Central Business Funding Reviews: Is This Lender Right for You?
Everything You Need to Know About Central Business Funding
If you’re a small business, the funding process can be tough.
The excitement about the growth that often follows securing small business loans can easily be hampered by how disheartening the very process of securing that funding is. With rejection after rejection and hard credit inquiry after hard credit inquiry, the road to small business funding is a tumultuous one.
That’s why many small business owners will jump without much hesitation or research at an offer for a business funding consultant. A business owner on the search for funding is in a vulnerable state full of anticipation and excitement. Unfortunately, many questionable online companies have learned how to legally take advantage of this.
You might’ve come across Central Business Funding reviews in your search for a small business loan. Unfortunately, Central Business Funding is just another name on the long list of companies who manage to scam small business owners out of their hard-earned money time and time again.
Let’s iron out all the details of this self-titled business funding consultant before you decide to work with Central Business Funding.
The Rundown on Central Business Funding
When you do any kind of research about Central Business Funding online, it’s pretty difficult to get your hands on any neutral information.
For starters, you have access to their own website, which is—needless to say—not quite helpful in securing unbiased information.
Other than that, pretty much all the other information you’ll be able to access on Central Business Funding is through mostly angry customer reviews.
Quite frankly, this is a red flag.
As a rule, if you’re not able to get any third-party information on a company—lender, consultant, or otherwise—then it’s probably wise to avoid doing business with them.
And this rule applies even if a company’s services seem completely harmless—based on their own description of themselves, Central Business Funding could theoretically be a useful resource for small business owners looking for funding. The list of the services they claim to offer—which we’ll explore in detail in a second—all sound like they can only help a business owner in need of guidance.
However, the other non-partial source of information on Central Business Funding begs to differ. Indeed, almost all Central Business Funding reviews are written in anger after being unexpectedly charged for services. Though these complaints are important to note, they also don’t deliver much concrete, verifiable information.
As such, with this guide, we’re trying to fill the gap between the two sides with some facts.
Let’s dive into what we know about Central Business Funding.
Services Central Business Funding Offers
For starters, we’ll need to take a microscope to all of the the services that Central Business Funding’s website says they offer. To be sure, they will charge you for any and all of these products, even if they do it without your being aware that you’re receiving a service.
Basically, these services are all vague for a reason—”consulting,””assessment,” and “access” are all very intangible services that they can claim to have provided without your knowing. This makes it very easy for Central Business Funding to get you with sneaky charges, but to do so in a way that’s technically legal.
Central Business Funding reviews are often complaints of unexpected charges, and responses to these complaints suggesting that all the charges were fair.
Put simply, if you’re going to go down the path of seeing what Central Business Funding can offer your business, be sure to keep an eye out for any vague services that they could charge you for, especially if they have your credit card information.
We’ll break down the list of each of these services so you can know what exactly it all means.
Let’s take a look.
Funding Assessments
To start off, let’s take a look at what Central Business Funding might mean by “funding assessments.”
Essentially, funding assessments are really just their telling you whether or not your business might be able to qualify for funding. Simple as that.
Expert Consulting
Now, if there’s one thing you learn from this article, we want it to be that any company claiming to be an “expert” with no supplementary information merits a healthy dose of skepticism.
When you read this, your first thought ought to be, “Expert consulting on what?”
Yet again, this is another vague, intangible service that Central Business Funding can claim they provided to you if they gave you even a single bit of advice.
Loan Package Preparation
While this service that Central Business Funding offers is a little less vague, it’s still a pretty bright red flag.
Buy and large, if a service offers to repair your credit for you, then you should probably run in the opposite direction.
“Loan package preparation” is essentially just another way of saying “business credit repair,” which is a service that many shady loan services offer.
By and large, if a service offers to repair your credit for you, then you should probably run in the opposite direction.
As exciting as the idea of immediately improving your credit sounds, the only real way to build or rebuild your credit is through responsible borrowing. And no funding consultant can do that for you.
Business Plan Development
Next up, Central Business Funding’s website also says that it offers business plan development. However, upon searching for more info about this service they provide, all they tell you is how important a business plan is, not how they’ll help develop or improve yours.
Though this service might prove to be more concrete than their other offerings, it’s still up in the air how successfully they can provide it to business owners like you.
Funding Source Access
Yet another pale promise of a service, “funding source access” is never something that you should pay for. And according to Central Business Funding reviews, they’ll likely charge you for it.
At the end of the day, you can likely access any of the lenders that Central Business Funding works with on your own, for free. As such, try to avoid any company like this one that tries to charge you directly for connecting you with lenders.
BizFunding Products
Under this tab, Central Business Funding files “Smart Funding Strategy Programs.”
This is another service that the company says will better position you to acquire funding. Nonetheless, they don’t delineate how exactly they’ll do it, or share any examples of previous success.
Merchant Accounts
Finally, Central Business Funding offers to set up merchant accounts for small businesses.
What does that mean, exactly?
Well, it essentially means they’ll set your business up to do credit card transactions if it isn’t already. While merchant accounts are crucial for small businesses, especially if they’re hoping to secure a merchant cash advance, they are many more reputable ways of going about securing them.
The Main Major Complaint Against Central Business Funding
Though Central Business Funding reviews come with many shades and nuances, most complaints against them boil down to one simple thing—they charge you when you’re not fully aware that you’re going to be charged.
Many Central Business Funding reviews also come with responses from the business citing agreements that customers signed that stated the amounts they would be charged. Even if these statements are something that the customers are signing, the anger that so many of them react with indicates a severe lack of transparency and quality services.
At the end of the day, even if Central Business Funding provides their customers with a written agreement saying they’ll have to pay, if this many customers are taken aback by the payments that they charge to their account, then something’s not being communicated properly.
Red Flags to Look Out For in the Future
If you’ve already done business with Central Business Funding, and you’re not quite satisfied with your experience, it’s time to take a look at some red flags you can keep an eye out for in the future.
Though there are many signs that can point to questionable practices within a small business loan company, there are a few specific red flags that Central Business Funding exhibits.
Next time around, keep an eye out for these foreboding signs before you sign the dotted line.
Business Credit Repair
Though this company markets it as “loan packaging,” Central Business Funding reviews indicate that this service is essentially credit repair. And since Central Business Funding’s website doesn’t offer any indication otherwise, we thought it prudent to err on the side of caution and take these reviews’ words for it.
As a reminder, there’s unfortunately very few real shortcuts to improving your credit, and paying someone to do it for you is normally a waste of time and money.Our advice is to save the money that Central Business Funding would charge you for their loan packaging service, and dedicate it to paying off your debt as quickly as possible. This is sure-fire—and, of course, free—way to improve your personal credit score, which is the number that will weigh more heavily on your application than your business credit will.
At the end of the day, there’s no guarantee that Central Business Funding’s costly loan packaging services will improve your credit. Meanwhile, dedicating your hard-earned money to paying off your debt will always improve your credit.
Upfront Payment Requests
Quite simply, no lender or broker should be charging you upfront payments for their services without your being aware of these charges.
Actually, no lender or broker should ever be asking you for any upfront payments at all. And that’s still the case even if they’re more transparent about the charges than Central Business Funding tends to be.
These upfront charges could be presented as “registration fees,” “down payments,” or “credit check fees,” among many other titles. But don’t be fooled.
As a rule, trustworthy loan brokers work for you for free upfront, and then they take a commission from your lender once they finalize a deal for you.
If you hand over your money to a broker or loan officer upfront, then unfortunately, it’s possible that you won’t hear from them again.
Next Steps After an Unsatisfactory Experience With Central Business Funding
So, you’ve joined the ranks of customers who’ve had a less than desirable experience with Central Business Funding. Don’t be discouraged!
Though this might seem like a sign to abandon your goal of securing business funding, don’t back down. There are plenty of trustworthy companies to work with within the small business lending space—you just have to know how to find them.
Though falling into the trap of upfront payments for less-than-satisfactory services can be disheartening, your business still deserves the best funding that it can access.
Having learned from experience how to spot a company that you shouldn’t work with, now is the perfect time to find a small business loan company that you should work with.
Here are some next steps to take to continue moving forward in your search for funding for your small business.
Regroup
Take some time to debrief on your experience. The most valuable thing that you can get from a failed attempt at securing small business funding, no matter the circumstances, is what not to do next time.
Additionally, take a look at how much working with Central Business Funding cost your business—adjust your forthcoming business funding search accordingly in order to make up for the capital that you lost.
Search for a More Trustworthy Alternative
The next step is to simply start your search.
Check online lists of the top-rated loan services, and go from there. Be sure to place a lot of weight on lender’s credibility—only move forward in the process with lenders or brokers who have many third-party resources that accredit them.
Check Reviews
Once you’ve found yourself a batch of more trustworthy companies to work with, it’s time to comb through their reviews.
Though business loans can be a particularly emotional thing to review about, doing a thorough run through of all the reviews of your potential companies might reveal some surprisingly objective information.
Parse through your potential lender, brokers, or loan officers to see what other customers’ experiences with them were like, and even consider leaving a review about your experience with Central Business Funding so that other customers can come across it in their research.
Narrow down your choices based on not only which company has the highest average review rating but also which company has the most reviews.Use Free Resources and Dedicate Your Money to Paying Off Debt
Our next piece of advice folds into the red flags that you’ll need to keep an eye out for throughout your whole funding process, but we want to emphasize it as its own step.
If you learn one thing from this article, we want it to be that the services you use throughout your small business funding should be free for you. If you’re paying for them upfront, you’re funneling your business’s money into a third party that could easily waste it.
Keep your money in your business by paying off any debts it has. This will improve your credit and ultimately make the funding process much, much easier to navigate and eventually master.
Keep an Eye Out for Red Flags
Once you’ve found the most accredited company to move forward with, you’ll need to remain vigilant throughout the remainder of the process, as well.
If you spot any of the red flags we discussed previously, like upfront payments or credit repair offerings, then be sure to take a moment to reconsider your business loan company choice.
Whether you’re working directly with a lender or with a broker as a middleman, you’ll always want to keep on your toes when funding your business.
The Bottom Line for Central Business Funding
The bottom line for Central Business Funding?
To be frank, it’s probably prudent not to work with them. You’ll be able to access comparable, if not more expert, services elsewhere without having to provide an upfront downpayment like you would for Central Business Funding.
If you’ve already worked with them and regret it, we encourage you to move forward in your small business funding search with the action list we’ve provided. In the funding process, knowledge is power. So now that you’ve got all the information you lacked when working with Central Business Funding, you can feel confident in your next phase of funding your business.
