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Frequently asked questions.
Client Service Questions
Why are there multiple names on the social security trace?
What is an alias?
When will my background check be done?
Why do I need to order a county level or statewide search if I order the National Criminal Index Plus? Won't this cover the entire country?
How do I get credit reports on my applicants?
Accounting Questions
What is auto-pay and how do I sign up?
Am I on auto-pay?
How often do you invoice?
Why am I receiving a statement?
How do I change the contact information for my invoices?
What are my payment terms?
Why do you limit invoice information to those listed as authorized, it’s just an invoice?
My invoice shows duplicate searches for a candidate (2 or more).
My invoice shows the same service with different prices?
Can I cancel a search?
I made a mistake inputting an accounting code, can this be changed before my invoice is issued?
I was billed incorrectly and am due a credit. When will I get it?
Q: Why are there multiple names on the social security trace?
A: The Social Security Trace has two purposes. The first the verify that the Social Security Administration issued the number and the second to obtain and address history of where the applicant has been and/or addresses that are associated with the subject. The Social Security Administration verifies that they issued the number; they do not verify the owner of the Social Security Number. For the second stage of the search the applicant SSN is referenced against over 300 public databases. These databases are built as an individual goes about their life. Each time an individual provides their personal information including name, socials security number and address, an entry is made in a database. This information is gathered from transactions including purchasing a car, to gym memberships, mortgage loans, and transferring utilities.
Q: What is an alias?
A: An alias is simply a different name than what was requested by the client. Common aliases include maiden names, adopted names, and nicknames such as Bill for William. While running criminal records on aliases are the clients' choice, it is important to understand how criminal records are stored and documented before making this decision. Criminal records are stored by name (Last Name, First Name i.e., Smith, William) the same way you may store your personnel files in the office. When our court retrievers are looking for criminal records in the court house, they look for the name provided. Therefore, if we provide William Smith, they would not also look for Billie Smith unless we specifically order the search under that name as well. The same goes for maiden names, if a woman was Mary Smith for the first 25 years of her life, and then married to become Mary Jones, our court retriever would not look in the S file for Mary Smith unless that search was specifically ordered, they would only look for Mary Jones, the current name of your applicant.
Q: When will my background check be done?
A: At Credential Check Corporation we take pride in our speedy turnaround time. The average background check including criminal searches and verifications is completed within 24 to 72 hours. International searches tend to take longer, and a general ETA can be given at the time the order is placed. If a turnaround time is extended past 48 hours, Credential Check will notate this in the individual orders in the status detail notes. These status detail notes are emailed to clients by 5:30 AM EST Monday through Friday.
Q: Why do I need to order a county level or statewide search if I order the National Criminal Index Plus? Won't this cover the entire country?
A: Our National Criminal Index Plus (NCIP) references over 223 sources includes states' sexual offender registries, county records, state repositories, Department of Corrections' records, the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), Interpol, the Denied Persons list, and others. (for a complete list please visit www.credentialcheck.com/help).
While the NCIP database is vast, the Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits employers from making an adverse decision based soley on the results of a database. For this reason, Credential Check Corporation verifies any adverse information found in the NCIP by researching the case also at the county level. There is no law that requires county courts to report to the state repository, and certainly no law to require state repositories to report to national databases, therefore the NCIP is not a one-stop comprehensive search. The NCIP should be used in conjunction with county level searches.
Q: How do I get credit reports on my applicants?
A: Credential Check Corporation is a consumer reporting agency (CRA) according to the FACT Act of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. As a CRA, we contract through various direct sources to provide background investigation reports for employment purposes. Through our relationship with TransUnion, we are required through contractual obligations to perform an onsite inspection for any client requesting credit reports on applicants or employees. All three credit bureaus maintain this level of security. The reasoning behind the onsite inspection is to ensure that you are operating the business as you say, and that the credit reports are truly for employment purposes.
The credit bureaus enforce this obligation upon CRAs because of the discovery of a large security breach which involved two CRAs who were providing credit reports to what they thought was a business. In fact, the “company” they were providing credit reports to two men in their home who were using the information to steal people’s identity. Now, they require us to physically visit your workplace. The bureaus have pre-approved a few vendors to send to businesses – we work with TrendSource. The inspectors verify the following information:
Sign on exterior of building which displays company name
Marketing Material/Business cards which display company name
Locking file cabinets
Shredder
Password-locked computers
The inspector will take a picture of your workspace and basically verify that you are operating appropriately for the business you state.
Q: What is auto-pay and how do I sign up?
Our auto pay program accepts credit cards for ease of search, payment, and reduced paper shuffling. We accept Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, and you get the benefit of your card premiums (airline miles, discounts on hotels, etc). We process your payment at the time we process your invoice – you do not have to prepay at the time you input your candidate in the system – and you receive a separate email receipt of payment for your records. If you are not already taking advantage of this program please log on to our website and visit our forms section to obtain the credit card authorization form to get set up.
Q: Am I on auto-pay?
If you are signed up for auto-pay you will receive two separate electronic communications when we process our invoices. One message will include your detailed PDF invoice and the second message will be your payment receipt. If you are not receiving the notice of payment receipt then you are either not yet taking advantage of this convenient program or there has been a processing issue with your card (and we will be in touch with you).
Q: How often do you invoice?
We invoice twice a month on the 1st business day and the first business day after the 15th of the month. Invoices are only sent to accounts with completed activity.
Q: Why am I receiving a statement?
We provide a monthly statement to our clients to use as a tool to safeguard against any misplaced invoices. We know that making timely payments is important to you so we give you a snapshot of your account at approximately the 10th of the month. There is no need to print it out. You can review it on-line and if you are missing anything listed on the statement drop us a note and we will be happy to provide a copy of the original invoice.
Q: How do I change the contact information for my invoices?
Simply submit a written request to invoice@credentialcheck.com with your specific request for your invoices and/or credit card payment receipts and we will be happy to update your account. We do require the request be submitted from your company email account and include a complete signature block including your title and contact information in case we have any questions.
Q: What are my payment terms?
Our clients’ payment terms depend on their specific service agreement and you should refer to that or any amendment to your account for specific dates.
Q: Why do you limit invoice information to those listed as authorized, it’s just an invoice?
We are very careful with sharing information as many of our clients do not share the actual invoices with their accounting departments. They consider the information as it relates to the types of searches they do, to be confidential. To protect each of our clients’ internal policies we adhere to a strict policy of not sharing invoices with individuals not specifically identified by current authorized users. If you contact us and need a copy of an invoice, we do offer to re-send the material to the authorized party and let them know you are looking for it so they can forward if appropriate.
Q: My invoice shows duplicate searches for a candidate (2 or more).
Your invoice will list the candidate name as it was input in the Credential Check or APPOL systems. If your candidate has one or more aliases and we do alias searches for you, these will appear as multiple repeat items for the same candidate. To confirm there are not duplicate searches run, refer to your report results to see a listing of all identified aliases searched.
Q: My invoice shows the same service with different prices?
Your invoice will reflect the cost of the service and any applicable fees associated with a search. When a candidate has lived in more than one county or state, our searches often run into separate and different fees to access the information depending on the geographical location. In some cases the states or counties require a fee to access the information to complete your Motor Vehicle Search, County Search, Statewide Search, Education or Employment Verification. You would run into the same fees if you ran these searches yourself.
Q: Can I cancel a search?
Please contact our Client Service Team at (888) 689-2000 right away to see if they are able to help you stop a search once you have submitted it.
Q: I made a mistake inputting an accounting code, can this be changed before my invoice is issued?
Unfortunately, one of the risks of being able to control your own invoicing is that any item you input is a permanent record once submitted. We are unable to change the information without creating a new search, which has a new cost. When you are doing your review before submitting your candidate profile, make sure to also check your accounting code so you do not run into these issues.
Q: I was billed incorrectly and am due a credit. When will I get it?
Please contact us as soon as you review your invoice to let us know if you think you have located an error on your invoice. We will work with our Client Service Team to verify the information and if it was an error a credit will be issued. If you are a credit card client we will process a refund on your charge card for the amount due back to you. If you have not yet switched to payment by credit card you will receive a credit memo which can be used to offset the current invoice or a future one if you paid the original item in full.
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For additional information about our services, contact us and we'll be glad to assist you.
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