D&B Jerks

[OJOY]

Hi,

 

I've been a lurker for several months and have learned a great deal from CB.

 

I tried to get an eupdate password from D&B today and encountered the usual problems. I really tried to be professional but when i told the rep that I would not be purchasing "credit builder" she got really nasty and I decided to complain.

 

Was this right or really dumb?

 

Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau's Online Complaint System.

Your complaint has been assigned case # ojoy

Correspondence regarding this complaint will be emailed to : ojoy

Please print a copy of this for your records.

 

Filed on : October 9 2006

 

Filed by :

OJOY

Filed against :

Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.

5210 E Williams Cir STE 400

Tucson AZ 85711

 

Complaint Description:

D&B sales rep xxxx stated to me on 9/11/2006 that my D&B credit file (DUNS number xx-xx-xxx) would be locked unless a purchased a service called "credit builder" for $549.00 or "credit builder lite" for $299.00. Sales rep xxxx stated that the D&B number I had been given was only a marketing number and I would not be able to build a business credit file because no creditor would be able to access my "locked" file. On 10/8/06 I attempted to view my credit file by obtaining an "eupdate" password on the internet and was denied. I called (866) 834-4699 and was told that I could not have access to my file because my name was not listed as the business owner or authorized agent. This is odd since I hade been through all of the particulars of my business on 9/11/06 with the sales rep xxxx. On 10/9/06 I then called the sales rep xxxx at (520)512-4611 and was again told that my DUNS number was a marketing number and was worthless unless I purchased one of the "credit builder" packages. I was also told that I would never be able to build my business credit without purchasing one of these packages and my file would remain locked until I had made the purchase. I have done research on this issue and know that you do not have to purchase the "credit builder" package to have an active D&B file and you also do not have to make a purchase to receive an "eupdate" password. This company's sales reps are using a deceptive high pressure tactics to force you to buy a product that you do not have to buy under the threat of denying you a business credit rating. They are also hindering my ability to begin building my business credit because I am not able to monitor my credit report for errors or to try to manage my credit.

xxxxx

xxx Services Inc

Owner

 

Your Desired Resolution:

I would like to have my D&B file unlocked and I would also like to be issued an eupdate password.

 

This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business 30 working days to respond to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.

[BlackWater]

Don't be surprised when your file gets locked.

[douginsea]

complain to the FTC...your local attorney general..and file complaints with your local congressmen....

 

i'm affraid its too late though..you spoke up to DNB so they probalby have it out for you..file is locked and such.

 

just goes to show you how they like to yeild their power..when you dont spend money on them...

 

its unfortunate that DNB is not bound by the FCRA...and they should be. the goverment need to step up and investigate their mob tactics...

[Co-Sign-R]

complain to the FTC...your local attorney general..and file complaints with your local congressmen....

 

i'm affraid its too late though..you spoke up to DNB so they probalby have it out for you..file is locked and such.

 

just goes to show you how they like to yeild their power..when you dont spend money on them...

 

its unfortunate that DNB is not bound by the FCRA...and they should be. the goverment need to step up and investigate their mob tactics...

 

Damn right!

 

And another thing....when are they going to stop hiring telemarketing thugs? I have a feeling their office has about 200 desks with 200 phones with 200 black and green Service Merchandise monitors with 200 community college student workers...all being harassed every 30 minutes as to who has the highest sales.....freaking losers...

[OJOY]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the input. I do apreciate it.

 

From what the sales person told me my file is already locked.

 

I understood her coments to be that I could buy credit builder or have my file locked til I did.

 

I checked the BBB.org website for other complaints before I filed mine and saw 16 other recent compaints with all but 2 resolved. Most were about decptive sales practices (all but 2. What a shock!!)

 

I'll wait and see what happens with this and if there is any additional adverse action or if it is not resolved I'll take it to the next level.

 

My actions may not be the best way to handle the problem but I didn't get into business to be extorted.

 

BTW on the BBB website there are contact names and tel #'s for some of the D&B exec's.

Edited October 9, 2006 by OJOY

[Co-Sign-R]

Sorry to hear that but I am glad to know what can happen if you become to froggy...so thanks for sharing.

[OJOY]

Hi,

 

Came home today and had a response from BBB that the complaint against D&B was filed and sent over to them yesterday. That only took one day from my complaint to their office.

 

BBB said they have 14 days to respond, so I figure that by the end of the month this may be resolved.

 

If it's in my favor it will be cheaper than buying anything from them and I will have stood up to a bully. (Although I do remember standing up to a bully in grade school and being severly beaten for my effort.)

 

If it's not in my favor I guess we will see how badly they can screw someone over.

 

By november My Corp may have never existed.

 

We shall see!

 

 

Complaint filed against: Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. (More)

Business Info

NAME: Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.

 

BBB MEMBER: NO

 

CONTACT: Mr. T. Allan J. Auld

 

ADDRESS: 5210 E Williams Cir STE 400

Tucson, AZ 85711

 

PHONE: 520 747-5371

 

FAX: 520 512-4188

 

Website: www.dnb.com

 

Complaint status: Inform Business of Complaint

 

Activity

 

Date Activity Description

10/09/2006 Inform Business of Complaint

10/09/2006 Send Acknowledgement to Consumer

10/09/2006 Complaint Accepted by BBB Operator

10/09/2006 Complaint Received by BBB

 

(Category: Sales Practice Issues)

 

Case opened date: 10/09/2006

 

Case closed date:

 

Desired Resolution: I would like to have my D&B file unlocked and I would also like to be issiued an eupdate password....

 

Download a copy of this complaint so you can print it for your records

 

*** We are waiting for the business to respond. They have until October 24, 2006 to respond to this complaint.

 

If you have information you would like to provide regarding this complaint, click here. ***

[ZicMan]

regarding the grade school incident

 

Seriously I hope that you are successful and keep us posted. Also, you should xxx out your personal information in the post/reply from BBB. Just to be on the safe side.

[OJOY]

I xxx'd out my info but made sure to leave their info inn.

 

That's one of the VP's at D&B.

[bathbombmom]

tee.. hee.. they are in Tucson. They call me in AZ and it's their area code. lol

[BuildHer]

If the BBB doesn't work, you might try filing a complaint with the FTC. These people really need to be held accountable for their actions. They certainly do NOT have fair business practices in any way I could ever imagine.

[OJOY]

Thanks for the input, I was up till 2:00 am last night on the FTC’s website.

 

I did a few searches on D&B and about 99% were about how great a resource D&B was and D&B is a major consultant to the FTC and the Federal government.

 

I went through at least 350 documents and realized that there is no way the Federal government is going to tout D&B as the best thing since sliced bread and then smack em down because Ojoy is upset.

 

I have my next move planned but first I’m going to let the BBB thing play out.

 

I’m not asking for a big bag of money, I just want what I’m entitled to!

 

I did however come across this little snippet on the OMB website, read the second paragraph

 

 

OMB Wants Our Feedback for Establishing National Guidelines for the DUNS Number Requirement

 

The federal government is now requiring applicants for federal funding to have a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A new toll-free number to call and have a DUNS number assigned to organizations was announced last week- 1-866-705-5711.

 

Remember: You do NOT have to purchase credit services from Dun and Bradstreet to get a DUNS number. If they try to sell you these services, please let us know. (Document dated 2003)

 

 

 

It appears that at least the OMB believes that there may be a problem.

 

When I got home tonight I had 3 caller ID’s from D&B but they didn’t leave a message. They were probably just selling something like credit builder or possibly credit builder lite.

(I know this because I’m psychic)

 

It was a number I don’t recognize (310) 974-3420, anyone know it? While the BBB complaint is pending I don’t think we’re supposed to talk to each other.

Edited October 11, 2006 by OJOY

[brownydoll]

subscribe

[Ping]

Closest I could find is this:

 

IBM Dun & Bradstreet

1501 Francisco St

Torrance CA 90501-1330

Phone: 310-974-3400

 

The 3420 is likely a secondary or tertiary office line. Its not 100% but Id bet Im pretty close.

[OJOY]

subscribe

 

NO

[OJOY]

Closest I could find is this:

 

IBM Dun & Bradstreet

1501 Francisco St

Torrance CA 90501-1330

Phone: 310-974-3400

 

The 3420 is likely a secondary or tertiary office line. Its not 100% but Id bet Im pretty close.

 

Thanks!!

 

I'll try and check it out tomorrow.

[OJOY]

Here's another snipet I came across.

 

Text taken from SBA documents.

 

Read page 110 lines 3 through 22. I want a “cheat sheet†too.

 

http://www.sba.gov/vets/advisory/february7...ing-minutes.pdf

 

 

19 it gives people a reference point. So history

20 and reference point, whether it is ever used for

21 Federal Government or not.

22 MS. ROSSOMANDO: Thank you, and since

 

110

1 merging with Pronet, we have found CCR is the

2 core way that people identify.

3 DR. ROGERS: And you do have to get a

4 Dunn & Bradstreet numbers, a Dunn's number, but

5 it's free. Even the veterans, when they get the

6 stuff like, I got my information from the small

7 business office of the systems command out in

8 San Diego, but if they hadn't emphasized to me

9 that that was going to be free, Dunn &

10 Bradstreet has a really good marketing campaign

11 to get you to spend more money, and they will

12 call you over time, oh, someone pulled your

13 stuff. It means someone pulled you stuff so you

14 should pay us 3,000. Thank you, but I'm not

15 going to right now. I am making payroll.

16 MS. ROSSOMANDO: You're so right, a

17 lot of the business owners have said, well, that

18 seems like such a hard process, too long. What

19 we did is sat down with Joe McDevitt, who I

20 would like to give kudos to him. We have

21 developed a cheat sheet, three pages. I can

22 e-mail that to you, if you want to provide me

111

1 with your business cards because I forget to put

2 that in here. At the beginning of the

 

3 information, it basically says it is about

4 building awareness. If you're not in here, no

5 one will know. Then it says, we promise it will

6 take you about 45 minutes if you have all this

7 information before you get started, and it talks

8 about the fact, a phone number for your Dunn's

9 number, and it's free. And a couple of our

10 members -- because what we do, one thing I

11 didn't mention, was

[douginsea]

the FTC is obligated to investigate every complaint. regardless of if they have contracts with them or not...

[OJOY]

the FTC is obligated to investigate every complaint. regardless of if they have contracts with them or not...

 

 

I read your post and went back to the FTC website and you are 100% right, they are obligated.

 

I also tried to find out why there were no D&B complaints showing on the searches I was doing and found that they do not like to publish complaints in order to protect both the complainant and the respondent.

 

Most of what they publish on the web and in press releases are the really egregious cases.

 

No conspiracy here and I don’t want people to think that the FTC is not a viable option.

 

I will wait for the BBB results and if nothing is resolved the FTC will be included in my next activity.

 

Thanks for bringing it up again!

[OJOY]

I wanted to give an update regarding my D&B situation and complaint.

 

As of today 10/23, D&B has not responded to my BBB complaint, tomorrow is the deadline and I don’t expect them to respond but I will wait until Friday to follow up with the BBB.

 

Last Monday I had a total of 8 caller I.D.’s from D&B. Someone named Nancy left 2 messages at my business and 1 at home. I called her back on Tuesday and she said that they wanted to update my info. I gave her exactly what I had given the sales rep and she then told me that they would be E-Mailing me my eupdate password.

 

During the conversation I’m thinking “wow! This is really great, they are trying to make peace.†I gave her all my info and remained as polite and professional as possible. When I had finished giving her my info I asked if there was anything else she needed.

 

Nancy paused for a second and continued…… At this point Mr. Ojoy I’d like to tell you about a product we are offering called Credit builder Plus,,,

 

I could not believe it Déjà vu, here we go again, it’s like trying to get a 2 year old to stop saying no. I politely told her that I wasn’t interested right now and she said: let me give you a number to call for your eupdate password.

 

I said “you just told me you were going to e-mail me a password?†She replied that she wanted to give me the number just in case I didn’t get an e-mail from them. (Did you ever want to bang your phone on your desk just so you could feel like you were inflicting pain to the person on the other end? You know,, that feeling like your teeth are going to break because you’re biting down on your jaw as hard as you can, just to stop from screaming?)

 

As difficult as it is to believe,, Yep, I never got an e-mail. I wonder if they’ll try to sell me something if I call the number.

 

This experience has given me an idea, I think that every telephone in America should have a little red button on it that you could press 4 times a year. Ideally you could press this button and give a nice jolt of electricity to the person on the other end. Not enough to do any serious damage, just enough to get a little foam coming out of their mouth and make sure they were sitting up straight in their chair. I would happily take ten or more jolts just to be able to delve out my four. (Obviously I’m just kidding, but tell me that sucker wouldn’t sell! Move over Staples, I got my own easy button.)

 

Also, it appears that my file is no longer “lockedâ€. When this problem with D&B started I had applied to Staples and Office Depot about 4 days apart. I received the customary $750 limit from staples 2 days before the D&B said my file was locked.

 

This weekend I received a letter from Office Depot denying me for “Unable to verify essential application informationâ€. I called OD and they said they denied me because I had supplied a D&B number and when they checked it “nothing came back†The CSR from OD said she would check it again and put me on hold. About 3 minutes later she came back and said I was approved, D&B checked out!

 

As soon as I get any more info, I’ll post an update but at this point it appears that my file has been unlocked due to the BBB complaint.

 

Please keep in mind YMMV!

[douginsea]

you said no to credit builder....that means no password for you....

 

i hate hearing these DNB stories....when will the government step in? there too worried about getting elected right now....

[Roadraider]

Well, I am here to tell you that this is not true.

 

I am new here, have been lurking around for a while and picking up a few things. I'll tell you my exp with D&B which is only 2 days old

 

I have an LLC just over 2.5 years old. I did the 'free' D&B number at the time, got a couple of calls. I was nice, and told them that I am still starting the business, lot's of expenses, get back to me later. Never heard from them again.

 

2 days ago, I am talking to a vendor about net terms. Never had a need for them till now. He mentioned D&B and I went to their site. It lists me alright.

 

So, I call them, tell them my story and ask for my D&B #. She gave it to me and tried the sales pitch. Nicely, I said I just needed the number for a government contract and did not need to build credit. Thank you very much, good bye (didn't give her a chance for a come back).

 

Went online, registered and tried to get into eupdate. Couldn't validate me (right) so I had to call. Explained the whole story again and how I need a password to update my business info. She gave me a new password and instructions on how to log in.

 

Here's the important part: the default D&B password is the last 6 digits of the D&B number!!!!!!

 

Anyway, she took some info down herself, asked if someone could call within the next 7 days to verify info (I said yes), tried the sales pitch. I started hitting on her, quite aggresively too. Took her all of 10 secs to say good bye

 

My D&B file and # are active with no issues. You do have to call for the eupdate password. Overall, the reps I talked to were nice and not too pushy. Just don't give any hints about applying for credit and such since you are playing into their hand.

 

And if all else fails, FLIRT!!! Worked for me

[OJOY]

Hopefully this will be the last post on this topic for me.

 

Talk about the eleventh hour!

 

I had a voicemail message from D&B tonight from someone who said that he was calling regarding a conversation I had with one of his representatives “something about your account being unlockedâ€. He went on to say that he wanted to let me know that they had “built me a full report†(anyone know what a “full report†means???) and if I had any questions or concerns I should give him a call.

 

I’m going to give him a call tomorrow and make sure I get my eupdate password. After I take my eupdate for a spin I’m going to call them back and purchase Credit builder.

 

My business is designing and building custom machinery and I’m spending a considerable amount of money at McMaster Carr and MSC Supply both of whom don’t report.

 

I’m not really opposed to the concept of Credit builder, its right for some, and not right for others.

 

I’m just opposed to the “buy this or else†sales tactics.

 

Thanks for all the input!!!

[hawkiirock]

b4 u buy it u might want to read the one thread of the guy who bought it and then got locked out

[Fraud_YANKER]

We have a similar experience with "MOB-style" tactics that Criminal D & B employees have used upon us.

[u]D & B created our business account without our knowledge and Permission

3 years ago acting upon a tip from our customer that D&B website was posting inaccurate information about our business, we contacted D & B and received a user ID and password.

 

Upon accessing our account there was scant information posted about us (just our old business name and inaccurate street address. All other information boxes were left blank - like an illegal company. We realized that our account had been created by someone at D & B (this account invocation without our knowledge and consent should be Illegal !!!). Who we should notify about this?

 

D & B changed our information about our business without our permission

Then We put our updated information about us (including our business name that was changed).

 

A few days later we followed up to find that D & B had changed two items for their convenience - they are incorrect. What's worse, our account was locked up and we could no longer correct the inaccurate information that D & B placed without our permission. It was shocking!!!

 

We picked up a phone and complained to D & B.

The Rep refused to straighten up their errors UNLESS WE PAID over $400.00.

That year, we talked to other Reps, too, to have the same.

We got fed up and decided not to deal with this criminal empire = D & B.

 

D & B = FRAUDULENT BUSINESS

D & B is posting Errorneous information about our business but they refused to correct them and locked our account. They allow our prospective customers & suppliers to see the error-ridden record about us.

We could be getting a bad appraisal because of this. It's a Fraud.

But what can we do? Unless we pay over $400, they will not allow us to access to the falsified account of ours.

 

Today June 2nd, 2010, a woman (Karen Woodson) called us to say that our financial score was very low and urged us to pay $449 if we wanted to see who were accessing our account and gave those scores.

We asked the score. She said 61-62 out of possible highest score of 80.

We told her that we have had no debt, business or personal. We "Always" pay by due date to all our suppliers and they appreciate it. We asked her who could give us that low score. Karen insisted us to pay first if we wanted to see.

 

Our reply to her urging was that we would not pay anything unless we have seen what she was saying.

After our strong resist to pay up front, her male supervisor then tried to convince us to pay first.

 

Our account locked up was confirmed. Knowingly we have no access, they were trying us to pay first if we wanted an access. we requested karen a new ID & password. She asked our email address so that she could send the information.

 

When we received an email from her, it was not what we expected: just one-page email on what we can/should do - which had no return address.

They use one-way communication tactic and will not allow us to reply.

 

Just Wanted to Know "How to Punish D & B" <-- Fraudulent Company that sells inaccurate information about us, allows people to see and rate on falsified information, tries to collect money using the mob-tactics.

 

They suck up money from people by posting incorrect information of others on account that had been created by D & B without having a consent from accounts.

 

D & B is nothing but a bunch of CRIMINALS!!!