- What exactly does your business do? We provide background checks that are FCRA compliant to companies with a permissible purpose for these reports. We offer a variety of services that range from criminal reports, driver history reports, national criminal index reports, and verifications of employment and education. For a complete listing of our services, you can find them on our website under “Our Screening Services”.
- How Do I Get Started? You can call us at (860) 678-0066. You will always talk to an associate when you call during our working hours (Monday-Friday 8:30AM-4:30PM) or send us an email: contact@rs4b.net and we will provide you with the new client agreement. This agreement proves you have a permissible purpose for your reports (which is part of our compliance with FCRA laws).
- How Long Does It Take to Establish Myself as A Client? This depends upon how long it takes to complete our required agreement. Most of our clients have it filled out within an hour. Your availability plays a role in this process. Once you complete and send it to us, we usually have clients established and ready to send us reports within an hour of receiving (depending on when we receive it. If it is sent at the end of the day, then it would be the next business morning).
- Will My Applicants Need to Complete a Consent Form? Yes, we cannot and will not process any applicants without a consent form. These can be done via an actual paper form or a digital form.
- Do You Supply Consent Forms? We can provide both paper forms and “paperless” consent forms. Our forms are samples, and we recommend having your legal counsel review them before utilizing them.
- How Do You Know I Need a Report Processed? This depends on if your applicants use the paper consent forms or the paperless option. We strive to provide a service that meets the needs and abilities of all applicants. If you are using our paper consent forms (which we can provide once you are established), then you can either email or fax them to us.
If your clients use the paperless option, you will either go onto our web portal and send the request with the click of a button, or it will send immediately once the applicant has completed it. To read more about our paperless option, we suggest reading this post. - Do You Charge a Fee to Sign Up with Your Company? This is something that separates us from our competitors, we do NOT charge a fee to sign up with us. We verify your credentials as part of our service. Many competitors will charge an added fee to sign up with them. They are asking for money before they have proven themselves as a service, and we do not agree with that procedure.
- Do You Charge an Annual Fee? This is another area where we differ from our competitors. Some of our competitors will lock in a set rate for each applicant, but charge an annual fee to maintain existing as a client of theirs. Research Services does not charge an annual fee to exist as a client of ours. We send monthly invoices for the services requested.
- How Much Does a Report Cost? This depends upon the searches you require. Your required searches can vary upon position. For example, an applicant that has applied for an accounting position may require a criminal and federal search. An applicant that has applied for a position transporting goods may require a driver history report. The cost between states varies greatly. For our current costs, we recommend contacting us.
- Can I Cancel Requests I have submitted If an Applicant has Rescinded their offer? This depends upon if we have already started the report and where we are in the process. We will always cancel the request and not charge a fee if we have not started processing the applicant. Whenever possible, we will halt the process and will only charge for reports we already processed. There are times we have already submitted our requests and paid fees to courts, and therefore cannot cancel.
- Can I process Annual Reports on My Already Hired Employees? Yes, we work with a variety of industries that require annual reports such as driver history reports and criminal reports.
- How Does Research Services Deliver Results? This varies depending on our client’s needs. The most common method is through our web portal. When an applicant is complete, their report goes to the web portal and an email is issued stating it is available for viewing. Some of our clients prefer an older standard method, such as faxing or sending secure emails.
- How Long Are Results Available on the Web Portal? As long as the results are archived, they have a six-year retention.
- Can a Single Representative Handle My Company? We strive to meet all the needs of our clients. If you prefer the ability to have one single representative for your main contact, then yes, we can assign a single representative to handle all of your requests and questions.
- My Applicants are Fingerprinted, what is the value of using your company as well? The government recommends using both sources for the maximum and truest report. Some fingerprinting is limited to a single state. For example, if your applicant went for fingerprinting, they may only provide results for Connecticut. Fingerprint results can often be vague and incomplete. In a past blog post, we went in-depth to answer this here. Additionally, fingerprinting does not provide education or employment verifications.
- What Is the Turn-Around Time for Your Reports? The majority of our in-state reports are completed the same day (depending upon the time of submission). There are varying reasons that delay them beyond the same or the next day, and you can find all of the applicable reasons here.
- Does the National Criminal Index include the entire nation? The short answer is no, but we urge you to read our post on the national Criminal Index coverage here. Our national criminal index includes the national sex offender search and the Homeland Security Search.
- We Ordered the National Criminal Index, but received an additional criminal report we did not ask for, why did we receive this report and an additional charge? Whenever hits are received on the national criminal index, we must verify these records. There is inconsistency in how and when the index is updated. Some records are incomplete and do not contain necessary information, such as dispositions. Another issue is that sometimes even if the records are complete, they may have since been expunged. When we verify records, we avoid lawful issues for both our clients and ourselves.
- What is the extent of historical Connecticut criminal records available through your services? Typically, researchers and CRA’s in our field examine records from the past 10 years. However, our search covers a span of 35 years, although it’s important to note that there might be reportable cases beyond that timeframe.
- Do you impose any limitations on the number of attempts made for education and employment verifications? Usually, CRA’s limit their attempts to three good faith attempts. However, we are committed to persistently pursuing these verifications until they are successfully completed or until you decide to close the request.
If you are interested in receiving a quote for our services, please contact Heather Dunn at her direct line (860)-295-4045.
