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

jobbingmusician

gekas wrote: »

They have not informed that this is the missing issue!! How is that difficult to understand?

But they have! You say that your PhD, and the registration period for it, explains one of the periods they are asking about.

gekas wrote: »

The same day FADV informed me for gaps in my employment in the following periods. 11/2010 – 09/2011 09/2012 – 02/2013 05/2015 – 11/2015

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.

So I would have thought it an obvious need for you to prove that you had indeed registered for this PhD and spent some time studying for it. It is irrelevant whether you have finished the degree or not. Your registration and study period still accounts for this time. (And, for example, proves that you were not in prison. Why do you think companies want unbroken work records?)

gekas

OK I will try to find how I can prove it now.

Anyway I apologize if my country has unemployment and after finishing my MSc me together with 50k persons per year are unemployed until we find a job abroad.
I have to apologize why Greece has unemployment since according to them this is an employment gap! and this is not paranoia!!

Btw I dont get why they screened themselves about my address history or my former employee in UK or they check from criminal records in poland. Although I have to provide this doc myself, without them asking me since all they asked me was the subject of the phd and the days I have been working on it!
I dont know maybe its cultural!

In each case even if its cultural I will try to find such a doc.

I will be back to you in a few weeks with their new requests to prove I am not lazy or unwilling to coordinate with them. It is them they they remember what they need more every 3 weeks and without even explaining what exactly they need.

jobbingmusician wrote: »

But they have! You say that your PhD, and the registration period for it, explains one of the periods they are asking about.



So I would have thought it an obvious need for you to prove that you had indeed registered for this PhD and spent some time studying for it. It is irrelevant whether you have finished the degree or not. Your registration and study period still accounts for this time. (And, for example, proves that you were not in prison. Why do you think companies want unbroken work records?)

daytona0

gekas wrote: »

OK I will try to find how I can prove it now.

Anyway I apologize if my country has unemployment and after finishing my MSc me together with 50k persons per year are unemployed until we find a job abroad.
I have to apologize why Greece has unemployment since according to them this is an employment gap! and this is not paranoia!!

I'd prefer it if you respected fellow Greeks who aren't given the opportunity to work for a good company in the UK... Maybe then you'd just crack on with sorting out all of your paperwork and respect the fact that this company remains eager to have you on the books.

w00519772

gekas wrote: »

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 the following periods. 11/2010 – 09/2011 09/2012 – 02/2013 05/2015 – 11/2015
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!

I think it is reasonable for an employer to be meticulous when vetting an individual who they will be working with in the future. They do not know you and are just making sure that everything you say is true. If it was me and I really wanted the job then I would go out of my way to assist them. Surely there is someone at the university you knew you and can confirm your time there? If not then just write to the university and ask them to confirm that you were a student there. My current employer does very thorough vetting.

I do not think your prospective employer is being incompetent; just having a very difficult time piecing everything together. If you kept records then this may not be so difficult. Sorry if this sounds harsh.

gekas

OK...OK...

you should be a bit more careful with your comments actually...
I mean comments like "you should go back to Greece/Poland with your contempt for people who are doing what they get paid for..."

whatever...

daytona0 wrote: »

I'd prefer it if you respected fellow Greeks who aren't given the opportunity to work for a good company in the UK... Maybe then you'd just crack on with sorting out all of your paperwork and respect the fact that this company remains eager to have you on the books.

gekas

Anyway it is making me sad that I wrote such a detail description of my situation with them 5 months now. Although most of you understood that I am unwilling to help the employees of this company to do their job.
whatever...

Tiddlywinks

gekas wrote: »

Anyway it is making me sad that I wrote such a detail description of my situation with them 5 months now. Although most of you understood that I am unwilling to help the employees of this company to do their job.
whatever...

Huh?

It's simple really - the company needs to establish the facts about you before employment can be offered. Cross border checks can take time.

You either cooperate and get the job or get obstructive and petulant and potentially kiss the job goodbye.

Your choice...

Getting stroppy on this forum isn't going to help either.

gekas

I totally agree and respect this.
The issue is that the job has been offered already and I have signed the contract. Although I cannot start working until all this is done. I do not know how common this is in UK!

In general I am not getting petulant. Although when some Messiah is advising me to go back to my country I get offended like most people would do! Also when some other genius says that the mistake is mine that I have not given them evidence of doing a phd (without being asked, as if I was born into bureaucracy of UK based screening background companies) is also making me think whats going wrong?

And finally with what should I cooperate? With the fact they I am posting an envelope that takes time and money to arrive in UK and they say to me that they never got it, then that I forgot to post all the pages, then that I forgot to sign all of the pages and finally they are complaining to me about a missing signature which was clearly stated to be from them?
Or should I change the order of names on the bill to satisfy the UK standard?
And all these with huge delay and after my scheduled arrival in UK!

The point is not the PhD obviously! They will still complain after I prove it. The point is that all these show some really bad organise. And the problem is their horrible customer support.

As I said I will let you know again, after I will provide them this PhD evidence, the next time they will rechange their requests towards me.

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Huh?

It's simple really - the company needs to establish the facts about you before employment can be offered. Cross border checks can take time.

You either cooperate and get the job or get obstructive and petulant and potentially kiss the job goodbye.

Your choice...

Getting stroppy on this forum isn't going to help either.

CKhalvashi

gekas wrote: »

I totally agree and respect this.
The issue is that the job has been offered already and I have signed the contract. Although I cannot start working until all this is done. I do not know how common this is in UK!

Definitely common in banking.

Also definitely common in any role where an airside security pass is required (anything from an airport manager, to pilots, to cleaners), as it took 4 months for all the forms that OH needed to come back from the countries they came from. This is the case especially when information needs to be sought from several countries.

Presumably common in the Police, Security Services and any other government role where large amounts of money/sensitive documents can be accessed.

In general I am not getting petulant. Although when some Messiah is advising me to go back to my country I get offended like most people would do! Also when some other genius says that the mistake is mine that I have not given them evidence of doing a phd (without being asked, as if I was born into bureaucracy of UK based screening background companies) is also making me think whats going wrong?

Why should you get offended? If you don't like the way things work in the UK, you're more than welcome to pick one of the other 27 states that make up the European Union as a place to live and work, as with any EU national.

And all these with huge delay and after my scheduled arrival in UK!

The point is not the PhD obviously! They will still complain after I prove it. The point is that all these show some really bad organise. And the problem is their horrible customer support.

No offence here, but I'd rather someone with access to large amounts of money, possibly in a bank where I hold accounts, is checked thoroughly before being offered employment.

If you were a convicted fraudster and ended up stealing £1m of client funds and it later emerged that the bank hadn't done any checks on you, how would that make the bank look?

You will need to provide evidence of what you were doing for that time before you will be accepted for employment.

daytona0

gekas wrote: »

OK...OK...

you should be a bit more careful with your comments actually...
I mean comments like "you should go back to Greece/Poland with your contempt for people who are doing what they get paid for..."

whatever...

Errm, you need to be careful with your comments.

Imagine if I was an employee for FADV and you said:

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

on a public forum... Would I be happy?