Particularly in the case of supposed lucrative business, where a great deal of money is frequently involved, you should under no circumstances renounce security.
That is why we recommend that you heed at all costs the following advice when transacting business:
- Check, with the help of our Check List, and particularly in the case of a previously unknown supplier, whether your business partner can be regarded as reputable.
- Obtain information by way of our Hotline on whether your supplier has already made a bad impression in the industry.
- Use the facilities of commercial information services (e.g. dun & bradstreet, moody's) and credit reference agencies to check the creditworthiness of your business partner.
- Do not make advance payments without corresponding security or positive experience with the supplier.
- Insist on the handing over of documents that verify the genuineness as well as the existence of goods.
- In the case of large supplies from Asia or the USA, goods should be inspected on site during loading by independent experts.
- Use one of the following procedures as the most "secure" possible means of payment:
- Payment by way of a fiduciary or managed account.
- Transferable or non-transferable letter of credit
- Payment on collection
- Payment against original bill of lading
In you're in any doubt, put us in the picture. We'll gladly advise you and register all attempted fraud. We maintain an extensive corporate database, in which all information – both positive and negative – is stored.
The Alliance against Solar Crime stands for transparency, so that black sheep have no future in the industry.
Further support and advice can be found under links.