From time to time, a driver will find that one or more of the background search companies has bad or erroneous criminal information. This can result from any of several reasons - a common name, identity theft, incomplete reporting by a local jurisdiction or just a simple mistake. Whatever the reason, the hiring company has no choice but to rely on the information being provided by their background investigation, until the driver applicant can prove the error in the record.
A couple of ways to do this:
1) If the background investigation turns up one incident at one location that is close to you, then you can visit the local police or court, explain the situation to them and ask for a copy of the record and/or a written statement that you are not the person in question. This may be a simple thing or it may require fingerprints, photos or some other means to establish you are not the person in the record.
2) Get a nationwide FBI background check. This is the best way to clear up any issues. especially if it involves multiple cases or jurisdictions. The FBI check involves having your fingerprints taken and requesting the FBI to check against its national database. The report will either show "No Record Found" or return a report of what records are found under your identifying information. If errors remain, the FBI record can be challenged using established procedures. Go here for information on the FBI check
Once you have accurate reports you can provide those to the company who performed the original background check and the potential employer. Most trucking companies will accept the FBI report for their background check. Most background investigators will note the existence of the corrected information into their file. As with any important papers - keep the originals for the future.
