Dec 10 2007 10:57AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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Experian (the credit report people) is offering a new service where homeowners can download a report that show's a contractor's license status, bankruptcy history and any outstanding liens or judgements. (Thanks to the L.A. Times' Pardon our Dust blog, where I first found mention of this.)

In its current beta form, consumers can get 10 reports for free, but future plans call for a $12.95 per report charge. Experian also offers you a chance to see the full report on your company (for a fee of $99 per year). But here's why it might be worth it. When I read about this site this morning, I went and randomly typed in the name of a remodeler I happened to be talking about this morning. The first thing I noticed was two errors on the report (years in business and # of employees). 

If they're getting that wrong, who's to say what else may be wrong on this report or yours. At the very least, pretend to be a consumer and check out what potential customers will get to see about you while the service is still free. This is a perfect example of what I wrote about last month when I said you need to protect your image online.

You can visit the site at www.contractorcheck.com.