Page 169 - Winning The Credit Game Bundle (CK Patrick)

rate and negative information on these accounts can have a
negative impact on your business, as banks, credit unions, and
other financial institutions may be reluctant to do business
with you.
For this reason, we recommend that business owners request
a copy of their individual and business ChexSystems report at
least once a year. This protects against errors and surprises that
may be costly when applying for a bank loan or making another
major financial move. You can request your ChexSystems report
using the link in the footnote below. 2

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE A PROBLEM

If a problem appears on your credit report, the correct approach
to fix it will depend on the type of problem.
Problems with late payment, cash flow, and other attributes
of your business are relatively “easy” to fix by filing a simple
dispute. It’s also important to optimize your payment history
and cash flow, not just to please credit reporting agencies, but
because constant improvement to these metrics is good for the
overall health of your business.
But what if a negative mark appears on your credit accounts,
and it’s not because of something you or your business has
done? What if you suspect fraud, identity theft, or a reporting
error?
The first sign of fraud or identity theft is often unauthorized
charges on your credit accounts. If you discover charges on your
business credit account that you didn’t authorize, the first thing
to do is to freeze your credit accounts. This freeze will prevent
new charges from being made to these accounts, protecting you
from any further unauthorized spending.
Some credit lines may allow you to freeze only new or unex-
pected transactions while continuing to allow your routine
monthly payments to go through. This can be useful for allowing
you to conduct business as usual while protecting against fraud. 3
Another way to discover fraud, identity theft, or a credit

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