Customer Blacklist

1. What is the customer blacklist?

With your help, CenPoint creates a list of bad customers. These customers have previously been flagged by users of CenPoint because they engaged in unethical activities. This feature was specifically created to help us spot customers who frequently change their company name to escape payment and their own bad reputation. When you enter a new customer, we compare the new customer info with our blacklisted customers. If the name, phone number, or email address are a close match to a blacklisted customer you will get a potential fraud alert.

• Blacklisting a customer protects you, and our CenPoint community, so don’t blacklist a customer for personal reasons. If you need to block a customer for your company only (Bob and Sally don’t get along for example) freeze the customer instead.
• This feature was introduced January 2021. If you would like to check your existing customers against our customer blacklist go to File > Utilities > Data Utilities > Check Cust against Global Blacklist.

2. How to blacklist a customer?

There are three ways to blacklist a customer.

2a. If a newly entered customer triggers the Potential Fraud Alert message, you will simply click the “Blacklist” button.

This customer will still be added to your customer list, but they are now blacklisted.

2b. If a customer has wronged you, you may challenge them to a duel with a weapon of your choice, or you can . . .

Open the customer > go to the “Misc. 2” tab > click on “Globally and Locally Blacklist”

**WARNING: this will blacklist the customer for all users of CenPoint. If you are trying to block a customer for reasons that would NOT affect other companies, please freeze the customer instead.**

You will be required to enter your CenPoint username and password to proceed.

2C. If you would like to check your existing customers against our customer blacklist go to File > Utilities > Data Utilities > Check Cust against Global Blacklist.

3. What is the local Whitelist?

Once a customer has been blacklisted, they will remain blacklisted at the global level (the entire CenPoint network), unless you call us to discuss removal from the global blacklist. However, a blacklisted customer can be white listed for just your company (at the local level).

4. How to white list a customer?

4a. If you receive the Potential Fraud Alert message while creating a new customer, you can simply click the “White list” button.

4b. If you blacklisted a customer by accident, open the blacklisted customer > go to the “Misc. 2” tab > click the “Locally Whitelist” button.

4c. Confirm you wish to white list the customer.

4d. You must enter your CenPoint username and password to proceed.