[asterisk-biz] Payment bureau

[Rehan Ahmed Allahwala]

I think it is a great idea and u should do it

we would love to use it

On 11/19/09, Alex Balashov <abalashov at evaristesys.com> wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> I would like to get everyone's thoughts on the creation of something
> like a "credit bureau" specific to our industry.  I don't think we
> currently have anything like that in the VoIP cottage industry, unless
> I am mistaken.
>
> Simply put, we should have a way of anonymously rating customers'
> payment history and noting any especially egregious disputes.  Access
> should be restricted only to verified companies legitimately engaged
> in VoIP-related trade.
>
> My interest in this is from a consulting and professional services
> angle, since that's what Evariste Systems does.  However, I do not see
> why this could not also accommodate payment information from the ITSP
> and small carrier world.
>
> There are lots of potential problems, of course:
>
> 1) Some customers would consider disclosure of any transactional
> information a violation of standing NDAs;
>
> 2) The possibility of clutter from small/irrelevant transactions, like
> $5 prepayments for O/T or calling cards;
>
> 3) Some need for moderation and standards enforcement;  there is a
> very real possibility of abuse by members by leveraging such a tool in
> frivolous business disputes, or business disputes in which their hands
> are not clean any more than the customer's;  example:  I could fail to
> deliver to a customer what I promised, and then report his refusal to
> pay as a financial misdeed;
>
> 4) Large deals and transactions often already go through credit checks
> with real credit bureaus and various ratings firms.
>
> Nevertheless, I think there would be a lot of value as well.  And
> while there is the possibility that the existence of such a tool could
> be used to intimidate/threaten customers in business disputes, the
> value of catching fraudsters who go around from VoIP company to VoIP
> company ripping each one off and disappearing into a hole might
> outweigh that.
>
> My father does, among other things, some freelance translation.  In
> that industry, there's a web site called:
>
>     http://www.paymentpractices.net/
>
> It is upon seeing this that I wondered why we do not have something
> like that in our world.
>
> Eager to hear your thoughts,
>
> -- Alex
>
> --
> Alex Balashov - Principal
> Evariste Systems
> Web     : http://www.evaristesys.com/
> Tel     : (+1) (678) 954-0670
> Direct  : (+1) (678) 954-0671
>
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