Reply to: Please Help! Referencing issues....

[northernladuk]

Your bank statements should say where the credits came from e.g. employer, partner, company business account, sibling, parent etc. So just go through them and state that. Point out with family and friends' you can't remember the exact events for the irregular payments but it's for presents and events. The only issue you will have is with cheques but I doubt you have had a load of those in the last few years.

The person wants to know this is because they are too cheap to credit check you. I would ask them have they actually credit checked you?

Dunno about that. Credit check isn't going to show if you are money laundering or are begging from Peter to pay Paul and whatever other activities they might be interested in surely?

[SueEllen]

The other issue that they have flagged is that there has been a feq gaps in my employment history and I have verified this with my bank statements but now they have come back to me to say that they want to know details of all credits over £100 going back to 2013!! Nevwr experienced this before...any advice? Why do they need to know details of this its very invasive and none of their business. Im not applying for a bloody mortgage!

Your bank statements should say where the credits came from e.g. employer, partner, company business account, sibling, parent etc. So just go through them and state that. Point out with family and friends' you can't remember the exact events for the irregular payments but it's for presents and events. The only issue you will have is with cheques but I doubt you have had a load of those in the last few years.

The person wants to know this is because they are too cheap to credit check you. I would ask them have they actually credit checked you?

[FrontEnder]

Sounds more like they do but it introduces risk so they have to ask.

Maybe. Who knows, but based on what the op said:

Apparently they wanted to know why I had no London address whilst contracting in London for 2 years

I think they're probably dealing with someone who hasn't seen this before, maybe they're new and haven't dealt with contractors before. So the question is *why*, so I'd just tell them

that is because I have been living away from home in London and then travelling back at weekends to the midlands.

If they then ask for more, then tell I'd them, but I highly doubt that their process is to get the details of temporary addresses/hotels for contractors when they have a permanent fixed address. There is nothing this information will give them, no further checks they can do, unless you registered to vote there or something.

[northernladuk]

It sounds like they don't understand that you can work miles away from where you live. Just say you stayed in temporary accomodation Mon-Fri and returned home at wekends, if they ask for more, tell them.

Sounds more like they do but it introduces risk so they have to ask.

[FrontEnder]

It sounds like they don't understand that you can work miles away from where you live. Just say you stayed in temporary accomodation Mon-Fri and returned home at wekends, if they ask for more, tell them.

[VillageContractor]

If you want the job tell them, if you don't then I'm sure there is someone else willing to.

You shouldn't be surprised at the checks being done at a bank, they have to vet their staff and suppliers

[northernladuk]

Ahh. A fact it would have been good to post from the start. So the client had a process. You've got two choices. Follow it or not. It's not really for you to argue. They will have a risk profile based on factors unknown to us. It's nothing to do with how we work, it's how you fit in to their profile. It would be exactly the same for a permie that stays down in London during the week so nothing to do with contracting.

[starburst89]

It is actually the end client who is asking for all of this information...possibly the HR department of the end client. Apparently they wanted to know why I had no London address whilst contracting in London for 2 years but that is because I have been living away from home in London and then travelling back at weekends to the midlands. I don't think they know what some contractors actually do!

[sal]

When I've had to go through background checks with banks, this wasn't done with the agent. It's usually a department of the bank or a 3rd party. The agent may chase me up but i wouldn't send anything to them.

I'd tell the agent that you have to deal with them directly don't send anything more than what they need (i.e. proof if ID and standard references). It could be the agent mis-interpreting what they're asking for, it oculd be something more. Either way, they're not needed in this part of the process and will only slow things down.

^This, both times i had a contract for a bank the background check was performed by a 3rd party on behalf of the bank. The agency had nothing to do with it.

Even then it seems excessive, unless you have some shady moments in your past that they are worried about.

[VillageContractor]

It's none of their business, even the temporary addresses. That kind of information should only be required for Security Checks which won't be done by an agency.

Which agency? I'm guessing a small one with only a few gigs

[kaiser78]

So I am going through referencing for my new role which starts very shortly. As a contractor we all know that we work away from home 5 days a week then return back to our permenent address on the friday usually to return back to work on the Monday. I have been asked by my agency to provide addresses of where I have been staying during various contracts....even though this is temporary do they need to know my place of residence mon to fri? They already have details of my permenent address history.

Not sure how many of us actually do that, and the number is surprisingly low to be away for a while week I would imagine.

Why not just state your home address all the way through, given the mon-fri is only temporary accommodation ? Keeps life a lot simpler.

[FrontEnder]

When I've had to go through background checks with banks, this wasn't done with the agent. It's usually a department of the bank or a 3rd party. The agent may chase me up but i wouldn't send anything to them.

I'd tell the agent that you have to deal with them directly don't send anything more than what they need (i.e. proof if ID and standard references). It could be the agent mis-interpreting what they're asking for, it oculd be something more. Either way, they're not needed in this part of the process and will only slow things down.

[northernladuk]

Me neither but I don't know anything about how the process works. If it's risk based and you are borderline they may have to go to a new level. I dunno. Best ask them in the morning.

[starburst89]

But if you are working closely with finance apps you'll need to be checked for more than you would a mortgage.

Some of these checks can be pretty onerous but this one does sound more in depth than most. I'd certainly be asking the agent to provide you with more than just questions. I'd like to see some paperwork requesting this or a lot more detail why. It's not too far from the realms of possibilty they could actually need it but I'd like to know more.

I'd also be reminding them about data protection and asking what they are going to do with it when they are done as well.

Seriously though....asking for information on what the credits were over 100 quid. That is what financial crime investigators working for the NCA deal with! Doesnt feel right....and its not as if they can trace where the money even came from they dont have the systems for that. Why would they want to though. Dont get it at all.

[oliverson]

Sounds like total bulltulip to me