Client/Consumer FAQ

Apart from the FCRA’s provisions protecting information provided through organizations such as GroupOne, providing information on previous employees may subject employers to state causes of action for libel, slander, or defamation.

Recognizing this, many employers will not provide other employers termination reasons for previous employees. Likewise, an employer using anecdotal or undocumented information (such as might be received from former co-workers or even managers) in making employment decisions may be subjected to other causes of action. GroupOne’s processes protect both employers under the umbrella of the FCRA.

No, but it is important that facilities receiving termination information participate in a reciprocal relationship with our other employer clients.

We have professional help desk staff available during our extended business hours, so you can be sure to speak to a real person when you have any questions. Our help desk staff is responsible for researching and answering your questions, and responding with an answer on the same business day.

Yes, deferred adjudication is reportable. It is not a conviction; however, the individual has admitted guilt in court.

At your request, a CRA must give you the information in your file, and a list of everyone who has requested it recently.

There is no charge for the report if a person has taken action against you because of information supplied by the CRA, if you request the report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. You also are entitled to one free report every twelve months upon request if you certify that

• you are unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60 days
• you are on welfare,
• your report is inaccurate due to fraud.

Otherwise, a CRA may charge you up to $10.50

(For more information click here for A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act)

The goal of GroupOne is to provide accurate information.

If you tell a CRA that your file contains inaccurate information, the CRA must reinvestigate the items (usually within 30 days) by presenting to its information source all relevant evidence you submit, unless your dispute is frivolous. The source must review your evidence and report its findings to the CRA. (The source also must advise national CRAs to which it has provided the data of any error.) The CRA must give you a written report of the reinvestigation, and a copy of your report if the reinvestigation results in any change. If the CRA’s reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, you may add a brief statement to your file. The CRA must normally include a summary of your statement in future reports. If an item is deleted or a dispute statement is filed, you may ask that anyone who has recently received your report be notified of the change.

Inaccurate information must be corrected or deleted. A CRA must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information from its files, usually within 30 days after you dispute it. However, the CRA is not required to remove accurate data from your file unless it is outdated (as described below) or cannot be verified. If your dispute results in any change to your report, the CRA cannot reinsert into your file a disputed item unless the information source verifies its accuracy and completeness. In addition, the CRA must give you a written notice telling you it has reinserted the item. The notice must include the name, address and phone number of the information source.

You can dispute inaccurate items with the source of the information. If you tell anyone—such as a creditor who reports to a CRA—that you dispute an item, they may not then report the information to a CRA without including a notice of your dispute. In addition, once you’ve notified the source of the error in writing, it may not continue to report the information if it is, in fact, an error.

(For more information click here for A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act)

Access to your file is limited. A CRA may provide information about you only to people with a need recognized by the FCRA—usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business.

Your consent is required for reports that are provided to employers, or reports that contain medical information. A CRA may not give out information about you to your employer, or prospective employer, without your written consent. A CRA may not report medical information about you to creditors, insurers, or employers without your permission.

(For more information click here for A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act)

To determine a candidate’s residential address history, GroupOne Services utilizes the Previous Address Locator. Information provided by this service is collected from a nationwide database with more than 400 sources. These sources include credit bureaus, U.S. Postal Change of Addresses, property records, telephone directories, magazine subscriptions and other public and consumer data sources. Due to the broad scope of data, any additional information contained in this report not listed in your name is not necessarily an indication of fraudulent use or identity theft. The only information used by GroupOne from the Previous Address Locator is to confirm the candidate’s name as well as determine address history that corresponds with that name. If there is address history provided listed under a different name, we disregard those addresses.

Searching court records using a person’s Social Security number is an inaccurate belief. Court records are searched by a person’s name and then, in most cases, confirmed by the date of birth. A Social Security number (SSN) is frequently not even listed on court records. For this reason, it is imperative to search past aliases and/or maiden names your applicant has used over a seven-year period to determine if court cases where filed. The same can be true for education and employment verifications. Some schools and employers still verify a person’s employment or education using the person’s name, not their SSN. Past aliases and maiden names are provided by the Previous Address Locator.

Yes, your applicant’s date of birth is needed to run a background check. GroupOne must have this information as a second identifier for criminal searches as most cases are filed using a person’s name and date of birth. With the date of birth, we are able to match corresponding court files to your applicant. Without it, there is a possibility court cases not belonging to your applicant will be erroneously reported. For background screening, collecting a date of birth is legally permissible and completed when the applicant provides their written authorization for the background check.

There are a several reasons including:

Natural Disasters
In the unfortunate event of a natural disaster, court records can be delayed in the impacted areas due to damage and/or destruction. When this happens, we are in continuous contact with the courthouse to get an update when records will be accessible.

Court Clerk Processing
Some county courthouses require court record research to be conducted by the court clerk. In these instances, we are at the mercy of the court clerk to get us information.

Court Holidays
There are numerous court holidays which cause delays. Federal holidays are the same for all federal courts but, at the county level, holidays vary based on the state and, in some cases, the county. Regardless of the reason, your request will be updated regularly to include information on the delay and the date we expect to receive results.

GroupOne will verify information provided by the candidate regarding their past and/or current employers. Information verified includes dates of employment, position held, salary and eligibility for rehire. We will also attempt to verify reason for separation.

GroupOne recommends verification of the candidate’s highest level of education. Information includes dates of attendance, degree/major and graduation confirmation.

Some education and employment verifications are only available by utilizing a third-party automated system. These systems often require a fee. In addition, we may be assessed a fee if we need to request information by U.S. mail. Additional fees may result from counties with court clerk statutory fees. These will be passed through to your organization at no additional markup. Case copies (document copies) may also result in additional fees. We only pass on additional fees to your organization that we have incurred due to processing verifications or a request for case copies.

If you have not been invoiced, please contact your Account Manager or Sales Representative. If you have been invoiced, please review the “View Invoice” section. You will see the package price along with the components of a specific package.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted in 1970 to promote accuracy, fairness and the privacy of personal information assembled by Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs). CRAs assemble reports on individuals for businesses, including credit card companies, banks, employers, landlords and others. The FCRA provides important protections for credit reports, consumer investigatory reports and employment background checks. The Act’s primary protection requires that CRAs follow “reasonable procedures” to protect the confidentiality, accuracy and relevance of credit information. For more information, please read the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Permissible Purpose is your organization’s reason for conducting background checks. In most cases, this is for employment purposes. Under Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, there are certain permissible purposes an organization must have before initiating a background screening program. The defined permissible purposes include, but are not limited to:

• Employment purposes
• The applicant’s written authorization

Disclosure and authorization is a required step under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Disclosure and Authorization Form is documentation used to obtain the candidate’s prior authorization for the background check. Prior authorization is required before initiating a background check on any individual.

Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action letters give the candidate the opportunity to dispute information provided in their report they believe erroneous. These steps were designed to provide candidates protection from mistakes as a result of human error, mistaken identity, outdated information, etc.

Yes, the candidate has the right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to obtain a free copy of their background screening report at their request.

Yes, many institutions will accept an electronic release. For entities not accepting an electronic release, a wet-signature release is required.