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We are a startup and trying to register for the Apple Developer Program. Apple requires a DUNS number for it, and the Apple Developer website says that we can get one for FREE from D and B.

We contacted D and B, and they sold us a service for one time payment of about 300 USD, and they said that's what Apple requires. When we tried to register for the program, Apple says they cannot verify our DUNS number and asked us to get in touch with D and B again. I was just on the phone with D and B, and they are trying to sell me another service, called Credibility report or something for 700 USD/year.

Is that right? Can anyone tell me what level of D and B service do we need to register for Apple developer program?

UPDATE: After reading this thread, somebody contacted me from D&B, and offered to return my 300 dollars. Since my credit card had expired since then, they sent me a check and the check came from D&B (not DnB). I checked my old statements, the original charge on my card was from D&B too.

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+!. Will the person who down voted this question post the reason why? – Global nomad Jul 9 '12 at 19:54
Do you know that D&B charges Egyptian companies for $500 and GCC companies for $250 without the free option for this DUNS number ?!! What kind of scam is this ?! – user19637 Sep 12 '12 at 13:26
I just contacted DNB.com people, through the number on their website. And they told me I have to wait for 30 to 45 days to get a DNB number for free. Which is ridiculous. I will call Apple and see what they suggest. – user19703 Sep 17 '12 at 18:25

7 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

The DUNS number requirement is new, and it seems like Apple has not quite got the process figured out yet. To make matters worse, D&B is totally confusing and shady.

You can get a DUNS number for free from https://iupdate.dnb.com. However, when we signed up there, we were then contacted by someone with a DandB.com email address requesting additional information. When we spoke on the phone with them, they told us it costs $450. We asked them about the free option that was advertised online, but they told us again it costs $450. So we paid them $450. Later we did some more research online and realized we were scammed.

Here's the problem: DnB.com & DandB.com are 2 different companies, offering 2 different services! It's like Experian, which provides a personal credit score that you can access for free, and freecreditscore.com, which provides a credit score monitoring service for a fee. We signed up through DnB, the people who actually provide the DUNS number, but the representative/sales person/scam artist we spoke with was from DandB. They did not explain that they were from a different company and they did not explain what we were paying $450 to sign up for (apparently an annual subscription for their credit monitoring service - so actually they would have asked us to pay up again in 1 year)!

Anyway, the only reason we managed to learn all of this is that I complained to them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DandB) about the apparent shakedown. To my surprise, a resolution representative actually contacted us, explained everything, and gave us a full refund. She said the sales rep. who scammed us had been "dealt with", so hopefully the shady and aggressive sales tactics will stop. But in any case, hopefully others will see this and be warned.

Now, if we could just get Apple to figure things out and finally allow us to complete our registration!

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Dnb.com and DandB.com are the same company. The practice you've described is their standard business practice, and I've encountered it myself. They wouldn't give you a refund had it not be the same company. – littleadv Jul 22 '12 at 23:42
@littleadv According to the woman we talked to from DandB.com, they used to be the same company but aren't any longer. It was DandB.com that scammed us, but also DandB.com that gave us the refund. However, it does seem like they are at least sharing some data, since DandB.com was somehow able to find out that we had just applied for a DUNS number from DnB.com. – starya Jul 24 '12 at 2:42
Its the same company. Legal structure aside (which allows them to make the claim that "its not us, its them") - look at their websites. They share everything - names, trademarks, logos, and of course - information. – littleadv Jul 24 '12 at 3:00
I was told that, as an LLC, without the $300 'verified' DUNS number my business would not have the liability protection, and that the free DUNS number was like an un-activated credit card. That doesn't sound right? – John Clayton Sep 13 '12 at 16:30
Well, not sure what that's supposed to mean. However, I can say that for the purposes of registering an Apple Developer account, you do not need to pay anything. The free DUNS number will work just fine. – starya Sep 17 '12 at 2:48
up vote 4 down vote

D&B provides the DUNS number for free. You don't need to subscribe to any of their services for that. You should insist on that with the representatives (which are sales people) and not let them push you into purchasing something. You can also subscribe online (for free) here.

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I was actually on phone with Apple Developer Customer Care, and they sorted out the issue. And you are right, I didn't even need the 300 USD package. Those people are liars and deceivers. – royal1122 Jul 9 '12 at 18:54
up vote 2 down vote

It's really disastrous that Apple would partner with such a scummy old school shakedown operation with 18th century computers and 16th century corporate values.

Seriously - we just got our DUNS (DUNCE?) # on Monday, and then when it didn't work on the Apple form, we got another email informing us that it may take up to 14 days for the # to work. What kind of computers do these nimrods use that take 14 days to propagate data?

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up vote 2 down vote

I just talked to Apple over the phone now, this is what he told me to do.

  1. Go to dnb.com, chose your country from the drop-down in the upper right corner.
  2. Call your country's customer service (should find the phone no. on their page)
  3. Ask for your DUNS number, it's free, and took them 10 second.

I'm not sure if this applies to all countries (I'm Norwegian), but it did for me.

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This is not entirely true. It MAY be true if you ALREADY have a DUNS number, but if you have never done it before, it can take up to 30 days. On the phone, they only try to sell you an expedited 5 day service. I COMPLETELY AGREE on WHY Apple would associate and be dependent on such a WEASEL-LIKE company. For a company who likes to hit things with the EASY STICK, they not only made it a frustrating process - they made themselves dependent on this SLOW SNAIL-LIKE COMPANY. Shame. – B-Money Sep 20 '12 at 21:43
up vote 1 down vote

When I registered our business with the Apple Developer Program, about a month ago, there was no such thing required. Just a signed copy of the articles of incorporation from the state. I'm not sure what this DUNS number is all about. Sounds like a scam to me. I would call up Apple and ask them about it.

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up vote 1 down vote

I ran into this issue in the past as well. My startup is registered in Delaware as an LLC, and DUNS actually had a number without us registering or anything.

You do have to call, but I was just polite, asked nicely for the number, explaining it was for a service from Apple, and the D&B Rep was able to give me the number in only a few moments.

he DID try to get me to sign up for a $1700/year service to get a credit rating with D&B, which we have yet to do. It seems to be a way to easily get a credit score with them. However, we're taking the chance that working closely with our bank will get us a better relationship, and the ability to secure loans for Apple Hardware, etc, down the road.

Charlie

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up vote 0 down vote

You need this number as a requirement from Apple. It takes up to 30 days for a FREE one or 5 days for a paid expedited service.

You can search for your company on this page to see if you have one. In Australia for instance, I hear that you get a number when you register your company, so all you need to do is search and find it.

http://www.dnb.com.au/express/

if you are in the USA etc, get ready to be either:

  1. Frustrated
  2. Ripped-off
  3. Both
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