Background checks are a significant part of the hiring process and can help give employers peace of mind. However, they can contain mistakes that may be detrimental to you. Whether it’s due to identity theft or human error, these mistakes should be fixed as quickly as possible, so they don’t harm your reputation or finances. Your best bet is to hire experienced consumer attorneys who understand the risks of background check errors.
Who Requests a Background Check?
Many entities will conduct background checks on you whether you’re seeking a job, an apartment, or a car loan. These include:
- Employers
- Landlords and property managers
- Attorneys, court officials, and law enforcement agencies
- Doctors and other providers of medical care (including dentists)
- Insurance companies that issue policies covering real estate acquisitions and employment practices (e.g., auto or health insurance)
- Credit bureaus
- And more
- You can even conduct your own background check. Doing so can actually be a great way to identify potential errors ahead of time.
What are some Common Background Check Errors?
While background checks are essential to hiring the right people, they can cause problems when they contain errors. Unfortunately, these issues often go unnoticed because the background check harm doesn’t come to light until you request a report.
In many cases, this is because someone made a mistake like:
- Transposition of the Social Security Number’s digits
- Inaccurate or missing data in original documents
- False criminal histories
- Information that has expired and should be removed
- Due to mistaken identity, your background check may reveal the criminal histories of someone else
- Due to a data mix-up, information about another person appeared on your background check
How can Background Check Errors Harm Thousands Workers?
Your good reputation can be harmed by incorrect background check errors. These errors could cause you to lose out on a job opportunity, not get a promotion or loan and not get a rental apartment. You need to fight back against these errors with professional advice on your side.
Some of the more common ways false background check errors harm people include:
1 – Harm to Public Image
Background checks are used by employers, landlords, and others to screen potential employees, tenants, and customers. An inaccurate background check can harm your reputation and ability to rent an apartment or get a job. You may be confused with a murderer or thief, and no one in your community will want to trust you when word gets out about the error. Quality consumer attorneys can remedy these issues so your reputation is squeaky clean again.
2 – Lower the Chance of Renting an Apartment
As a renter, it’s essential to realize that background check errors harm people all the time in the rental industry. If you are looking at renting an apartment, your potential landlord will likely perform one on you. Background checks can be used to determine if you are a good tenant by checking your credit score and criminal record. If there are any inaccuracies on your background check report, it could lead to being denied the opportunity to rent an apartment.
3 – Cost You a Job Opportunity
Even if your background check report is clean, it doesn’t mean you will get a job. Employers can use the information on your lawyer background checks to verify that you are who you say you are—no matter how truthful your resume might be. You may have an outstanding CV, but a single report with an error can torpedo your chance at career advancement.
4 – Make it Harder to do Business
You might think the best way to protect your good name is to avoid background check errors altogether. However, you should know that many businesses use them as a standard screening process before doing business with their employees and customers. For example, they may ask you to provide proof of identity or submit to a criminal background check before entering into a partnership. That is a frequent example we see in our practice.
5 – Denial of Various Credit Products
Finally, incorrect credit reports can lead to you being denied loans and credit cards. This can make it more difficult for you to buy a car or house, as well as get a personal loan for medical bills or growing debt. The reason is that banks and lenders use credit reports to determine whether you are a reasonable risk. If they see errors in your report, they may decide they don’t want to lend money to someone who has made mistakes in their financial past.
6 – Lead to Years of Financial Struggle
If an error is found on your report and then corrected but still shows up again after it’s been fixed—and this happens several times over several months or years—it could lead landlords and employers to wonder why they should trust you.
What to Do if Your Report has an Error?
If your background check report contains inaccurate information, you can file a dispute with the credit bureau. You should also directly contact the agency that is showing the error on your report, so they put a stop to the issue.
If you suffer from emotional or financial damage due to the error, there are legal steps you can take to get compensation.
That is where we can help. Our experienced attorneys have years of directly combating background check errors on your professional and personal reputations. So give us a call today to get started!