A: Founded in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Trak-1 is a full service background screening company with corporate offices in Houston, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2000 Trak-1 developed and launched automated, internet-based background verification systems and is emerging as a national leader in background checks, especially in the following industries:

• Multi-Family Housing (Tenant Screening)
• Human Resources (Pre-employment Screening)
• Non Profit Volunteer Screening

A: Most reports are returned immediately with the exception of manual county criminal reports which typically are returned within 36-48 hours. Pricing varies by location.

A: Trak-1’s customer friendly internet interface allows customers to log on with a unique user name and password to request a background check and receive the results—in many cases instantaneously!

A: Trak-1 diligently works to update our records as fast as the public data records are updated.  Typically public data bases are updated monthly, some are updated quarterly.  We seek to make the lag time between their updates, and our updates, as small and as seamless as possible.

A: Because criminal records are public information employers are allowed access to such information.  Trak-1 simply makes this information accessible in a cost effective manner.  Credit and other Fair Credit Reporting Act information is not public record and requires a consent form be signed by the person on whom a background check is being run.  Because of the ever changing compliance requirements, Trak-1 requires the employer obtain a consent form from every applicant on which a background screen is run.  During customer orientation, we provide a sample consent form for employer use.  In addition most standard employment applications include a consent form which the prospective employee signs when completing an application. The customer will not be asked to fax the consent form over to Trak-1, however, a yearly audit is run by Trak-1, so consent forms will need to be kept on-site for a recommended 90 days before disposal. 

A: Records remain available for client access for 90 days.  After that time, records are stored in archived files only accessible to Trak-1 verifiers.  These records are obtainable indefinitely if needed. 

• Approximately 85% of companies use fax based background screening – ours is web-based. 
• The Sexual Offender Search is always included in every Multi-State Criminal Search.
• All Trak-1 criminal searches also include the O.F.A.C. search. It searches for information regarding terrorists and narcotics traffickers.
• Trak-1’s goal is to provide a live person to answer any questions when running a background check.
• Since we are a web-based system, instant checks can be done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• All information traced by Trak-1 is located on one single report, rather than being on multiple reports from multiple companies.
• A user can look back on all reports that have been run, and can keep accurate records on account usage. 

A: Criminal records are stored by name and date of birth.  It is possible that an incorrect criminal record could be pulled for an alternate person who happens to have the same birth date and name as the employee being checked.  When this happens, we currently refer to it as a false positive.  Running a social trace, along with the criminal check, decreases the opportunity for a false positive. The social trace will verify the correct Social Security Number and the date of birth, which limits contradictory information.

A: Most screening companies run Non-Fair Credit Reporting Act compliant Social Traces as the data is cheaper.  However, that data is often unfiltered, unreliable and often unrelated to the applicant.  A Fair Credit Reporting Act compliant trace has its information verified through a Credit Reporting Agency rather than accessing unverifiable data available on the internet.  Companies should always strive to remain Fair Credit Reporting Act compliant as this reduces the risk for negligent hire cases.   Trak-1 encourages Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance and the majority of our customers choose Fair Credit Reporting Act compliance over non-compliance. 

A: That is a judgment call, however recent studies show that 8.3 percent of existing employees within 8 different industries had prior criminal records. A small community bank recently implemented a background screening process and discovered one of its existing 50 employees had been convicted of felony embezzlement. Had this person stolen from the bank, the bank's fiduciary bond would have voided the claim. Consult with a Human Resources professional or attorney to make sure your employment standards are consistently applied.

A: Prices vary by product and package and are volume sensitive. Regardless, Trak-1 offers thousands of customers product solutions that are competitively priced and not cost prohibitive.

A: Trak-1 offers a broad suite of background screening products, some of which include:

• Instant access to over 200 million criminal records from multiple sources from across the country
• Instant access to the sex offender registry in all 50 states and D.C.
• Instant access to credit files
• Instant access to one of the nations largest landlord/tenant databases - including both filings and judgments
• Instant access to check writing history and data to determine prior NSF's
• In-depth manual county criminal searches
• Rental risk score that incorporates your selection criteria
• Complete suite of services for Employment screening