“What do you mean, they said ‘No’?” We had been turned down for a new business credit card, even though our credit rating is exceptionally good. We were dumbfounded. What in the world could possibly be wrong? As it turned out, lots of things.

Our credit report was full of mistakes. The first and most obvious error? Apparently, some tired typist had combined Pete’s and my social security numbers into a new one that most likely belongs to someone else. I wonder what their report is like.

Then, the reporting company dinged us for having no major credit cards, even though our personal master card was listed on the report, and we were applying for a business card with the same financial institution! This was so inconceivable, the website provided no way to fix the problem.

And finally, information about our previous business card (and our perfect payment record) was entirely missing, even though we’d had it for years before the company that issued it went belly-up.

(There were additional errors that we were told weren’t significant, such as the zillion different ways people spelled “Holzmann.” Right.)

Unfortunately, it’s hard to run a business, even a non-profit one, without a credit card.

Continue reading →