Do-it-yourself (DIY) may be a cost-effective way to paint your house, but that same method applied to background screening could make your business pay dearly in the long run.
All sorts of DIY background check websites lure you with their tempting promises:
- Instant results!
- Access to the #1 criminal conviction database in the industry!
- FREE!
- And much, much more!
But what you may not see is the disclaimer language on these sites:
COMPANY XX does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency. You may not use our service or the information it provides to make decisions about consumer credit, employers, insurance, tenant screening, or any other purposes that would require Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance.
The DIY Problem
There are two main reasons why this disclaimer language matters for your pre-employment screening:
- The results are often not comprehensive. You may be only accessing national sites, not local ones – so how can you confirm that your John A. Smith is the John Smith being shown in the results?
- The results are not FCRA compliant. If you base hiring decisions on noncompliant DIY background results, you’re setting up your company for potential lawsuits and financial losses.
How Signet Screening Can Help
Signet Screening provides fast, accurate background information through federal, state and local criminal checks and other trusted resources. Our system also provides a simple, effective method to send mandatory pre-adverse action and adverse action notices that keeps your company FCRA compliant.
For More Information
Signet Screening works closely with companies to develop the screening and hiring process that best suits their business needs. For more information about our screening services or adverse action notices, please contact us.
