companies

Anyone else being cut off from funding by their factoring company due to the postal strike ?
 
Postal strike

I see headlines that Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is set to implement back-to-work legislation that could have mail service return by Monday. Hopefully there will be no delays and both factors and their clients can survive until then. Fingers crossed...
 
I would like to say why are trucking companys not paid the moment the job is completed, I buy gas, food,TV, clothes, candy, fuel, employee wages, ect, ect. and I have to pay then and there. I feel trucking should be the same way no waiting 30 + days heck 15 days is too much
 
dontgetit said:
I would like to say why are trucking companys not paid the moment the job is completed, I buy gas, food,TV, clothes, candy, fuel, employee wages, ect, ect. and I have to pay then and there. I feel trucking should be the same way no waiting 30 + days heck 15 days is too much
Click to expand...

You pay your drivers daily for the work they performed? Your gas, TV (cable or satellite), clothes, candy and fuel can all be purchased on credit.
 
Credit

We certainly have our work cut out for us during this strike.

I just saw the ididots waving their signs in front of the postal depot near the Victoria bridge.
This after a 25 mile detour because the usual bridge we cross into town is now falling down. ( Mercier).
I wonder how much of the enormous sum of fuel tax funds, other carriers and us pump into the Quebec economy daily actually gets used to maintain said infrastructure.



Since the post office is out , there are two options for us to get our monies.
A) We send one of our staff on a check run.
B) Use a courrier company such as Purolator/ Fedex.

Please note that none of these are cheap, add to this enormous traffic due to delapitated infrastructure and it gets really complicated.

Now if this continues much longer , a revolt will/ should ensue?

Now lets get back to credit.

The shipment is delivered and the carrier is lucky to get monies within 40 to 60 days. For the following reasons:

Most brokers want the original B/L. If the shipment has a 4 day transit time, it may take 7 days or longer to deliver the shipment and another 2 to get back the pod and invoice it. Another three days to get it to the client via mail.

Now , add 30 days payment from receipt of invoice and 5 days to receive check via mail. (**** Note the discrepancy between invoice and check ****)

Looking at 42 days minimum if all goes well, easily 60 days from date of original pick up.

Factor in a postal strike and ??

As for expenses:

driver pay, in two weeks.
Insurance, permits, license plates, truck, and trailer payments all up front.
Fuel : count on $500.00 daily per truck

Therefore, in fuel alone there is close to $30,000.00 in credit awarded.

Hence, why freight was paid in 14 days prior to de-regalation.

How quickly does the phone call come when something is not deliverd on time. Most likely within the same day, or early next day. ( Which should not be the case anyway if you are a reputable carrier.)

So away with the POD and Bill of lading Bull, and get back to paying in 14 days.
Lot's of carriers could now spend their time servicing their clients needs instead of developping a relationship with their accounts payable department.
 
Apologies

I got a little carried away.

Just spent 3.5 hours dropping a trailer at a client's only 30 miles away.

In response to ralph the Trucker. :

The margins are so low in this business that the cost of funding the operation through financial institutions leaves little.
Carriers lay out hughe sums of money to simply operate. The burden of the extra 30 days in this still very tight economy is choking quite a few.

Regards
Alex
 
Alx, I 'm abundantly aware of the day to day operational costs. I was simply refuting the comment by "dontgetit" as he/she implied that EVERYTHING that the business required was paid for with effectively "cash" which is far from the truth.
 
your kidn right! credit!!!!

ralphthetrucker said:
You pay your drivers daily for the work they performed? Your gas, TV (cable or satellite), clothes, candy and fuel can all be purchased on credit
Click to expand...


Not a very good reply if you ask me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Credit is everywhere...consumers and businesses use credit cards to purchase day to day stuff and businesses (yes, that includes carriers) offer it to their customers to alleviate cash flow problems. It is often abused and those that extend it are always at risk of having to chase their money. Only thing you can do as a carrier is try to limit your exposure to those that have a reputation of paying on time. It's a shame that you cannot assume they will pay on time, but that is the unfortunate reality.
 
jonny-chicken said:
Interesting read about how D&B is trying to make money these day...


Dun & Bradstreet Seems Scammy, Here Is Why
Click to expand...

It's all about selling information. I think the problem lies in the fact that you are buying dated information. Buying a report for a fee to bring a credit score up to 1 within it's own company seems unethical and a form of tied selling in my mind. But is D&B really the final authority on credit scores? I don't think so. I think they are one of like three scoring systems that major lenders use to assess risk. In theory, they should score companies at a level that is consistent with others. If two of three credit scores say you're good and D&B says you aren't, that makes me think their scoring system has a fault. A company with enough data can create it's own scoring system based on past trends to predict risk and I happen to know how to do that (discriminant analysis is what it's called.) Even if you're not into data mining, you can easily come up with the risk factors that all delinquent customers have in common to know how much rope you're ready to give to your best and worst customers. D&B won't share exactly how they come up with their scores because it's proprietary - just like KFC doesn't reveal their "secret" herbs and spices - and who's to say they are the real authority, or if their data on a company's financial stability is current or where they got it from. When it's all said and done, you have to use good old fashioned gut instinct and past experience as a benchmark.
 
I just sent the article's link to our D&B Representative.

I asked him to advise if this "service" to increase your credit score is in fact being offered. Perhaps he can clarify the article or vouch for its validity.

Will advise later and post any further comments from him....
 
noproblembuddy said:
D&B won't share exactly how they come up with their scores because it's proprietary - just like KFC doesn't reveal their "secret" herbs and spices - and who's to say they are the real authority, or if their data on a company's financial stability is current or where they got it from.
Click to expand...

Hahaha... noprblembuddy... I bet that's the first ever simile comparing D&B to KFC :D you're the best.
 
I received a reply from my D&B Representative.

It is true that we sell a product which helps you monitor your own company report. The misunderstanding is that your score will not improve by simply paying the $500 fee for the service. The service allows you to add more lines of trade to your report which in result, considering the trade is positive, will improve your score. The way our system is internally set up is that scores are only triggered by actual data, not $500 fees. I hope this clears up the smoke

Barry Schwartz - being the person who wrote the blog, provided an update to his article - if anyone took the time to scroll down and read all the replies:

Update: A very nice VP at D&B called me on June 24th, with a customer service rep. She basically explained that the sales rep who called me did not tell me everything they should have and they will educate the sales reps better in the future. I am glad they called and they did admit the sales person who called me was not telling me everything I should have known.

(Blog Reply - D&B Rep)

However I'd like to point out that if you ever receive an email claiming to be D&B but asking for your number - than promptly report it.
D&B has outsourced contact centres, some being in India. With India, clearly there's huge margin for error given the extreme language barrier.
I however work in an office in Canada that calls client only in the US, and I certainly understand the concern. We can't guarantee all agents are as proficient as they should be. Like I mentioned in the previous comment, when someone calls you from D&B - it is your chance to get the info for free.

I think this clears up the initial premise of the article and how the D&B Representative "misrepresented" the service being provided at a $500 charge.

This explanation makes alot more sense now....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom