In past blog posts, we touched on unreturned requests for references and talked about how those are viewed by credit providers. In this blog, we are going to talk about how to improve your chances of securing the credit you desire by curating your references.
In the traditional credit application process, you might list 3 or 4 references and then wait for a credit decision. You are blind to the process after submission up until the decision is made. Unfortunately, we have found on average that at least one reference does not respond within the timeframe a credit provider needs to make a decision.
As you apply for credit at multiple businesses, you are likely to list the same references on each credit application. The company that didn’t respond to the last request for a reference is not likely to respond to the next, but you don’t who isn’t responding. If you knew this, a simple solution is to pick a different reference to use.
With Fiado, you can find out who is responding to your references so that you can curate a solid list of credit references allowing you the best possible result for your application for credit. The responses are still kept confidential to only the credit provider, but the credit applicant can see if a reference is not responding to requests so that a new reference can be selected.
In fact, the best practice is to list as many references as possible so that even if only 50-75% of references respond in a timely manner, you will have more than enough references for the credit provider to rely on. We recommend at least 6 references when applying for credit.
To learn more how Fiado can help you secure credit and manage your own credit risk, email me at clark@fiado.us and I will respond right away.
