Basic Background Queries

Background queries help you to decide whether the person, business, or asset, is someone with whom you and your company wish to associate. We can run car plates if you have vehicles on a property that require investigation. List price is $100 per plate unless you have volume work, then a lower price can be obtained.

Through databases, the basic background query verifies identity information and identifies a possible criminal history, business associations, foreclosures, bankruptcies, liens, places lived, vehicles owned, licenses held, and many other items of possible interest. Background investigation beyond that will be billed at normal rates or billed against additional retainer time.

Database checks are not guaranteed to be accurate, although they usually are correct. They also are not exhaustive. Regardless of the information contained in databases, there still could be additional information and records somewhere, and often there are. For guaranteed, correct records, more expensive means must be employed, usually by physically sending an investigator to an entity such as a courthouse to find and obtain a copy of the document (see the Certified Document Retrieval page). However, that typically is not practical or necessary. When needed, Blue 6 has an economical means to achieve that end. Certified copies are a little more expensive than standard copies.

We do basic background queries for $400 (+ tax, which makes it $433) which is a pretty good package deal. Keep in mind that it is not a true "investigation," which is pretty expensive (tens of thousands of dollars). But this package is much better than those nationally advertised, cookie-cutter backgrounds, as ours includes professional forensic analysis which often provides the client with a better understanding of what the information may actually mean and how it is relevant. The package also includes a "tailored" investigation and summary report (written or verbal) which you will not get with inexpensive investigations.

Keep in mind that according to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) private investigative database-derived information can be used only for security purposes, not for financial decisions. For financial decisions you must run a credit check, which we do not do. That stipulation is federal law.

True background investigation consists of interviews of friends, family, and employers, and of obtaining official documents from sources. Those kinds of investigations run into the many tens of thousands of dollars or more. The FBI estimates that it spends over $100,000 per person for an employee background investigation.

COST - THE BIG QUESTION

The biggest question on the minds of most people is how to know how much money to spend on an investigation. When considering cost, ask yourself some questions about the problem you are trying to solve. Weigh the monetary costs to the investigation firm against the other costs of not doing the investigation. You may even want to write the information down and enlist the help of someone you trust to help you think through the problem. Writing and speaking out loud will usually help you think more clearly.

(1) What is the problem? Define the problem and all of its elements so that you completely understand it. (2) What is at risk? List every risk at stake. There may be more than one.

(3) What is the nature of each risk? Define each risk in detailed terms. Think of risk as anything that you may lose as a consequence of not conducting the investigation. For instance, define the potential cost in broad terms such as time, circumstances, opportunity, and money. Money is not the only way to measure risk. For instance, the risk may be the loss of a good relationship that you want to keep, or the continuance of a bad one that needs to end.

(4) Will that risk create additional risks in the future? The continuance of a bad business relationship which needed to end may result in continued stress, but it may be bigger than that. It may also lead to financial loss or even bankruptcy. It could mean the destruction of your reputation from bad client experiences with your company which could ruin your career for good. In that situation, spending $12,000 to avoid losing a career may seem like a pretty good investment. It becomes insurance. People often consider embezzlement of thousands of dollars as a risk they can identify. But have you considered that bad decisions made by an employee can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts, or millions of dollars in liability problems? What do you know about your subcontractors? And there are similar concerns in romantic relationships.

(5) How much money and time are worth spending to address the risks you have identified?

(6) If you spend that money on the investigation will you appreciate the peace of mind that it may provide?

(7) Are you willing to accept that you may not discover what you hope to find? Is the money spent on the investigation worth the gamble to try to find what you seek? In many cases, clients find personal peace in just knowing that they made a good faith attempt.

Business consulting company Audia (www.goaudia.com) says, "Clarity is critical. Engagement is everything." You may have good information, talent, credibility, or good moral ground. But, if you do not take action, then whatever else you have does not matter, because nothing can be accomplished.

Blue 6 can be the one through which you act. Let's make something good happen.