For the first time, I need to check the background of someone I don’t know well, who I’m considering partnering with in a venture.
I’ve seen the online background-check services, but have no idea which ones are high-quality and legit, and which might not be.
How do I go about checking these services out? Have you ever used such a service? Can you give me advice about how to proceed?
I can’t spend the $$ to hire a private investigator; but I need to know essential stuff, like police or criminal charges, convictions, bankruptcies, etc–
Can you share your experience(s) with any of these services? Any recommendations?
Most reputable credit agencies will provide a combo credit check and criminal background check for a reasonable price. It should be around $30-$60 or so. Some want the person’s SSN to do full check.
If the person is mainly in one state you can search the state’s online case registry for legal filings for free. If they have a common name or the same name as a busy atty this could be very tedious in some cases as hundreds of cases might pop up.
A driving record can show substance abuse(DUI) and a person’s ability to follow the rules of society. Financial/rental history can show if they pay their bills and pay them on time and clean up before leaving a rental (are responsible people).
No need to get a private investigator for this information.
If you just enter into google something like “information about John Doe, Anytown California” you’ll get sites that claim to search many databases etc; then at the end of their dramatic presentation request a sign-up and paymt. I assume these are sketchy sites that may or may not include valuable info–is that correct?