It's never been more important to use a reputable screening provider after screening business receives $8.5 million penalty for violating the FCRA

Never has it been so important to use a screening company with a great reputation. Reports by Bloomberg and Law360 state that a leading international screening business have incurred $6 million in monetary relief to affected consumers, and a $2.5 million civil money penalty to resolve allegations that they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to employ reasonable procedures to ensure the best possible accuracy of the information and reporting they were supplying.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said, it alleges that the company’s procedures created a heightened risk claiming that its consumer reports would include criminal records belonging to another individual with the same name as the applicant. The agency also alleges that they had a practice of including “high-risk indicators” in its reports without taking any steps to verify the accuracy of them. The indicators, which were obtained from a third party, characterised addresses that the consumer may have lived at as “high risk,” CFPB said.

CFPB also claims that they violated FCRA by reporting criminal history information and other adverse information about consumers outside of the allowable reporting period.

This level of misconduct can cause employers to be cautious about which screening provider they choose and for good reason. Here at Security Watchdog, we pride ourselves on being trusted by a number of global clients and have enjoyed relationships of over 20 years making us the background checking business you can trust.