Important Information You Need to Know
PDR's Focus
Personnel Data Research is a direct provider of criminal records to
pre-employment screening companies. It is our only business! We do not do pre-employment screening! When PDR handles a request in our offices for screening services, we refer the inquirer to a list of screening service providers developed from a current register of PDR customers.
If you want to be included on that referral list advise your PDR account manager. PDR will never ask for the names of your customers.
The principal of Personnel Data Research has a combination of over twenty-two years of professional investigative and investigative management experience in the private sector. This extensive broad base background allows PDR to professionally oversee and manage our network of over 1,600 professional researchers that are utilized to provide the records you need.
Compare our prices, reporting, and exceptional customer service and most importantly - the advanced technology we offer at no cost to all of our customers. The PDR difference will allow you to improve on the product you deliver to your screening customers.
Report Timeliness
Personnel Data Research is located in the central time zone. Submit all criminal search requests before 5:00 p.m. Submissions prior to 5:00 p.m. will be processed through on that day. We do send and receive to our researchers several times throughout the day to improve turnaround times. Requests received after the 5:00 p.m. cut off time will be delayed one full business day.
PDR�s team of researchers utilizes public records obtained by on-site courthouse visits to prepare our reports to you. Courthouses are generally open Monday through Friday and are subject to a liberal civil service holiday schedule. In addition, smaller courthouses, often because of manpower issues, are not always consistently reliable. Remember that courthouses are closed every weekend. PDR strives to meet all of our time deadlines, but will on occasion report to you delays caused by these types of issues.
Check our home page court house alerts section for the most current information regarding Report Delivery and Timeliness!
By following the PDR recommended submission format you can eliminate unnecessary delays in report returns. On all reports be sure and provide the following information:
Your Company Name
The Name of the Person Submitting the Request
Your Contact Information
Name of the Applicant
Date of Birth
Social Security (if available)
Counties/State to Search
- Fax customers can use the PDR recommended submission form included as part of this welcome package.
Remember - Proper identifiers are critical to accurate record retrieval!
Traffic Records
Traffic records are reported only if our researchers locate a record pertaining to traffic related incidents in the felony and or misdemeanor search of the county level records check. Frequently, serious traffic violations are recorded at the county level as criminal traffic violations and therefore the records are available and reported by our researchers.
Record Retrieval
PDR returns the search results to you as soon as they are received in our offices. This means that:
For Our Fax Customers - We post the information and electronically fax directly back to you as soon as we receive the reports.
For Our Remote Software Customers � We post to our system as soon as we receive the report results in our office. You can then dial in and download at any time to receive the latest information on your search requests.
We do now (as of April 1, 2004) make available partial report information to our FRS customers, and Remote Software users.
For Our Internet Users - We post to our system as soon as we receive the report results in our office. By using your ID and password, you can check the status of your requests and pick up results 24/7 on the web. We pick up and deliver to the web every 30 minutes throughout the day.
Handling Disputes
When PDR reports a criminal record and the subject disputes the accuracy of the report -
1. Verify the accuracy of the identifying information that was provided both to you and to PDR.
2. Make sure your client is aware of how PDR obtained the record.
3. If the identifiers match the information provided, the subject of the search should be told to contact the court jurisdiction directly. In many cases the court clerk will only provide telephone verification with proper identifiers for the subject themselves.
If No Record reports are disputed -
1. PDR will authenticate all the information we received from you and complete another court records check at no additional cost to you if our original report was not accurate.
2. PDR will render a bill for the re-check if the information sent was originally accurate.
3. If you require a second re-check of the record, PDR will require additional identifying information including: case number, arrest date, and the name of the agency which made the arrest prior to the PDR researcher re-visiting the courthouse.
4. Second re-checks are billed at our standard rate.
Municipalities
Our policy is if a record was indeed missed due to an error by the court clerk or our researchers, we will "no charge" the searches, however, if the search remains a no record, due to the "hit" being in a municipal court or in family court, you will be charged for the original, as well as the recheck. Please note there are several counties that information from the individual municipalities is not reported to them. When your clients are using databases to pre-search, this will occur more often.
Duplicate Requests
We will do our best to identify and eliminate duplicate requests. However, PDR's volume does not permit us to compare the names of the subjects submitted for research on any day other than the date received and processed. PDR must bill for duplicate requests.
Miscellaneous Issues
The PDR pricing contained within this website includes the access fees and charges we pay to research the records. These incurred fees are in addition to the fees we must pay our researchers. In addition, the courts adjust their charges without notice. PDR's pricing will be changed and updated as needed and PDR reserves the right to do so without notice. We will update you as soon as possible with information on any pricing changes. As we have seen, many of the courts have not provided notice at all to increases prior to implementing them.
Billing - All invoices are sent to PDR customers labeled as "Net 15 Days" . Invoices should be paid within 30 days of the bill date or interest at the rate of
1 1/2 % per month will accrue. PDR reserves the right to cease processing requests until outstanding invoices are paid.
Statewide Criminal Record Searches - PDR can provide statewide searches in those states that do not require a signed waiver from the subject of the search. Those states are provided under the schedule of prices area of this website. PDR does not recommend this type of search for use as a pre-employment screening tool. Although it may have its uses, the client needs to be aware that state databases are often not current or accurate. The FCRA has specifically addressed the use of archived databases for screening purposes.
Holiday Schedule - Personnel Data Research will notify in advance all customers by fax of PDR holiday closings.
Regular Courthouse Delays - Routine Courthouse Delays are incurred in certain jurisdictions throughout the United States. PDR provides each of its customers a listing of those known and regular delays as part of the New Client Welcome Package. Changes to this list are made as necessary and all customers receive regular updates as necessary.
Hours of Operation
Personnel Data Research is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. central time.
Scope of Search Provided
Criminal records are researched at the county level. PDR uses a 7-year time frame. Research that is beyond this scope will entail delays in reporting and will be handled and priced as extended searches. Extended searches are subject to an additional fee of $2.00 per year researched.
Canceling Your Request
PDR sends the research requests to its team of researchers throughout the day. Our last sends go out between 5:30 and 6:00pm. PDR regrets that canceled orders can only be accepted until 5:00 p.m. central time on the day of the original request.
Court Copies
PDR will as a courtesy, attempt to provide copies of court records when available and when the client has requested this information at the time of the original search request. You will be billed for the cost of the copies. If your request for copies is after our researcher has made his initial on-site visit you will receive an invoice for a second search in addition to the costs of the copying. This cost varies depending on the courts.
- Document Retrieval Companies specialize in providing low cost courthouse records. This is a different service than the one offered by our highly trained and specialized research team. You can save money by initiating your request for documents with a document copying service.
Extended Searches
PDR will charge an additional $2.00 for each year of extended search requests beyond the standard 7-year search. Timeliness will be affected by extended search requests. Delays are commonplace.
Thank you for your business!
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