Hello,
I posted this in another forum (Consumer) but I'm not really sure if that's the correct categorization. I have not received any replies and I'm anxious for any and all advice or opinions on the matter.
I am currently a college student and was recently admitted to a nursing program. One of the requirements was to have a background check performed. 8 years ago I was arrested and charged with 4 felonies related to theft for an act in Florida. I plead no contest to the charges, adjudication was withheld, and I served a probation sentence. It is my understanding that under the FCRA, unless a criminal conviction resulted, any information older than 7 years was not to be reported, yet the company that performed the background check included these in the report. I've been told by the company that performed the check that the 7 years begins from the end of the probation period. I've been doing research online for days, the limitations of which I am fully aware of, but cannot find legal justification for starting the 7 year period from the end of probation.
Furthermore, the process for having the background check involved me ordering the check and paying for it myself, and agreeing to have the results of the check shared with the institution I will be attending. The scope of the check included a residence history, nationwide sex offender search, nationwide health fraud search, and a county criminal search. On the application, only one county for the criminal search was asked for and I included the county where the school is located. No other county was asked for, yet a criminal check for all of the counties that were included in the residence history was included. I inquired with the company performing the check why this was since it appeared that I did not authorize them to perform these checks when I placed my order. Their reply was that their agreement with the school is to search every county that appears in the residence history.
In addition to the above, the residence history was to only include residence for the past 7 years. The address associated with the aforementioned charges was inaccurately reported as I have not resided there in nearly 8 years. Had the address not been included, the criminal county check would not have been conducted. I disputed the results and was told the address would not be corrected because charges were found. According to the FCRA, if a consumer requests info regarding the procedures used to investigate the dispute, including companies contacted to verify information, the company must provide that within 15 days of the request. The woman from the company, told me they pull from a database that pulls from other databases, but would not disclose that information to me. Instead, she told me to contact Experian,Transunion, and Equifax. I did and none of the three had the information in dispute.
Having stated all of the above, my questions for someone with legal expertise in the area are the following:
1. Is the inclusion on the background report of the charges for which adjudication was withheld and conviction absent a violation of the FCRA for which I would have legal recourse to seek damages?
2. Did the company performing the background check violate the FCRA by conducting county criminal checks for counties that I did not designate when I ordered the check, regardless of what their agreement was with the university?
3.Because the inaccurate inclusion of an address caused the county criminal check to be performed in the first place, do I have legal recourse to seek damages against the source that provided the residence history to the company that performed the background check?
4.Is the refusal to provide information regarding their investigation into my dispute (an investigation that I don't believe ever happened) an offense for which I could seek damages?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks
I posted this in another forum (Consumer) but I'm not really sure if that's the correct categorization. I have not received any replies and I'm anxious for any and all advice or opinions on the matter.
I am currently a college student and was recently admitted to a nursing program. One of the requirements was to have a background check performed. 8 years ago I was arrested and charged with 4 felonies related to theft for an act in Florida. I plead no contest to the charges, adjudication was withheld, and I served a probation sentence. It is my understanding that under the FCRA, unless a criminal conviction resulted, any information older than 7 years was not to be reported, yet the company that performed the background check included these in the report. I've been told by the company that performed the check that the 7 years begins from the end of the probation period. I've been doing research online for days, the limitations of which I am fully aware of, but cannot find legal justification for starting the 7 year period from the end of probation.
Furthermore, the process for having the background check involved me ordering the check and paying for it myself, and agreeing to have the results of the check shared with the institution I will be attending. The scope of the check included a residence history, nationwide sex offender search, nationwide health fraud search, and a county criminal search. On the application, only one county for the criminal search was asked for and I included the county where the school is located. No other county was asked for, yet a criminal check for all of the counties that were included in the residence history was included. I inquired with the company performing the check why this was since it appeared that I did not authorize them to perform these checks when I placed my order. Their reply was that their agreement with the school is to search every county that appears in the residence history.
In addition to the above, the residence history was to only include residence for the past 7 years. The address associated with the aforementioned charges was inaccurately reported as I have not resided there in nearly 8 years. Had the address not been included, the criminal county check would not have been conducted. I disputed the results and was told the address would not be corrected because charges were found. According to the FCRA, if a consumer requests info regarding the procedures used to investigate the dispute, including companies contacted to verify information, the company must provide that within 15 days of the request. The woman from the company, told me they pull from a database that pulls from other databases, but would not disclose that information to me. Instead, she told me to contact Experian,Transunion, and Equifax. I did and none of the three had the information in dispute.
Having stated all of the above, my questions for someone with legal expertise in the area are the following:
1. Is the inclusion on the background report of the charges for which adjudication was withheld and conviction absent a violation of the FCRA for which I would have legal recourse to seek damages?
2. Did the company performing the background check violate the FCRA by conducting county criminal checks for counties that I did not designate when I ordered the check, regardless of what their agreement was with the university?
3.Because the inaccurate inclusion of an address caused the county criminal check to be performed in the first place, do I have legal recourse to seek damages against the source that provided the residence history to the company that performed the background check?
4.Is the refusal to provide information regarding their investigation into my dispute (an investigation that I don't believe ever happened) an offense for which I could seek damages?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks
