While purchasing tradelines is an excellent way to give your credit score a boost, it is not without its risks, especially in the form of posting. Unfortunately, there is a chance that the tradeline you purchase will not post to your credit reports, which is why it is essential you work with brokers who carry a money-back posting guarantee. However, while it is possible to protect your investment, you would likely rather have everything work as intended the first time around. Therefore, we recommend doing the following seven things to ensure your tradelines have the best chance of posting as expected.
1. Watch for Blockages
Have you placed, or do you have a fraud alert, credit freeze or another type of blockage on your credit file? If so, it is necessary to contact the credit bureaus and see about removing these measures. Any form of a block on your credit file will not permit any changes to your reports, including from authorized user accounts. It is also recommended that if you have had a blockage removed from your file, wait at least 30 days to ensure it is clear before purchasing a tradeline.
2. Buy Multiple Tradelines
Purchasing multiple tradelines is always a good option, especially if you need one to post in a specific period. While brokerage houses do their best to protect tradeline purchases with money-back guarantees, some level of the transaction is out of their hands, such as bank and credit reporting. By purchasing multiple tradelines from a variety of banks, you will inevitably increase the odds of posting by a specific timeframe.
3. Choose a Company with a High Posting Success Rate
Next, you will want to review the posting rate of your chosen tradeline seller. A significant attribute of a successful posting rate is the banks that hold the accounts. It is no secret in this industry that not all banks are created equal, especially when it comes to reporting authorized users to the credit bureaus. Therefore, do not base the decision of working with a tradeline seller strictly on the number of the banks they operate with because a broker working with only a few banks may have a higher success rate.
4. Avoid Blacklists
Another thing to consider when trying to ensure that your tradeline purchases posts is whether any bank has blacklisted you in the past. While not necessarily publicized or described as a blacklist, many banks to keep track of customers with a derogatory history with their establishment. Therefore, if you notice any tradelines from banks that were part of your bankruptcy proceedings or who sent your accounts to collections, it is best to avoid those tradelines. It is possible that purchasing tradelines from such a bank could result in your tradeline purchase not posting.
5. Watch for Address Merging
Next, be careful of companies that pad their posting rates through address merging. Essentially, what a company might do if they have a client struggling to get tradelines posted to their report is to claim the client lives at the same address as the account holder. Address merging is a fraudulent practice and one that risks the accounts of our credit partners and clients. Therefore, we do not condone such activities and advise our clients to steer clear of those companies that do.
6. Know the Address on File
It is also possible that your tradeline isn’t posting due to a discrepancy in the listed or on-file address. As banks and credit bureaus use things like addresses to verify your identity and ensure accurate reporting, it is essential to use the address on file with the credit bureaus when purchasing tradelines. Failure to use the same address can result in a failed posting, so always double-check.
7. Understand Reporting Periods and “Purchase By” Dates
Last, you need to understand that every tradeline has a “purchase by” date that corresponds to specific reporting periods. If you need a tradeline to post within a particular period, then be sure to purchase within the given window to ensure the best chances of on-time posting.While having a tradeline purchase fail to post is frustrating, it is an unfortunate part of the process and one that brokers do not have complete control over. To increase your odds of accurate reporting and posting, follow the seven suggestions above. Also, if you wish to discuss tradelines further, contact Coast Tradelines and speak with one of our knowledgeable representatives.
