Free Business Credit Reports

One way for a company to find out exactly where they stand with their credit is to obtain free business credit reports. While the process is not as simple as it is with regular consumer credit reports, there are ways to get free business credit reports.

The easiest method, ironically, is to apply for a credit card. Not necessarily to be accepted, but to be rejected. If this is the case, the company has the right to find out what information the credit card company used to make a decision to deny the credit card request. This information is contained in the report they used from one of the three credit bureaus--TransUnion, Experian or Equifax--and can be obtained by the business who received the negative decision. If that business then, in turn, writes the credit bureau who released the report, they will be able to receive one of their free business credit reports. In order to receive all three of the free business credit reports, they must apply for credit cards from companies that get their information from each of the three different credit bureaus, receive a rejection, then request their credit report from that agency.

There are other companies who offer free business credit reports as well, but their offers vary greatly from the reports you would get from major credit bureaus. Their objective is primarily to let other businesses known what the credit of a potential business partner is in order to let them decide whether or not to pursue a relationship. These free business credit reports offer little more than the name of the company and their current credit score, though some do include a little more information.

Some of the major credit reporting agencies have started to offer free business credit reports as well, but their services tend to be limited. If a company wants to look at their score and information once, they may be able to do so--but most of these free business credit reports are attached to larger packages, which the company must purchase from the credit bureau in order to review the report.