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PARANOIA!! screening company looks incapable of finishing my check! I cant start work

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gekas
gekas Posts: 12 Forumite
edited 15 January 2016 at 12:52AM in Employment, jobseeking & training
I apologise in advance for this long text but I definitely feel that I have to share this with you.


I have started interviewing for the position of Software Developer in Glasgow on August for a famous investment bank. I finished the interviews in the end of October and I have been orally offered the job a week later. The HR needed a month to get the paperwork done and offered me the job officially in November.

Then the nightmare starts. The HR HQ asked me to complete some documents to authorise a company called FADV to proceed with employment history, criminal checks etc.

1st of December they asked me provide them with proof of address, proof of identity, various consent forms to complete, my full 5-year address history, my fullname and NIN, my university degrees and P45 etc. The following day I printed scanned and emailed them everything.
The same day FADV informed me for gaps in my employment in 3 periods.
I explained them that first period I was still studding in the university. Consequently I do not know how they have created this slot. Maybe I have not completed correctly some form, although I am 99% sure I have not done such a big mistake but in each case as I said I had already my uni degrees send to them to verify it. I explained about the 2nd period that I had just finished my MSc and I got enrolled in PhD in my uni which I did not finished since I had to move abroad to work. The 3rd period is when I resigned from my job in UK and was searching remotely from my homeland-Greece a new job.

It took them a week to inform me about some new form that I have to print complete and send by post to FADV authorising them to do my criminal check in the country I found my first job in Poland, back in 2013. Although, the document was in Polish. I explained to the HR that I could neither read nor write Polish so I asked some English version if possible. A few days later I had the English version to assist me complete the Polish. So I went to the post office and sent it to them a few days later.

The following day the paranoiac situation that would follow become even more obvious. I got a mail that the utility bill I provided them to verify my address in Greece could not been accepted. The reason was that the bill was in the name "SURNAME-FIRSTNAME" instead of "FIRSTNAME-SURNAME". Also my fathers name was missing. They were asking me to provide non applicable stuff in my country like council tax bill, TV licence, or even letters from Tesco or some Tenancy agreement to verify the address of the flat I am staying currently. Please keep in my mind that this the flat of my parents in which I am staying the last months as a guest. In each case I explained them that the bills are not printed everywhere with the order of names as expected in UK and maybe this was resolved. Although I never got an answer on this.

A week later I received a new mail informing me about some gaps in my employment and yes it was the exactly the same slots. I explained them once again and then they asked me the details of my PhD? I asked myself why on earth they need the details of a degree I never finished and I am working on it when I have some free time? I explained them the subject of the PhD the uni department and that is not finished. I thought it was over.

Unfortunately the following day I got a mail that they cannot find my former employer in Poland to verify I was working there. So I gave them the telephone and mail of HR of my last company and hoped this was also over.

It was almost New Years Eve and I was getting ready for my flight in Glasgow. My starting day was 6th January and I was supposed to arrive there on 4th. I had bought my airplaine tickets, I had a few days in a hotel booked for the beginning and had arranged some flat appointments to rent a flat. Although on the 29th I got mail like "Sorry we have to postpone your start day until 18 January" and by the way as it was New Years Eve no one was available as expected in my future company. I was in a deadlock! Should I take my flight or not? Should I risk to go there and have a new delay on my starting day. Finally I spoke with the HR in Glasgow and he advised me to wait for these checks to complete before I arrive.

The last hours of 2015 ended in a really similar paranoiac way. FADV was asking that I should complete and send by post office the same form I posted 2 weeks ago. I replied that it was send already and I gave the site of the post office and the code of the invoice to see themselves online that it was already in UK.

Then with New Year starts New Years Paranoia. On 4th they informed me that I have not send all the pages. I replied immediately that all of the pages had been send. On the 6th I spoke with HR in London who is dealing with this. He informed that my check about the period I was working in UK is done by FADV, although about the year I was working in Poland is not started at all. The next day they told me that I have not signed all 3 pages that I send. I informed them that I had to sign myself the 2nd and 3rd page. Whereas in the first page the signature should be from them. At least this was written on the instructions. The HR agreed that I am right. Although the following day he advised me to sign the problematic page also and send it again by post. Still I had no assistance at all where I was supposed to sign this? I printed this paper a couple of times, signed it in a couple of different positions and posted it once again last week.

A few days ago I got a new mail that my starting day has to be postponed once again for 1st February until these checks will be clear.
A couple of days ago FADV came back to me saying that they tried to contact my former employer in Poland although in Poland they do not give verifications of employment to 3rd part companies! It took them one and a half month to realise this!! I send them the contract of employment and the equivalent of P45 in Poland and hopefully they can verify I was indeed working for them!

And because we are not done yet... they come back to me asking the exact day of my PhD which as I said to them is not finished! Although otherwise it counts as an employment gap for them!!
hahaha!! simply one Greek word can explain all these!! PARANOIA!!! and only one English word can explain about FADV... incompetence!!
and because I do not want to sound like exaggerating you can find 15/15 horrible reviews for them just by googling "FADV reviews".

What should I do guys? These FADV guys look proper amateurs and unprofessionals? My future career is up to these incompetent persons! Maybe they will fail to verify something and I will finally loose the offer! Maybe I will start working on summer finally since they are extremely slow! I feel in a dealock!
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Comments

  • tomtontom
    tomtontom Posts: 7,929 Forumite
    Have you provided confirmation of your PhD studies from the university?

    This is not paranoia, this is FADV doing what they are paid to do. If you knew the Polish employer would not give a reference to a third party then why did you not tell them this immediately? They should not need to keep coming back to you for further information, you should be proactive and provide sufficient evidence of your whereabouts/ employment for the period in question.
  • gekas
    gekas Posts: 12 Forumite
    edited 15 January 2016 at 12:57AM
    No I have not provided confirmation of my PhD since I have not completed it.
    I have not even written in on my CV. They started asking me what I was doing this period and I why was unemployed? I replied that I started a PhD that I quitted because economic situation and that after quitting I started working on my first job! Therefore I do not see any employment gap myself!

    Obviously I do not know if X,Y,Z company is not providing confirmation of employements in A,B,C country in 3rd part companies!! They have provide it straight to another emploer of mine in the past.
    Dont you think its their responsibility to know it since Poland is in the list of the 10 countries they are screesning at? And anyway waiting 1.5 month to ask this god damned referral makes sense to you?

    I spend lots of time writing this to explain it and I expect a more serious answer please. Go read what is paranoia once again!
  • tomtontom
    tomtontom Posts: 7,929 Forumite
    gekas wrote: »
    No I have not provided confirmation of my PhD since I have not completed it.
    I have not even written in on my CV. They started asking me what I was doing this period and I why was unemployed? I replied that I started a PhD that I quitted because economic situation and that after quitting I started working on my first job! Therefore I do not see any employment gap myself!

    Obviously I do not know if X,Y,Z company is not providing confirmation of employements in A,B,C country in 3rd part companies!! They have provide it straight to another emploer of mine in the past.
    Dont you think its their responsibility to know it since Poland is in the list of the 10 countries they are screesning at? And anyway waiting 1.5 month to ask this gad damned referral makes sense to you?

    I spend lots of time writing this to explain it and I expect a more serious answer please. Go read what is paranoia once again!

    You're going to go far with that attitude!
  • daytona0
    daytona0 Posts: 2,358 Forumite
    Then again you have to appreciate that, as someone who has resided in Greece (homeland) and someone who has had a job in Poland, your background checks are going to be a bit more detailed/complicated than a UK citizen/PHD student who has not stepped foot outside the UK before....

    If you start saying things like:

    "These FADV guys look proper amateurs and unprofessionals? My future career is up to these incompetent persons!"

    you should go back to Greece/Poland with your contempt for people who are doing what they get paid for...

    From the way I see it, they are giving you a chance at a good job... They could so easily find someone similarly experienced who is easier to process ESPECIALLY when you are getting favoured over UK citizens! Just follow the process and get your paperwork sorted out. Nothing more to it than that...
  • gekas
    gekas Posts: 12 Forumite
    So the fact that is taking them 3 weeks on average to realise that they have forgotten to ask something from me makes sense to you. My screening in Poland and Greece gets complicated if they cannot think out of the box.
    eg. that my dropped PhD has nothing to do with my screening since I never got itor never told them so.

    The fact they cannot estimate themselves how much time they need to complete their checks? The fact that I had everything paid and ready (airplanes, hotles, etc) and finally cancelled on the last moment and then they went on holidays?
    The fact that we have exchanged 70 mails with me attaching them documents immediately to make their life easier means I dont have the attitude to let them do their job?

    why I call them amateur and unprofessionals? SImply google for
    "First Advantage Corporation - Professional Services"
    15 reviews all of them with 1/5 star speaking with much more offensive words than me. All of us are crazy or selfish arrogant Greeks and Polish?

    Its obviously something really wrong of their side, otherwise I was not supposed to start accusing them in forums! So honestly guys what I need is some proper advice what I can finally do with them instead of attaching in mails the same and the same docs again and again with no result.
    daytona0 wrote: »
    Then again you have to appreciate that, as someone who has resided in Greece (homeland) and someone who has had a job in Poland, your background checks are going to be a bit more detailed/complicated than a UK citizen/PHD student who has not stepped foot outside the UK before....

    If you start saying things like:

    "These FADV guys look proper amateurs and unprofessionals? My future career is up to these incompetent persons!"

    you should go back to Greece/Poland with your contempt for people who are doing what they get paid for...

    From the way I see it, they are giving you a chance at a good job... They could so easily find someone similarly experienced who is easier to process ESPECIALLY when you are getting favoured over UK citizens! Just follow the process and get your paperwork sorted out. Nothing more to it than that...
  • gekas wrote: »
    No I have not provided confirmation of my PhD since I have not completed it.
    I have not even written in on my CV. They started asking me what I was doing this period and I why was unemployed? I replied that I started a PhD that I quitted because economic situation and that after quitting I started working on my first job! Therefore I do not see any employment gap myself!
    Have you provided them with confirmation that you were enrolled on the course at the University? You should be able to get that.
    Obviously I do not know if X,Y,Z company is not providing confirmation of employements in A,B,C country in 3rd part companies!! They have provide it straight to another emploer of mine in the past.
    Dont you think its their responsibility to know it since Poland is in the list of the 10 countries they are screesning at?
    Not necessarily - how many companies are there in Poland?

    It does sound annoying but I don't think you have a choice if you want the job.
  • gekas
    gekas Posts: 12 Forumite
    onetwothreeforfive
    after they failed to get the referral as I said I send them immediately my contracts and P45 to prove it. I am just concerned that still they will not like something.

    Regarding the PhD ... No I cannot find a confirmation of enrolment since the department has changed name and merged with another one and involves lots of bureaucracy now to print such a paper if is still possible.

    What I am trying to explain once again is that I have not taken this degree, the position does not require it, I am not lying to them about anything regarding this.
    Why anyway do I have to verify this instead of simply skip all this non-obtained PhD stuff?
    Even if lets say I acquired an MBA which is also irrelevant to the position or I got a guitar certificate maybe I still have to inform them about (maybe not, I do not know to be honest). Altough if I FAILED to take it and I quitted it almost immediately why should this be such a concern to them?? Obviously its irrelevant to degrees needed and my degrees obtained for the job?
  • tomtontom
    tomtontom Posts: 7,929 Forumite
    You need to account for the time you were doing your PhD. How is that difficult to understand?
  • gekas
    gekas Posts: 12 Forumite
    They have not informed that this is the missing issue!! How is that difficult to understand?
    tomtontom wrote: »
    You need to account for the time you were doing your PhD. How is that difficult to understand?
  • Latazza
    Latazza Posts: 101 Forumite
    This is standard screenng process for Investent Banks/Banks and IT positions for the onboarding process to take anything upto 5 months.
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