How do i verify a Microsoft partner?

[UNABLE TO USE ANY OF THE FORMATING TOOLS] As of 20140723, I see two ways to do this (and I tried both today): a) verify a Microsoft partner ID, while signing up for an Office 365 trial, and b) go to Microsoft.com">http://pinpoint.Microsoft.com and search for the company.

[A] Office 365 Trial Method (must have the partner ID number) (1) You must be an admin -- of course you probably would be if you're trying to verify a Microsoft partner

(2) Login to the Office 365 portal, and go to the "Office 365 admin center" (3) Click on the "billing" link in the left nav area -- this will list your subscription or subscriptions. (4) Under the "SUBSCRIPTION" column header, click on the name of your trial subscription (in my case, it's "Office 365 Enterprise E3 Trial"); this opens the page called "Subscription details" (5) On the bottom right, look for "partner information" and click on the "add" button; this opens the pop-in window entitled "partner information (optional)" (6) In the "Microsoft partner ID" field, enter the partner ID, and click the "check ID" button = The ID will either be verified, or they will tell you that the partner ID does not exist.

[B] Microsoft Pinpoint Method (must have the company name)

(1) Anyone can do this

(2) Go toMicrosoft.com">http://pinpoint.Microsoft.com

In the right hand side list of nav links entitled "What are you looking for?" click on the link entitled "Companies" which opens the Pipoint directory (3) Search under two different fields: a) "City, State or Zip Code" and b) "keyWords" (4) Choose your preferred search option -- if you want a list of all the partners in a certain area, choose the first option; if you want to find a specific company, choose the second (5) If you know the company name, enter it or a partial name in the keyWord search field, and hit enter = If the company is a partner, they should be included in this directory of more than 19,000