Background Screening - FAQ

Background Screening - General Questions

• How do clients order reports through AAA Credit Screening Services?

  
  
  

  If you have never ordered from AAA Credit Screening Services, you will need to sign up by completing the Customer Service Agreement. This form will tell us more about you and the type of reports that you will be ordering. Once you have completed the form, our customer service department will contact and walk you through the quick setup process.
  
  

• What information does my applicant need to provide to run a credit report?

  
  
  AAA Credit Screening services needs the following information from your applicant:
  
  
  • Their Full Name
  • Social Security Number
  • Current Address
  • Signature Authorizing AAACSS to run a credit report on your behalf
  
  

• Can I order a background check on myself?

  
  
  

  Due to legal restrictions, AAA Credit Screening Services cannot run background checks on individuals for personal use.
  
  

• When I order a credit report, how far back will it go?

  
  
  

  Credit reports will include the past 7-years of credit history after the date of last activity on an account. This means that for a credit card your applicant may have had since 1990, the account will still show up in 2019 if they have made a purchase or payment on that account within the past 7 years. Accounts paid off/settled more than 7 years ago will not appear on the current credit report.
  
  

• What type of criminal entries will show up on my criminal record report?

  
  
  AAA Credit Screening Services will provide the past 7 years in criminal convictions from the original date of criminal activity.
  
  We WILL NOT report the following entries on a criminal record report (to be compliant with FCRA - Fair Credit Reporting Act guidelines):
  
  
  • Criminal convictions older than 7 years from the original date of criminal activity
  • Deferred adjudication, adjudication withheld or similar diversionary program dispositions
  • Pending or Open cases
  • Dismissed Cases
  • Any cases where the applicant cannot be confirmed using at least two identifiers
  
  AAA Credit Screening Services offers various types of criminal background check reports. The United States court system is made up of thousands of jurisdictions, many of whom do not report/are not required to report all criminal activity. The is no single criminal background check database. It is possible that some criminal activity may not be discovered.
  
  

• Is there a difference between Federal Criminal Records & National Criminal Records?

  
  
  

  YES! The difference is in where the charges were prosecuted and the search is conducted
  
  National criminal records include misdemeanors and felonies committed across the United States. Database searches for national criminal records include county court records, police records, state criminal records and more.
  
  Federal criminal records include crimes that were prosecuted in federal court, such as drug trafficking, tax evasion, money laundering, and fraud. These reports are contained within the federal court system.

  
  
  

• I want to run multiple reports at the same time, does AAACSS offer batch ordering?

  
  
  

  Yes! AAACSS has an online ordering system allowing customers to order multiple reports on a daily/weekly/monthly or even annual basis. To learn more about the process, click on BATCH ORDERING.

Existing Client & Online Ordering

• How do I save/print my report?

  
  
  

  When viewing your report in your online account, you can print the report or save as a .PDF by clicking on the "Print Report" button, seen here:

  
  
  
  
  

• HELP! My report stated that it is "pending", but I know some searches should already be finished.

  
  
  

  Even though the overall report may state that it is pending, completed searches can be viewed within the report at any time by logging into your online account and clicking on the "Reports" tab and then clicking on the checkbox next to the name of the applicant and then clicking the "View Report" button.

  
  
  

• How can I tell if my report is completed?

  
  
  

  You will receive an email notification once your entire report has been completed and the email will include a link to the report. You can always log into your online account and click on the "Reports" tab and then clicking on the checkbox next to the applicants name and then selecting the "View Report" option.

NEW Customer Signup

AAA Credit Screening Services charges NO Signup Fee, No Monthly Fees & No Annual fees! You only pay for the reports you want to order. Signup is 3 easy steps and once you're signed up, you can start ordering reports online. Click on the button below to complete our online Customer Service Agreement:

Employment Background Checks

• What is an Employer Certification form?

  
  
  

  Employer Certification Forms are documents required to be signed by employers & submitted with all employment background check requests.

  
  
  

• Will my employment credit report include a credit score

  
  
  

  No, employment credit reports are different from consumer credit reports in the way that they will not include a credit score.

  
  
  

• Are volunteer background checks considered employment background checks?

  
  
  

  Yes, reports on current and potential volunteers are considered employment background checks and require the same authorization and documents as employment background checks.

  
  
  

• Why can employment verifications take up to 3 days?

  
  
  

  Employment verifications are conducted by making phone calls, emailing or sending faxes and require a response from the current or previous employer. AAACSS will make continued attempts to obtain information for at least 3 business days.

  
  
  

• Are there any additional fees when ordering Employment Screening Packages?

  
  
  

  Some reports that can be run as part of employment screening packages are subject to additional fees. The additional charges are because of third-party verification services and some of those reports include county criminal record reports, employment verifications, and education verification. If such reports are needed, customer service will contact our clients immediately to request approval of any additional fees.

Tenant Screening

• What is included in my tenant screening credit report?

  
  
  
  • Applicant's Credit Score
  • Credit Summary: A quick overview of the accounts reflected on the credit report
  • Financial Summary: A quick overview of debts reflected on the credit report
  • Credit History: Detailed account information that the credit bureau has on file
  • Public Records: Bankruptcy records and judgements
  
  Click on TENANT CREDIT REPORT for a sample of a report.
  
  

• Is there a database that includes a tenant's rental history? How do landlord verifications work?

  
  
  

  Unfortunately there is no database for rental history. To conduct landlord verifications, AAA Credit Screening will need the applicant's previous landlord's names and phone numbers for the current and previous landlords. Customer service representatives will reach out to the landlords, verify their legitimacy and proceed with the verifications from there.

  
  
  

• Does AAA Credit Screening offer Commercial Tenant Credit Reports?

  
  
  

  Yes! AAACSS can run credit reports on businesses as well as the individual principals of a business to assist with commercial tenant screening. For more information, click on Commercial Tenant Screening.

  
  
  

• Can I get credit reports on individuals that do not have a US address?

  
  
  

  All credit reports require a US address (both current & previous) with the exception of Canadian credit reports. Canadian credit reports are provided by Equifax and utilizes Canadian addresses (including street address, city and province). There is no price difference between Canadian and US credit reports, however, Equifax has additional restrictions placed on requestors, including site visits, wherein an Equifax representative inspects the property where report information will be restored. Clients interested in obtaining credit reports from Equifax, but have not had a site visit performed on your property, call our office at 281-282-02247 for more information.

Business Credit Reports

• How is a business report different from an employment or tenant screening report?

  
  
  

  Legally, business reports / business credit reports are not considered "consumer reports" and are not governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) since they do not report on individuals.
  
  Business reports reflect minimal information on the primary business owner (mainly their status and any other additional principals or key personnel in the company). Business reports focus on reporting information about the company including business credit history and the company's commercial tradelines.

  
  
  

• Can I run a business report without the company's authorization?

  
  
  

  Yes! Unlike with individual/consumer reports, authorization is not needed to run business reports.
  
  If you are an existing customer, you can use your online login to order forms through our online ordering system OR you can now order business reports through our online store by clicking on BUSINESS REPORTS.

  
  
  

• What information do clients need to provide when ordering business reports?

  
  
  

  The following information is REQUIRED when ordering business reports:

  • Business Name
  • Business Address (Street, City, State, Zip Code)
  
  

  The following information is SUGGESTED when ordering a business report:

  • Business Telephone Number
  • BDA (if applicable)
  • P.O.Box (if applicable)
  
  

• What are the difference between Business Summary, Commercial Intelliscore & Business Profile reports?

  
  
  

  The differences between the above mentioned reports lie in the level of detailed information provided within the report. The business summary provides a business credit report and a legal snapshot of the business without any dollar figures. The commercial intelliscore provides the same business credit report and legal snapshot of the business and includes dollar amounts ot the total tradelines developed and days beyond terms (DBT) that the company has gone over the payment due dates on their invoices. The business profile provides all the information included in the business summary and commercial intelliscore as well as detailed tradeline and debt information and detailed legal filing (bankruptcies, etc.) information.
  
  A unique part of the Commercial Intelliscore is the Intelliscore Plus option that provides a rating number similar to an individual person's credit score. This score ranks the business among other businesses in the same industry based on their tradeline information. This score is ideal for clients who need a quick Yes or No "at-a-glance" report on companies.

  
  
  

• Why did the company that I wanted a report on not show up on your databases? Does it mean that the company is not a legitimate business?

  
  
  
  1. Occasionally a business will not show up on Experian's extensive database and this could be because one of a variety of reasons:
     
     If the address our clients provided is not the one that Experian has on file for the business, it may not show up. To overcome this, the client can ask the business if they have any alternative addresses that the business may have had in the past 7 years
     
     
  2. The business may have a recorded credit history under a different name such as a DBA. Please ensure that you have provided AAACSS with any DBA information that you have available so that all names can be searched.
     
     
  3. If the business is fairly new, it may not have an established credit history with Experian. Some businesses established within the past year may not yet have any credit history reported to the credit bureaus. In this case, case, we recommend running a business license search along with individual business owner credit reports.
     
     
  For more information, click on Business Credit Reports.