Jordan Avery runs the blog at Phone Number Credit Score and writes about phone data, credit scores, tenant and lead screening, and the rules that come with all of it. Most posts start as a question a customer asked us.
No score doesn't mean bad credit. It usually means not enough credit, and tens of millions of U.S. adults are in that spot. What a thin credit file is, why some files can't be scored, and how to size up someone who doesn't have a score.
The simplest legal reason to check someone's credit is that they said yes in writing. Here's a copy-ready consent template, what each line is for, and how to collect consent by text, email or e-signature without making it awkward.
On most big remodels, you're carrying the homeowner's money before they carry yours. Here's how contractors can check a client's credit with permission, read the results, and structure draws so one bad client can't sink a season.
Most credit score API evaluations focus on the demo and skip the parts that hurt later: which score you actually get, what a no-hit costs, and how consent is recorded. Here's the checklist we'd use.
Seven ways to put a name to a phone number, ranked by how often they're actually right. Includes the free tricks that work, the ones that waste your time, and the one you should never try.
Credit utilization is the share of your card limits you're using, and it moves scores faster than anything else you control. The famous 30% line is a rough guide. Here's what scoring models actually see.
Most bad tenancies were visible on paper before the lease was signed. These are the 11 warning signs seasoned landlords look for, how to verify each one quickly, and the things that look alarming but usually aren't.
A text code proves someone has a phone in their hand right now. It doesn't prove whose phone it is or who's holding it. Here's what phone-based identity checks actually confirm, and how to cover the gaps.
Most walkaways start at the desk, when a buyer learns their payment after an hour on the lot. A soft-pull pre-qualification moves the credit conversation to the first five minutes, without dinging anyone's score.
You checked the app, saw a number you liked, then the lender came back lower. Nothing went wrong. The two numbers come from different formulas, and once you know which one a lender pulls, you can see it before you apply.
Net-30 is a loan with an invoice attached. Here's when a credit check is worth doing, what to look at for sole proprietors and small companies, how to turn a score into a credit limit, and the paperwork that keeps it clean.
Mobile, landline and VoIP numbers look identical on a form. They aren't. What each line type says about the person behind it, and why a VoIP result is a reason to look closer, not a reason to panic.
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