Questions about Reliable Screening
Questions about Credit Scores
Questions about Pre-employment Screening
Why Use Reliable Screening?
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With 14 years experience we have the knowledge and resources to get information you can trust in the time frame you need. We specialize in National Data Base and direct court searches to over 3,000 courts nationwide.
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Online service is available for your immediate response and convenience 24 hours a day.
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Live customer service agents are ready to answer questions and process requests with one hour turn around times Monday thru Friday.
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Reliable Screening never charges setup fees and has very competitive pricing.
Why Get a Background Check?
Employers
The cost of hiring the wrong applicant has become enormous. There is the chance of lawsuits from applicants, clients, for negligent hiring practices. The risk of employee embezzlement or theft has been increasing dramatically over the years. In addition, there is the hidden cost of your lost time and revenue in the hiring/ training/ turnover cycle.
Let Reliable Screening help your company save money by assisting with the task of conducting credible background checks by helping you:
- Know who you are hiring, and do it in a uniform way to prevent lawsuits;
- Provide a thorough criminal check while providing you peace of mind, not only for you, but also for your other employees and your clients;
- Check education, employment, and personnel reference verifications giving you more information to make credible hiring decisions.
- Find out if your applicants are financially responsible, or if you could have problems with garnishments, need for advancements, or initiative for theft.
FBI results from 1997-1999 show higher values for property loss associated with white-collar crime than for regular property crimes, and they have less recovery rates than regular property crimes.
Us department of Justice
Measurement of white-collar crime using UCR data
1.7 million Violent victimizations occurred in the workplace each year from 1993-1999
National Crime Victimization Survey
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Landlords
The cost of accepting the wrong tenants are always unknown. What is known by most landlords is the headache of getting rid of and cleaning up after a problem tenant. Legal proceedings can be drawn out and expensive. Tenants can trash your property causing costly repairs and remodels while owing you for past rent. All of these problems can certainly influence public and neighbors’ opinion about you and your property.
Let Reliable Screening help you save money and time with a much smaller cost of doing background checks:
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Find out if your applicants are financially responsible. Evaluate their credit score, trade line information, and public records including bankruptcies, tax liens, judgments, child support…and more
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Know who you are letting into your property with past landlord references and eviction records.
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Provide yourself, other tenants, and neighbors’ peace of mind by making your property a criminal and sex offender free area.
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Verify your applicant’s income to be sure they can afford the rent without have payment issues.
With 81 percent of large properties advertising for new tenants and 85 percent rejecting the bad ones..it is in your best interest to not pick up their leftovers!
1995 U.S. Census Bureaureau
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Questions about Credit Scores
Q: What is a credit score?
A: Credit scoring is a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit.
Information about you and your credit experiences, such as your bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts you have, late payments, collection actions, outstanding debt, and the age of your accounts, is collected from your credit application and your credit report. Using a statistical program, creditors compare this information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles. A credit scoring system awards points for each factor that helps predict who is most likely to repay a debt. A total number of points -- a credit score -- helps predict how creditworthy you are, that is, how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments when due.
Because your credit report is an important part of many credit scoring systems, it is very important to make sure it's accurate. To get copies of your report you can go to www.annualcreditreport.com You are entitled to 1 free report each year from each of the 3 credit bureaus. Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. While the credit report is free, you will have to pay for a score.
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Q: What can I do to improve my score?
A: Credit scoring models are complex and often vary among creditors and for different types of credit. If one factor changes, your score may change -- but improvement generally depends on how that factor relates to other factors considered by the model. Only the creditor can explain what might improve your score under the particular model used to evaluate your credit application.
Nevertheless, scoring models generally evaluate the following types of information in your credit report:
- Have you paid your bills on time? Payment history typically is a significant factor. It is likely that your score will be affected negatively if you have paid bills late, had an account referred to collections, or declared bankruptcy, if that history is reflected on your credit report.
- What is your outstanding debt? Many scoring models evaluate the amount of debt you have compared to your credit limits. If the amount you owe is close to your credit limit it is likely to have a negative effect on your score.
- How long is your credit history? Generally, models consider the length of your credit track record. An insufficient credit history may have an effect on your score, but that can be offset by other factors, such as timely payments and low balances.
- Have you applied for new credit recently? Many scoring models consider whether you have applied for credit recently by looking at "inquiries" on your credit report when you apply for credit. If you have applied for too many new accounts recently, it may negatively affect your score. However, not all inquiries are counted. Inquiries by creditors who are monitoring your account or looking at credit reports to make "prescreened" credit offers are not counted. Screening report inquiries for tenant or employment are not counted.
- How many and what types of credit accounts do you have? Although it is generally good to have established credit accounts, too many credit card accounts may have a negative effect on your score. In addition, many models consider the type of credit accounts you have. For example, under some scoring models, loans from finance companies may negatively affect your credit score.
To improve your credit score under most models, concentrate on paying your bills on time, paying down outstanding balances, and not taking on new debt. It's likely to take some time to improve your score significantly.
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Q: Do I have to have written consent from an applicant to run a credit check?
A: Yes. You must have the written consent of the applicant to obtain a copy of their credit file. It is illegal to obtain someone's credit history without their consent. Failure to obtain written consent could lead to legal proceedings against you by the applicant or the credit repository.
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Q: Why was there no credit file found on my prospective tenant?
A: There are only a few reasons why there is no credit file on an Individual.
- Prospective Applicant is very young and has not yet established a credit history.
- Prospective Applicant is on a Disability or Income Assistance Allowance and does not have a credit file.
- Prospective Applicant has been incarcerated for a long period of time and thus has not had an opportunity to establish a credit history.
- Prospective Applicant is a new arrival to the country and has not yet established a credit history.
- Prospective Applicant has provided you with false information to ensure that you do not find his/her credit history. Some applicants misspell their name, provide a wrong date of birth, invalid Social Security Number, or illegible application.
- Accounts are being reported to only one credit bureau in which case a second bureau should be pulled.
No credit file is a red flag in most instances and your screening process should include further due diligence. Visit www.criminalfraud.com for tips.
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Q: What is negligent hiring and negligent referral?
A: For detailed information see Your Company’s Reputation: You Are Who You Hire
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We are committed to providing you the best information in the least amount of time at a fair and affordable price. Whether you are a nationwide employer or a single unit landlord. We guarantee great customer service!
We welcome you to give Reliable Screening a try!
