Employment Background Check Reveals...Aliases?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I wasn’t sure whether I should put this in GQ or not so I put it here. Anyway…

So I’m undergoing a background check/drug screen for a job working at a car dealership. I assume everything is fine. I have one blip in my background that involves my ex-wife from a few years ago, but I divulged that on my application and was told during the interview process that it was no big deal.

I get a call last Monday from the general manger offering me a position, pending my background check and drug screen results. I accept. He’s hoping to get the results soon so he can get me into training, orientation, etc, which is done on Mondays and Thursdays.

He calls me back last Wednesday and says something came up on my background check. He asked me if I’d ever gone by another name. Bewildered, I truthfully answer “no”. He says “Ah, it’s probably not a big deal but let me get back with the HR guy, etcetera”.

I hadn’t heard from them since then, so I call today. I get the GM’s voicemail and leave a message. He calls me back about two hours later and says “Well, we’ve got your background check here, and there’s a couple things on it that are catastrophic for us. It looks like you’ve got this misdemeanor from a few years ago…”

I explain that it’s from when my wife left me and I was charged with harassment for making unwanted phone calls to her. I further explain that not only did I already divulge that (with lengthy explanation) on my application but that two people, including himself, told me it was no big deal.

He remembers…then says “Are you certain you’ve never gone by another name?”.

I reply “Absolutely not. What is this ‘other name’ you’re talking about? What information are you referencing?”

He proceeds to tell me that he doesn’t have any information, only a red flag from his “HR guy” that indicates that I have used another name before, which I absolutely have never done. I told him again that I have never before done that.

So besides “WTF?”, the questions are…what do I do about this? Is this the result of identity theft somewhere down the line? Why doesn’t GM guy know or have more information? Will they provide it to me? Are they legally compelled to do so?

Finally…if this is indeed a legit issue dogging my (relatively) good name, what can I do about it to get rid of it that doesn’t cost a fortune?

I looked at my credit report just a few days ago. There’s nothing on there that shouldn’t be there. I have a mortgage, two credit cards and student loan payments.

Has anyone else ever encountered this? What do I do?

2

That is a hard one. I would be freaking out, and demand a face to face meeting in regards to the background report.

When I was young and stupid, I was arrested for trespassing, and at first gave them a fake name (I thought I was so cool). That was over 30 years ago, and I am still afraid someday that it is going to come back to haunt me. I officially have an “alias”. I do not even remember what the name was.

You should find out sooner than later what is going on. I know of a lot of people who have gotten screwed because someone used their identity. :frowning:

3

So…they found your SDMB account?

4

Ha, if that were the case I would never even be considered for employment, just roundly ridiculed.

5

I had a weirdo blip on my credit - some guy in Quebec was using my SIN to get credit and apparently I now had three active credit files at one of the bureaus - mine, his and we had one together :mad:.

It took a lot of phone calls, but I got it all worked out (now my account has fraud flags all over it, which can be a pain, but better than the alternative). Interestingly, only one bureau had all of these issues identified, the other was clear…

6

Could you ask to speak to HR guy in order to clear this up? I don’t know if that’s professional or allowed or whatever, but maybe they’ll be able to tell that you are genuinely confused about them finding an alias, and not that you are trying to hide something.

7

It came up for me at one point. I was born with one last name, but it was changed legally when my stepfather adopted me. I never thought of it as an “alias”, but it did come up.

8

Since you’re looking for advice, moved to IMHO (from MPSIMS).

9

Since you’re asking for advice in this, I’m sending it over to IMHO.

Edit: Or, rather, twickster is sending it over to IMHO.

Hal Briston - MPSIMS Moderator

10

I wonder what would happen to most married women. :dubious:

FGIE, do you by any chance have a name that a significant number of other people would likely have? Maybe they got the wrong David Smith, or whatever.

11

IIRC, generally they ask you about your “maiden” name, as they do tend to treat that as an alias.

12

Some of these background checks are mighty sloppy - they need to double-check for misspellings, similar names, and the like. Some outfits are good about that, some are lazy.

I’d ask about it and try to get it cleared up.

13

Unfortunately (fortunately?) my last name is far from common. The only people I know of that have it anywhere in my immediate area are my brother, SIL, Mom and Dad, and…my ex-wife.

I just don’t get it. I gave them copies of my driver’s license and my social security card (which I’ve had since I was eleven…I’m 44 now). I mean…how sloppy can the background check be? If It’s my first, middle and last name and my social security number/card…it’s me, right?

If someone else was using my information (SSN#?) associated with an alias, then it’s safe to assume it’s not me…right? I mean…who’s stupid enough to engage in criminal activity using an alias and their own social security info?

14

I wonder… are they mostly concerned that they saw a name on the background check result that you didn’t disclose to them in advance, or does your malmonikered doppelganger have a sordid history of inappropriate behavior?

15

Not only are they sloppy, they are under no obligation to verify information. Data comes in, it goes on your record. Absolutely no attempt is made to contact the possibly injured party. It’s up to the victim to (1) find out about it, (2) complain, and (3) prove the error. You are guilty until proven innocent. Caveat Emptor, deadbeat.

My credit report still shows a former address of mine as a mail drop in Burbank. I never lived in Burbank, but some crook stole a carbon from a credit card I once used and filed a change of address with Diner’s Club. We cleared that up pretty quickly, thanks to Diner’s Club security, but the bogus address still sits there. How could I prove I never lived there, 30 years later?

I was once refused at a wholesaler to pay by check; a company I had done business with for 10 years. A little digging revealed I was listed as having passed a bad check in a state I have never been to 6 months before. How did that happen? The credit agency typed in the wrong number, and it was up to me to (1) find out, (2) complain, and (3) prove the error.

16

There is a box for Maiden Name.

17

I just don’t know at this point. Like I said in the OP, it seems the GM doesn’t know any specifics either, unless he’s holding out on me.

Well that’s not good news! Hopefully this won’t be the case with me but without knowing anything specific, how can I address it? There’s nothing on any bank statements, credit cards, credit reports or even creative googling that is giving me a clue as to this alias, or of any unusual activity associated with my information.

18

First, IANAL.

You may have legal rights to challenge information on a background check if it was performed by a third party. This falls under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Cite

That required notice should tell you where to start to track down and challenge the spurious information.

19

I kinda figured that they’d have to at least provide me with whatever it is they find if they refuse to hire me based on their background check.

20

OP, I would get a copy of your credit report (if you haven’t done so already) and check to see if you are the victims of ID fraud. Someone may have used (or may be using) your identity and you may not even be aware of it. You might also go down to your local courthouse and see if there are any outstanding warrants out against you. If you find any, contact an attorney and work out a plan to have them resolved or removed from your record.

Do NOT go to the police before you see an attorney.

You probably want to perform a Google search on your name. Add any place that you have ever lived to the search using the operand (+) so that you can get all of the pertinent results. You may find that someone else who has a similar last name or the same first name as yours but a slightly different spelling of your last name is using your ID.

Frankly, there no way that they are going to hire you now and the GM bringing up a matter which you said that you had already discussed with them beforehand makes it likely that they were looking for a reason not to hire you in the first place. I’d just write off this job and continue your search unless you really are determined to work at this business,