Selling Tradelines / Piggybacking Part II: $1000+/hr, 20-40k/yr. Side Gig

[secondcor521]

Adding an AU using your address has worked for me in the past just fine.  They were added and I was paid.

The one potential thing to consider for those who are extremely cautious is that your (presumably home) address will be retrievable on the AU's credit report.  You may or may not be concerned that the AU knows where you live.

Definitely, it may not be necessary. As long as there's enough information for them to connect it to the AU (name/social/DOB is usually enough), it should be fine without.

When I'm doing an add online for a CC company that doesn't ask for a social, but does ask for an address, I put in their address to have the extra data point (besides name/dob) to make sure it hits their report.

If you do an add online without a SSN though, and put in your address, and there's more than one person with that name/DOB, it may not post on their report correctly. In that case I'd definitely be using their address or calling in and adding the SSN (something you're supposed to do anyways if it doesn't ask for the SSN).

Good points.  I always make sure to add name/DOB/SSN trio of data points and should have mentioned that as context for my statement that AU address wasn't necessary.  The way I suspect the credit bureaus work is that there has to be enough matching/overlapping data points for them to include an item (like a credit line or an address or an employer) in a credit report.  I'm sure it's fun for the bureaus to dial their algorithms so that data points that should match actually do, and data points that should not match actually don't.

Since my father and I share a first and last name and shared an address when I was growing up, his credit report and mine were intertwined for the longest time.  Since we're both responsible, it was more a point of curiosity than anything of concern.  It did help me out when I went to get credit because some of his lines were on my report instead of his.  So when I got my first credit card at age 22, I had an 18 year long credit history with "my" department store card.

[bmiles]

Due to the recent data leak, I went and froze my credit with all 3 credit bureau as a precaution. Does anyone know if this affects my ability to continue to participate in Tradelines?

[secondcor521]

Due to the recent data leak, I went and froze my credit with all 3 credit bureau as a precaution. Does anyone know if this affects my ability to continue to participate in Tradelines?

You will be able to add AUs to existing tradelines that qualify for sales while you have a freeze on your reports.

If you want to open new tradelines for future sales, you will obviously need to unfreeze your credit report during the application process.  You can then refreeze your reports after the applications are done.

[dakota5176]

I've had some problems with my Discover Card.  A month ago I was sent a new card over fraud concerns by Discover.  Now my statement had two charges to Uber that weren't mine.  On the new Discover card I was sent I have a charge for Hulu that I did not make.  Anyone else have this experience?  Should I rest my Discover?  It's really the only one making me money.  Also wouldn't it already be too late if they were suspicious?

[arebelspy]

I've had some problems with my Discover Card.  A month ago I was sent a new card over fraud concerns by Discover.  Now my statement had two charges to Uber that weren't mine.  On the new Discover card I was sent I have a charge for Hulu that I did not make.  Anyone else have this experience?  Should I rest my Discover?  It's really the only one making me money.  Also wouldn't it already be too late if they were suspicious?

This has nothing to do with AUs, but is common credit card fraud. Likely they are just trying random numbers and hit on success with yours (unless your computer has a trojan/keylogger and you have used the number on there, or something like that--there is a few possibilities, none of which related to AUs).

Notify Discover that you didn't make those charges. Get it cancelled again and a new card (again).

(If the charges had somehow been made by an AU, they'd tell you when you said they were fraudulent--"This charge was made by your authorized user XYZ" type thing. I am confident this won't be the case.)

Discover is resting on the new company already (do you have yours with old?) because of audits (a few people earlier in the thread had their Discovers shut down a month or two ago). I'd probably rest it a bit for that reason, but not for the unauthorized charge thing.

[lmf]

Hello. has anyone been paid for August adds yet?  I have not heard anything nor seen a deposit.  Thanks!

I'm still waiting for payment for an add from the end of July that posted in August.  I was expecting payment at the beginning of this month but it has yet to show up.  Should be soon I would expect.

[tj]

Looks like Keith is using a different company:

https://wealthyaccountant.com/2017/10/11/tradelines-the-1000-an-hour-side-gig/

They are going to get bombarded. Lol.

[arebelspy]

Looks like Keith is using a different company:

https://wealthyaccountant.com/2017/10/11/tradelines-the-1000-an-hour-side-gig/

They are going to get bombarded. Lol.

Oh jesus.

His readers are about to get *.

I'm familiar with that company. I've tested them out. I've had cards closed because I used them with that company. I've spoken on the phone with them many times. I've met with them in person.

Ultimately, I couldn't recommend them.

It shocks me that he says:

One Last Caution: There are plenty of companies brokering tradelines. I spent serious time reviewing multiple companies to verify I am with a “seasoned” firm. Tradeline Supply Company impressed me and I use them personally. There are other good tradeline companies, too. If you choose a different route, be sure to vet any tradeline company before committing. Make sure the company has been around for a few years and screens their clients adequately. What impresses me most about Tradeline Supply Company is the periodic notes from their specialists outlining issues with certain credit cards.

I don't know how he calls them "seasoned"--they're literally 6 months old, they started in April.

(Started trying to sell then, at least, but as of May, they still weren't incorporated or actually operating like a business.)

They were operating, last I knew, with no contracts between them and AUs. They don't vet the same way as the companies I recommend, and if there's an audit, you're *.

All I can guess is that because they talk a good talk, and Keith is such a nice guy he trusts them, it sounds like a good referral commission, so he went with them, not doing the full digging and due diligence I do with all the tradeline companies I look into.

I've looked into a LOT. There's a reason why I've been able to recommend two companies, out of probably 8 or so I've looked at in-depth, and another half dozen or so that immediately hit the "NOPE" flags (e.g. allow CPNs) and didn't even bother to dig further.

This company just straight up doesn't vet AUs correctly, or do things in a proper business manner. They're fly-by-night that just started recently, and if you go with them, your odds of getting your cards shut down is MUCH higher, and your odds of regulatory trouble is much higher.  There's a reason why the current company hired a person who works for Chase to advise on how to make sure to keep the banks happy on their requirements.  The job title of this guy was "Director of Compliance and High Priority Regulatory Matters" at JPMorgan Chase (he sent me a snippet of the guy's resume; quite impressive).

If this isn't done, and there is an audit for fraud, and the company CAN'T prove they are doing everything to verify the people's identities right, you could be at risk.

Keith will make a good amount, but at the expense of his readers.

I'm a big fan of tradelines, if done right. This company is an example of one I looked into, couldn't recommend, and got that sick feeling when I saw he did. Keith is such a good guy, I don't think he's realized what harm can come from using a bad company.

[katsiki]

Yikes!!!  Thanks (again) ARS!

[arebelspy]

In the comments he twice calls it a "larger company."  Knowing both the owners, I can confirm this is not remotely true, and I'm not sure why Keith thinks is is.


EDIT: Rest of the post redacted. Thanks for reaching out, Keith! :)

[reuben]

Double yikes!! Glad I checked this forum before proceeding. Thank you!

[KeithTax]

Looks like Keith is using a different company:

https://wealthyaccountant.com/2017/10/11/tradelines-the-1000-an-hour-side-gig/

They are going to get bombarded. Lol.

Oh jesus.

His readers are about to get *.

I'm familiar with that company. I've tested them out. I've had cards closed because I used them with that company. I've spoken on the phone with them many times. I've met with them in person.

Ultimately, I couldn't recommend them.

It shocks me that he says:

One Last Caution: There are plenty of companies brokering tradelines. I spent serious time reviewing multiple companies to verify I am with a “seasoned” firm. Tradeline Supply Company impressed me and I use them personally. There are other good tradeline companies, too. If you choose a different route, be sure to vet any tradeline company before committing. Make sure the company has been around for a few years and screens their clients adequately. What impresses me most about Tradeline Supply Company is the periodic notes from their specialists outlining issues with certain credit cards.

I don't know how he calls them "seasoned"--they're literally 6 months old, they started in April.

(Started trying to sell then, at least, but as of May, they still weren't incorporated or actually operating like a business.)

They were operating, last I knew, with no contracts between them and AUs. They don't vet the same way as the companies I recommend, and if there's an audit, you're *.

All I can guess is that because they talk a good talk, and Keith is such a nice guy he trusts them, it sounds like a good referral commission, so he went with them, not doing the full digging and due diligence I do with all the tradeline companies I look into.

I've looked into a LOT. There's a reason why I've been able to recommend two companies, out of probably 8 or so I've looked at in-depth, and another half dozen or so that immediately hit the "NOPE" flags (e.g. allow CPNs) and didn't even bother to dig further.

This company just straight up doesn't vet AUs correctly, or do things in a proper business manner. They're fly-by-night that just started recently, and if you go with them, your odds of getting your cards shut down is MUCH higher, and your odds of regulatory trouble is much higher.  There's a reason why the current company hired a person who works for Chase to advise on how to make sure to keep the banks happy on their requirements.  The job title of this guy was "Director of Compliance and High Priority Regulatory Matters" at JPMorgan Chase (he sent me a snippet of the guy's resume; quite impressive).

If this isn't done, and there is an audit for fraud, and the company CAN'T prove they are doing everything to verify the people's identities right, you could be at risk.

Keith will make a good amount, but at the expense of his readers.

I'm a big fan of tradelines, if done right. This company is an example of one I looked into, couldn't recommend, and got that sick feeling when I saw he did. Keith is such a good guy, I don't think he's realized what harm can come from using a bad company.

Joe, I take your opinion highly. From what I saw Tradeline Supply Co has been around a few years and were expanding. They also verify accounts et cetera. My biggest concern was the number of AUs they want to place on an account.

I pulled the contact info down so I have more time to review. I've been with TSC for several months now without issue. Several companies I spoke with were really bad. David seemed up and up and their process seems to work well for me at least. The questions you recommended asking here on this forum were what I asked David. Darren has talked with me too as well as sending updates on what restrictions apply to keep everything smooth.

Let me know when we can talk.

That said, you've been at this longer. I'm going to link my readers here so they can get a fuller story. I left a FB message. If we could plan a time to talk that would be great.

[arebelspy]

The questions you recommended asking here on this forum were what I asked David.

I'm surprised, based on what you posted about them. Either there was a miscommunication on some of the things, or they straight out lied to you.

Like this:

From what I saw Tradeline Supply Co has been around a few years and were expanding.

David's been selling just his own lines for maybe a year. They have been selling other people's lines since April (naturally they've been expanding... starting from zero any growth is expanding, but they're still much smaller than most tradeline companies).

What did they tell you for how long they'd been in business?

They also verify accounts et cetera.

What did they tell you about how they verify accounts? From what I know, they DON'T do the full verification the other companies do. They collect ID, don't store it securely, and that's it.

My biggest concern was the number of AUs they want to place on an account.

They just don't have the experience to know what will raise red flags with the companies, which leads to more card shutdowns.

My bottom line is that I'd rather have very few sales with a good company than a lot of sales with a bad one, given the nature of this industry.

[DavidAnnArbor]

I'm glad everyone is willing to communicate and express themselves about Tradeline Supply company.

[solon]

From what I saw Tradeline Supply Co has been around a few years and were expanding.

David's been selling just his own lines for maybe a year. They have been selling other people's lines since April (naturally they've been expanding... starting from zero any growth is expanding, but they're still much smaller than most tradeline companies).

Hmm... so you can sell your own tradelines directly to the public? hmmm...

I wonder what would happen if I put up a craigslist ad, took the first two responders and added them as AUs. I could charge the same price the tradeline companies are charging ($300-500 each). I could still sell the same number of slots, but make a lot more per slot. Plus, I would have the advantage of meeting the users in person, verifying their SSNs and DOBs myself.

[arebelspy]

Hmm... so you can sell your own tradelines directly to the public? hmmm...

I wonder what would happen if I put up a craigslist ad, took the first two responders and added them as AUs. I could charge the same price the tradeline companies are charging ($300-500 each). I could still sell the same number of slots, but make a lot more per slot. Plus, I would have the advantage of meeting the users in person, verifying their SSNs and DOBs myself.

Totally!  Cut out the middleman, make quite a bit more.

Like I said, this is how David got started, then he decided to start selling other people's lines too, because he was finding more AUs than he had cards. The problem is that he decided to turn it into a business but cut corners on all the crucial stuff that a cardholder needs to be protected.

One thing you'll want to do if you do sell them directly is make sure there is no fraud alerts on their credit. This is a big red flag, and if there is some fraud later by the AU (not on your card, but using the credit they were able to obtain), it's hard for you to claim you tried to avoid fraud without doing this check, or ignoring it. Not worth being potentially liable. That's why AU verification is the #1 most important thing in choosing a tradeline company.

[solon]

It looks like the only valid reasons to check someone's credit are employment, tenancy, and lending. Adding an AU to your tradeline doesn't seem to fit any of those reasons. Have you done this before, and how do you justify it?

And what are you looking for? Is there a specific warning such as "Fraud Alert!"? Do I need to look through all their existing tradelines? Do I need to keep a copy of the credit report? How long do I need to keep that?

[tscpartner]

This is David from Tradeline Supply Co.  I would love to be able to defend myself in an open forum.  If this is acceptable please let me answer questions and don't ban me.

[DavidAnnArbor]

I think the more communication that goes on the more we all learn.

[solon]

This is David from Tradeline Supply Co.  I would love to be able to defend myself in an open forum.  If this is acceptable please let me answer questions and don't ban me.

Welcome David! We're glad you're here! I hope you don't feel like you need to "defend" yourself though. Nobody here is really antagonistic, we're just a little confused. Please go ahead and address anything you feel like addressing in the last several posts.

[arebelspy]

Had a good chat with Keith on the phone.

It's nice that he's a stand-up guy, and since he's already FI, and can put his integrity first. Not that he wouldn't even if he wasn't FI, but when money is no longer a concern, it's not even tempting to pass on thousands of dollars if it's not the right thing to do. If another blogger was faced with the same dilemma, I know it would be difficult for them to say "my readers and my integrity come first, before referral dollars."

Not that this company isn't necessarily the right thing to do; Keith is going to contact them again, and I'm curious to see where it goes.

Like I said above, I vetted the company over several months, and ultimately couldn't recommend them. I made many recommendations to them about how they could do things right, but they didn't seem interested.

This is David from Tradeline Supply Co.  I would love to be able to defend myself in an open forum.  If this is acceptable please let me answer questions and don't ban me.

Like I told Keith, if practices have changed, there's no reason why I couldn't recommend your company. But it wasn't, and isn't, the case, as far as I know.

To be frank with you: I think you and Darren are very smart people; I also think you're cutting corners on the most important (and most expensive, and time consuming, not coincidentally) parts, things that don't add to the bottom line, but are crucial to the cardholders.

You have my email, and phone. I'm more than happy to discuss privately. You can post what you want here.  If your ultimate intent is to solicit users, that would fall under spam.

Here's the bottom line for me: if I wanted to make a lot of money, quickly, at the expense of MMM users, I'd have started sending you a bunch, months ago. Right now the current company is full, so I'm not earning any extra money from them. My commissions are tied to the cardholder getting sales, not signing up. If I send someone, and they get no sales, I make no money. Since we have more supply of cards than  demand (AUs) right now, I could increase the amount I make by sending people over to other companies. Be that David's company, or one of the many others.

There are plenty that offer referral commissions. I could easily recommend some of them. But at the end of the day, I'd rather make less money myself, recommend only the good companies, and have MMM users see only a few sales at good companies than a lot of sales at a bad company, and have much higher risk of card shutdowns and potential fraud issues. This community is more important to me than a few bucks.

If you, David, can change my mind on your company's practices, I'm totally open to that. But I'm not open to a company that I think is detrimental to their cardholders (and churning through them with bad practices because they have so many cards available to them) roping in MMM users.

[NeonPegasus]

PTF. Intrigued.

[TomTX]

This is David from Tradeline Supply Co.  I would love to be able to defend myself in an open forum.  If this is acceptable please let me answer questions and don't ban me.

Welcome David! We're glad you're here! I hope you don't feel like you need to "defend" yourself though. Nobody here is really antagonistic, we're just a little confused. Please go ahead and address anything you feel like addressing in the last several posts.

Agreed. Better to have things openly discussed (with the usual caveats)

[tscpartner]

Hey Mustachinas, just wanted to drop in real quickly to give you an update.  Prior to the blog post we were already extremely busy with the normal business and after Keith's article was published we were completely overwhelmed with the response.  On top of that Darren (my partner) and I are both in an out of town wedding this weekend.  Monday, I'm sure we we will have a ton of catching up to do and we have a major meeting to hire our first employee and get everything that goes along with that in order.  I'm very much looking forward to talking with you guys further,please just understand we are completely slammed right now.

I believe we have at least responded to everyone at this point who has emailed us, but many of you may be waiting for a further response.  If so, just bear with us, we will get to everyone.

[Optimiser]

Can we start a separate thread for this other company to keep things simple and straightforward?

[katsiki]

Can we start a separate thread for this other company to keep things simple and straightforward?

+1

[DavidAnnArbor]

we have a major meeting to hire our first employee and get everything that goes along with that in order.

You're going to need a whole bunch of employees if you really want to do this right. Otherwise you'll just have a whole bunch of credit cards available with no authorized user sales on them.

[Cassie]

Following

[tj]

Very odd to me that his reply did not acknowledge anything Joe said in his comment.

[arebelspy]

Very odd to me that his reply did not acknowledge anything Joe said in his comment.

I'm assuming he will. The comment was basically "busy right now, so response will be delayed" to explain the delay.

[FrugalSaver]

Here's where I'm at. I signed up in late December with several cards. I've had 2 sales. Both in April.

Nothing si CR. Emailed and called and talked to one of the people there. Agreed to a 25% drop in my commission.

Still nothing.

It's free money but seems there's some that are getting more action thrown there way than some of us. My cards run the gamut of ages and balances.

[dragoncar]

Considering just offering direct.  Does the credit boost last any amount of time after the AU is removed?  What is the typical boost from, say, a low, mid, and high level card?

[sol]

.
It's free money but seems there's some that are getting more action thrown there way than some of us. My cards run the gamut of ages and balances.

If the transaction numbers are any indication they're only selling about 250 slots per month, and rebs could be getting 20% of those all to himself.  Most of us will continue to get zero unless they find a way to recruit more buyers.

[arebelspy]

Here's where I'm at. I signed up in late December with several cards. I've had 2 sales. Both in April.

Yeah.

I'm of the opinion that a few sales from a good company is better than a lot from a bad one. Besides the fraud liability risk from a bad one, your card will be much more likely to get shut down.  Getting 2-3 sales every six months for years is better than getting 5-8 sales right away, then having the card cancelled, IMO.

If people want recommendations for bad companies that will burn out the cards quickly, but will pay you, I can provide those too. Some people may be willing to trade a card closure for one or two thousand dollars.

Considering just offering direct.  Does the credit boost last any amount of time after the AU is removed?  What is the typical boost from, say, a low, mid, and high level card?

So it very much depends on what the AU's credit history is like. If they have recent lates, it's almost not useful at all. If they have old issues, it's much better.

Most of us will continue to get zero unless they find a way to recruit more buyers.

Yeah. I contacted the owner of the company about this a few days ago. This was the plan for 2017, to massively scale their AU base to meet cardholder demand, once the portal was up and rolling in March. This was discussion we had in March on the phone and in April, when we met in person. It's been 6 months past that, and there hasn't been the growth I've expected. So I'm looking into that, and maybe will have to start the search again for another TL company.

That's why I was so excited about the new TL company (the one that Keith recommended). The people running it are smart and on the ball, and I immediately signed up cards with them and was excited for new competition. IIRC I mentioned it here. Ultimately they weren't doing things the way I was hoping, and I couldn't recommend them, despite the amount of money it would have made me.

The problem is that anyone can advertise for people wanting a credit boost, grab their info (name, DOB, SSN, etc.), take a cardholder, and send that info over. Just matching people up is easy. It's the verification that's crucial, expensive, time consuming and easy to skip if you don't care.

And I've researched most the companies out there, so either one would have to clean up their practices (unlikely, they're making money hand over fist with less work by churning through cardholders and exposing them to risk) or a new one would have to start. Really want some enterprising Mustachian to start one.  Happy to advise. ;)  It just needs to be done right.

In any case, we'll see what the owner says, and what his plans for growth are, and go from there. Hopefully the good companies can scale more, or another good company will start, rather than going with bad ones.

But if you guys just want sales.. google Tradeline Companies.  There's plenty of them. If you're finding them on the first page of Google (and deeper), I've researched them, and have a reason not to recommend them. But if you want to do that anyways, totally cool!

And selling yourself is definitely more lucrative, with no middle man, but you need to do your own protections/verifications, and obviously your own advertising. 

As always, happy to help/answer any questions. :)

[tj]

It's the verification that's crucial, expensive, time consuming and easy to skip if you don't care.

[...]
Really want some enterprising Mustachian to start one.  Happy to advise. ;)  It just needs to be done right.

Did you ultimately decide that it was going to be too much of a time investment to pursue starting a tradeline company? All those posts kind of just disappeared...

[arebelspy]

It's the verification that's crucial, expensive, time consuming and easy to skip if you don't care.

[...]
Really want some enterprising Mustachian to start one.  Happy to advise. ;)  It just needs to be done right.

Did you ultimately decide that it was going to be too much of a time investment to pursue starting a tradeline company? All those posts kind of just disappeared...

I had to put my attempts on hold for personal reasons. The posts were not deleted, just moved to a private section of the forums. Not sure of the future of that at the moment.

I really believe in it (to the point that I spent several thousand dollars incorporating, getting legal work done, etc.). In short, I think it's incredibly lucrative (to the tune of millions of dollars), which tempts me, as I plan to donate 100% of any profits I make, and that's a lot of opportunity to do good, and I think there's a definciency in the market (lots of companies not doing it well, the few good companies missing opportunities to scale and with marketing), a good combination.

But it's not something I can take on solo right now.

[pateld]

any further DPs on Discover closing accounts in Sep/Oct?

[dutty]

This isn't possible in the UK (United Kingdom) / Britain / Europe is it? I have had a search but found no posts which explicitly stated this.

[arebelspy]

any further DPs on Discover closing accounts in Sep/Oct?

What does DP mean in this sentence?

Discover closed some accounts in an audit, so use of them is on hold for the moment.

This isn't possible in the UK (United Kingdom) / Britain / Europe is it? I have had a search but found no posts which explicitly stated this.

I'm not aware of it working in any countries besides the US. Other countries have different credit score methods. Theoretically if another place had authorized users, and it boosted your credit score, and it was legal to do so, there is no reason why you couldn't sell AU slots. But I don't believe it does anything elsewhere, it's a unique part of our credit scoring model.

[TomTX]

any further DPs on Discover closing accounts in Sep/Oct?

What does DP mean in this sentence?

Discover closed some accounts in an audit, so use of them is on hold for the moment.

Typically DP in this context would mean Data Point. ie - have there been more solid reports of closures.

[arebelspy]

Ah, thanks. I don't think there have been any other closures besides that initial handful.

[ducky19]

Considering just offering direct.  Does the credit boost last any amount of time after the AU is removed?  What is the typical boost from, say, a low, mid, and high level card?

Data point from my niece's husband - added him to several cards of mine not currently enrolled with the TL company to help him raise his credit for a car purchase. I asked my niece to keep me updated on the impact it made. The first card added 150 points to his score, shocking to me that it went up that much. An additional card showed up and it jumped another 28 points. I think there are three left that should be showing up in the next several days, so will be excited to see if there are any additional jumps or if the returns diminish. For what it's worth, he had a 520 score that is now sitting at a 698 - pretty big improvement!

[boarder42]

Considering just offering direct.  Does the credit boost last any amount of time after the AU is removed?  What is the typical boost from, say, a low, mid, and high level card?

Data point from my niece's husband - added him to several cards of mine not currently enrolled with the TL company to help him raise his credit for a car purchase. I asked my niece to keep me updated on the impact it made. The first card added 150 points to his score, shocking to me that it went up that much. An additional card showed up and it jumped another 28 points. I think there are three left that should be showing up in the next several days, so will be excited to see if there are any additional jumps or if the returns diminish. For what it's worth, he had a 520 score that is now sitting at a 698 - pretty big improvement!

it makes sense no one would pay thousands for this if it didnt work well.

[CanuckExpat]

Considering just offering direct.  Does the credit boost last any amount of time after the AU is removed?  What is the typical boost from, say, a low, mid, and high level card?

Data point from my niece's husband - added him to several cards of mine not currently enrolled with the TL company to help him raise his credit for a car purchase. I asked my niece to keep me updated on the impact it made. The first card added 150 points to his score, shocking to me that it went up that much. An additional card showed up and it jumped another 28 points. I think there are three left that should be showing up in the next several days, so will be excited to see if there are any additional jumps or if the returns diminish. For what it's worth, he had a 520 score that is now sitting at a 698 - pretty big improvement!

it makes sense no one would pay thousands for this if it didnt work well.

People will pay a lot of money for things that don't work, but nice to know this does something. Not just selling placebos
What is the going rate charged to clients?

[MVal]

Anyone know how you vet a potential new tradeline company? Do you check them out with the Better Business Bureau or something? I've encountered a new company that can take some of my other cards, but I don't know how to screen them.

[Car Jack]

Anyone know how you vet a potential new tradeline company? Do you check them out with the Better Business Bureau or something? I've encountered a new company that can take some of my other cards, but I don't know how to screen them.

You're scaring me, man.  Like Joe said, it's better to have a small number of sales with a good company than a big number of sales with a bad company.  There are giant flying lizards out there breathing fire with sharp teeth.  Pretty easy to become eaten.  I'm happy with the occasional AU I get.    (just got paid today, actually)

[frugalnacho]

I just got my first order for a citi card.   The instructions said I have to call in for citi, because if I do it online the ssn won't be entered.  I called and added the AU, and the citi rep said he was going to send a card to the AU address asap.  I requested he send the card to my address instead.  I was under the impression the cc company will never ship to the AU address, but he seemed very quick to get it sent to that address?

[DavidAnnArbor]

I just got my first order for a citi card.   The instructions said I have to call in for citi, because if I do it online the ssn won't be entered.  I called and added the AU, and the citi rep said he was going to send a card to the AU address asap.  I requested he send the card to my address instead.  I was under the impression the cc company will never ship to the AU address, but he seemed very quick to get it sent to that address?

Yes I find the customer service for Citi to be lacking, and they don't always understand what they're doing. They're only ever supposed to send it to the primary cardholder's address.

[arebelspy]

I just got my first order for a citi card.   The instructions said I have to call in for citi, because if I do it online the ssn won't be entered.  I called and added the AU, and the citi rep said he was going to send a card to the AU address asap.  I requested he send the card to my address instead.  I was under the impression the cc company will never ship to the AU address, but he seemed very quick to get it sent to that address?

Yeah, I've had the rep tell me that, and when I asked for clarification he went and checked and apologized and said I was right, it would go to my (primary) address, and that he actually can't send it anywhere else.

Worth checking each time they say it's going to the AU address to ask them to send it to yours, because why not, but it's very very likely unnecessary.

[frugalnacho]

I just got my first order for a citi card.   The instructions said I have to call in for citi, because if I do it online the ssn won't be entered.  I called and added the AU, and the citi rep said he was going to send a card to the AU address asap.  I requested he send the card to my address instead.  I was under the impression the cc company will never ship to the AU address, but he seemed very quick to get it sent to that address?

Yeah, I've had the rep tell me that, and when I asked for clarification he went and checked and apologized and said I was right, it would go to my (primary) address, and that he actually can't send it anywhere else.

Worth checking each time they say it's going to the AU address to ask them to send it to yours, because why not, but it's very very likely unnecessary.

If I had said nothing and the rep tried to send it to the AU address, what is stopping the card from being delivered?  Is there something in their system to prevent it from happening, or could he succeed in sending it to the AU?