Powerchex Application

[Churchill]

I didnt get that contract. I F ff Fffff failed the interview.

Loser!

[EternalOptimist]

I didnt get that contract. I F ff Fffff failed the interview.

bad luck there mate, i have a tear in my eye for you. It's probably turning up in speedos that did it, they said powerchex , not power kecks

[MarillionFan]

bad luck there mate, i have a tear in my eye for you. It's probably turning up in speedos that did it, they said powerchex , not power kecks

stow it budgy boy

[shaunbhoy]

I didnt get that contract. I F ff Fffff failed the interview.

Was it that rebuff that turned you into the tetchy curmudgeon you have become of late?

[CoolHandLuke45]

I was recently vetted by Powerchex and thought I would give my two cents worth as I used this thread as a source of information.

Last month I secured a contract to work at a hedge fund but was told that I would not be able to go on-site until my vetting was completed, which could take up to two weeks. My consultant emailed me a “screening form” in PDF format and told me to print it out, fill it in by hand and send it back to him.

Looking through the form I was surprised at the scale of the information I was being asked for. So my first port of call was to Google Powerchex and find out exactly who they are. There wasn't much out their apart from this thread and some naff attempts at PR so I decided I would just call them direct to raise my concerns.

I called the switchboard number and explained to the girl who picked up the phone that I had concerns about providing so much personal information and she put straight through to a manager.

I firstly asked this manager why I needed to provide so much information considering I was not a perm. He told me that the FSA have advised firms not to decide the level vetting depending on seniority of whether the individual is a perm or temp. They advise firms to take a “risk based approach to vetting”, and as I was working within IT I would have access to sensitive data and was high risk. He said that this particular hedge fund and most of their clients set a high level of vetting for everyone that comes on site whether they are perm or temp, or junior or senior.

I next asked what guarantees I had that I wouldn't be a victim of identity fraud or my data would not be sent to India or another outsourced centre. He told me that he was aware that many companies have partner companies in India but Powerchex don't and operate out of one office in London. He next offered to send me their Data Security policy to ease my concerns so I gave him my email address and he sent it thought while I was on the phone.

I was particularly concerned that Powerchex wanted a copy of my passport and asked why they needed it. He told me that part of the vetting process is to conduct a criminal background check and without a copy of my passport they wont be able to do this. He said if I had real concerns I could drop the copy off in person.

Finally I asked him what would happen if I refused to fill in the form. He said this is not their business and they only provide a vetting service so ultimately the decision would be up to my client. But he did tell me that everyone from the CEO down to the cleaner has to be vetted before they start work so my chance of getting the contract were pretty low if I didn't go through the vetting process.

In the end I decided to just fill in the form as I couldn't afford to lose the contract. The day after I provided the from to my consultant I received a call from a Powerchex employee asking for some more information and one week after that I got a call from my consultant informing me I could start.

I have been vetted before by the the likes of Kroll and Control Risks and each time I was called from an outsourced centre and the vetting took several weeks so it made a change being called from the UK.

I can't say that I'm happy about providing so much of my personal information but in my opinion Powerchex are the lesser of the many evils out their. This country, and specifically financial services is moving towards more background checking not less so we can either roll with it or lose out on work.


P.S. Just so you know, their data security policy states that they will hold your data for no longer than 6 months as the information commissioner states that keeping the data any longer than that is not good practice.

[LegendsWear7]

Excellent post.

May I ask what specific data type you were uncomfortable in sharing with this outfit ?

And how many years back were demanded? As a contractor I've had many many different agents, agencies, clients, 3rd parties, 4th parties in the chain at different points. PITA or unrealistic to provide details on all. I can't even recall all the many addresses I've lived at.

Gracias

[CoolHandLuke45]

There were just particular questions on the form which I thought had no relevance to my vetting but after I spoke to Powerchex they explained why they needed them. I have explained the passport copy above but they also asked for my mother's maiden name. Now considering this is used as a security question for things such as online banking I was naturally hesitant but it turns out this piece of information is needed to carry out a criminal records check.

The form asked for 5 years worth of employment history which is the norm in financial services but it also asked for 6 years worth of address history. When I asked why this was he explained that judgements such as CCJs are generally kept on record for 6 years so they need to run credit searches against 6 years worth of addresses.

I ended up speaking to this guy for about 15 minutes and he explained that he had been dealing with contractors for 5 years now and said that one of the prices of being self employed is that no one will keep a record of you as you are not recognised as an employee of the companies you work for.

He said the best advise he could give me is to keep a folder with all invoices/correspondence/emails confirming placements/details of agencies and consultants, in chronological order so that if in the future I am asked by as security/compliance department to confirm my activities for the past 5 years I had documentation as proof. He also said it's a good idea to keep a record of the people who you reported to and before you leave ask if in the future a reference is required whether they would be happy to be contacted.

The guy I spoke to was quite helpful and seemed to know a fear bit about contractors and the requirements of compliance departments.

[Gonzo]

Thanks for taking the time to provide all this information.

However I am not convinced on this point:

There were just particular questions on the form which I thought had no relevance to my vetting but after I spoke to Powerchex they explained why they needed them. I have explained the passport copy above but they also asked for my mother's maiden name. Now considering this is used as a security question for things such as online banking I was naturally hesitant but it turns out this piece of information is needed to carry out a criminal records check.

I have in the past obtained a Police Certificate from these people ACPO: Police Certificates They do not ask for mother's maiden name and they are the Police.

[threaded]

Thanks for taking the time to provide all this information.

However I am not convinced on this point:


I have in the past obtained a Police Certificate from these people ACPO: Police Certificates They do not ask for mother's maiden name and they are the Police.

People with criminal backgrounds often use their mothers maiden name as an alias.

It is fairly common for males born out of wedlock as children to use their mothers maiden name, and when older, as some right of passage thing, i.e they eventually leave home, switch to using their fathers name.

[AtW]

They do not ask for mother's maiden name and they are the Police.

They probably already know it .