Payment, verification and clear order terms
Understand the separate checks for customer identity, cardholder accounts, payment holding and posting. These steps do not eliminate risk or guarantee a credit score increase or lender decision.
Read Payment Holding & Posting Verification for the payment process.
Written by TradelineScore
Reviewed by Raquel Hudson, Editorial Reviewer
More than a decade of experience in tradeline placement, credit report analysis and client support.
TradelineScore connects buyers and cardholders through a payment process, customer identity verification, account review and published protection policies. Each step has a different purpose. Review the listing dates, order terms and limits before buying or listing an account.
The Core Protection Framework
- Payment holding: seller payment is not released before the listing’s Final Reporting Date.
- Customer identity verification: required before the order is sent to the cardholder.
- Cardholder account review: completed after an order comes in, before fulfillment.
- Posting and refund policies: qualifying claims follow the order dates and applicable terms.
1. Payment Collection and Holding
After availability is confirmed, payment is made at checkout before an approved order is released to the cardholder. Zelle payments are received and held by Confirmed Identity, an independent third-party payment and holding provider. Credit-card payments are first processed by a separate payment provider and then forwarded to Confirmed Identity. Do not pay a seller directly.
Seller payment is not released before the listing’s Final Reporting Date. Payouts are issued through Paychex. Payment may proceed on or after that date when applicable order conditions are met and no reported issue remains pending. If an issue is reported before payment is released, payment remains on hold while it is investigated and until it is resolved.
Payment holding does not eliminate fraud, prevent all payment disputes or guarantee posting or a credit outcome. See Payment Holding and the Refund Policy.
2. Customer Identity and Cardholder Account Review
Our internal team verifies the identity of the customer who will be added as an authorized user before the order is sent to the cardholder. When a broker orders for a client, that client is the person verified.
Cardholders can list a card before it is reviewed. When an order comes in, our cardholder operations team reviews the account statement and eligibility before fulfillment. This is not a government-ID identity verification process for cardholders.
Read Identity Verification and How We Verify Sellers.
Separate Steps, Separate Responsibilities
3. Posting Checks and Qualifying Remedies
Brokers are instructed to check their clients’ posting status. Direct buyers review their own credit reports, with team support when needed. Report a posting problem so our team can investigate. This does not mean TradelineScore independently checks every successful order.
The posting standard is reporting to at least two of Experian, Equifax and TransUnion by the listing’s Final Reporting Date, the last day of its displayed Reporting Window. We do not promise which two bureaus. This standard is separate from the payment-release process described above; there is no universal automatic posting check by TradelineScore.
If the line has not posted by that date and the claim qualifies, the buyer or broker is entitled to a full refund for the affected line or service, including any card-processing fee attributable to that item if charged. A replacement may be offered but is optional and cannot restrict or delay a qualifying refund.
Qualifying early removal or material service failure is covered through the agreed removal date. The applicable refund is available for the affected item; a suitable replacement may be offered but is not required instead of the refund. Ordinary cancellations and customer-caused failures follow the applicable terms and do not override qualifying guarantee remedies.
Report initial nonposting within the order-specific Dispute Period. The first documented report through the portal, email, phone or text counts; the investigation may finish later. Qualifying early-removal and material-service-failure protection continues through the agreed Removal Date. Scheduled removal on that date is not early removal. A late initial nonposting report is reviewed case by case; a full refund is not automatically guaranteed. Orders placed before the applicable policy version was published remain subject to the terms that applied when ordered. Nothing in these policies limits rights available under applicable law.
In a multi-item order, only the qualifying affected item is refunded unless every item qualifies. Promotional wallet credit used for a refunded item is restored as promotional credit under its applicable terms, not converted to cash.
Read the Posting Guarantee Policy and Refund Policy. Posting, seller payout and credit outcomes are separate; seller payment does not remove a qualifying buyer refund right.
4. Order Issues and Support
Contact support with your order number, the relevant reporting and removal dates, and an explanation of the problem. TradelineScore reviews available order records and supporting information under the applicable policies. A claim is reviewed rather than automatically accepted or denied.
Contact support@tradelinescore.com or (307) 370-1607. Do not post identity documents or sensitive identifiers in public comments. Read the Refund Policy for dispute and refund procedures.
For Buyers Specifically
- Before paying, review the displayed account details, price and fees, placement cycles, Reporting Window and Final Reporting Date. Listings describe approximately two or three billing cycles of placement. The exact scheduled Removal Date is provided after purchase in your payment receipt and order portal. Contact support if an order date is missing or unclear.
- Complete customer identity verification before the order can go to the cardholder.
- Check reporting and contact support with any problem. The Final Reporting Date is used to evaluate posting. The order-specific Dispute Period governs when initial nonposting must first be reported for the guarantee. The Removal Date ends the purchased placement and covered early-removal or material-service-failure protection under the applicable policies. Keep your order number and first documented report.
- Protection concerns qualifying service failures, not a promised score change or loan approval.
For Sellers Specifically
- Customer payment and required customer verification occur before an approved order is released to you.
- Your card is reviewed after an order arrives. Keep it eligible and follow that order’s AU and removal instructions.
- No payout before the listing’s Final Reporting Date. Reported issues can keep payout on hold afterward.
- You can pause an available AU slot or deactivate a listing without canceling existing AU obligations. Listing does not guarantee orders or income.
Read Seller Protection and How We Verify Sellers.
Sensitive Information and Its Limits
Our internal team verifies the identity of the customer who will be added as an authorized user. The customer provides their full legal name, date of birth, home address, full nine-digit Social Security number, government-issued photo ID or driver’s license, and a photo of their Social Security card or W-2.
After the required verification and order approval, the assigned cardholder receives the customer’s full legal name, date of birth, home address and full nine-digit Social Security number through the cardholder portal for authorized-user placement. Cardholders do not receive copies of the customer’s identity documents. What an issuer requests or receives varies by issuer.
Once the cardholder confirms AU placement in the portal, that sensitive customer information is removed from the cardholder’s portal view. This is not deletion from TradelineScore’s internal records. The Privacy Policy explains that there is no fixed automatic retention schedule and that deletion requests are reviewed individually; some records may be retained for business or legal reasons.
TradelineScore does not ask cardholders for their own Social Security number, full card number, CVV or PIN, or online banking credentials. Payout banking and tax information is handled through Paychex, which has its own requirements.
Read Identity Verification and the Privacy Policy before submitting information. Verification and payment holding do not eliminate data or transaction risk.
For Brokers Managing Volume
Manage orders and expected posting dates from the broker dashboard. Review live inventory and listing terms, check your clients’ posting status, and tell our team about reporting problems. These are our operating instructions; review your applicable agreement separately.
See the Broker Program for its current features.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a tradeline fails to post?
If it has not posted to at least two of the three major bureaus by the listing's Final Reporting Date and the claim qualifies, the buyer or broker receives a full refund for the affected line or service, including its attributable card-processing fee if charged. A replacement may be offered but is optional and cannot restrict or delay the qualifying refund. Report initial nonposting within the order-specific Dispute Period; see the Posting Guarantee and Refund Policy.
How are customers and cardholders reviewed?
Our internal team verifies the authorized-user customer's identity before the order goes to the cardholder. Cardholders can list before review. After an order comes in, the cardholder operations team reviews the statement and account eligibility before fulfillment. Cardholder review is not government-ID identity verification.
Does payment holding prevent chargebacks?
No. Payment holding and order documentation do not eliminate payment disputes. Nothing in the Refund Policy prevents customers from exercising rights through their card issuer, payment provider or applicable law. TradelineScore may provide relevant records when a dispute is reviewed.
How do I report a posting problem?
Contact support with your order number and relevant information. The first documented nonposting report through the portal, email, phone or text counts under the Refund Policy. The order-specific Dispute Period governs initial nonposting reports; a qualifying timely report counts even if the investigation finishes later. Late initial reports are reviewed case by case, without an automatically guaranteed full refund. Qualifying early removal or material service failure is covered through the agreed Removal Date. Scheduled removal on that date is not early removal.
Who holds payment and processes a qualifying refund?
Zelle payments are received and held by Confirmed Identity. Credit-card payments are first processed by a separate payment provider and then forwarded to Confirmed Identity. TradelineScore coordinates qualifying refunds. The provider processes the refund if it still holds the funds; TradelineScore processes it if it has received them. Refunds generally use the original payment method where possible. Processing times vary.
When can sellers be paid?
Seller payment is not released before the listing's Final Reporting Date. Payouts are issued through Paychex. Payment may proceed on or after that date when applicable order conditions are met and no reported issue remains pending. If an issue is reported before payout, payment remains on hold while investigated and until resolved. Seller payment does not remove a qualifying buyer refund right.
Compare Listings and Order Terms
Review listing dates, payment steps and protection policies before ordering. No score change or lender decision is guaranteed.