Sterling, A First Advantage CompanyReviews of sterlingcheck.com

Service rep on the phone made it very easy to comply with request Sterling had sent me. She gave me an email with instructions I could follow and attach the required document and send it back to her specifically. I received confirmation from her that the documents had been received and forwarded on to the appropriate department. Still waiting for confirmation that background has been completed.

They helped a lot. I got the email and it helped me a lot so I could the background. The first guy I got didn't help much but once I called back the next person John helped and was patient with me. Thank you overall great service.

Prompt contact in getting the process started and continuing to contact through the process. Delivery of onboarding was seamless.

Everything seems to be running smoothly . Good communication. I'm just waiting for everything to be processed so i can move forward in getting a job with Freeport

My experiences are trying to work as a machine operator, I worked as a machine operator before. I am honest,respectful, and constructive to do it but this will be my first time to start for any Sterling Company.

Great customer service, great experience!

My perspective: EU national with a clean record, truthful educational and employment history applying for a Company I highly respect based in the UK. As I needed to sort other details (VISA, stop my business, etc) in a short period before starting with the new (potential) job, I was reassured by the fact this process would have taken only 3 to 5 working days, as stated in the application form to Sterling. I could not have been more wrong: there is no way of knowing when you'll have your report (mine is still pending). In hindsight I would have planned things differently. WHAT TO EXPECT --------------------- Or, "qui custodiet ipsos custodes": they are making background checks on people, but has someone ever audited them?! - Onboarding is simple: you provide all possible sorts of informations through a web form and attach all the files you own to back your claims. Mine crashed once, as they couldn't retrieve my files at some point - which meant I had to bother the new Company to provide me with a new application link. - In the link they sent you for the application form there is stated it takes 3 to 5 working days. It's a lie; even their call center says it takes at least 12-15 working days. More realistically it will take longer. - Nevertheless, I suspect that if you were employed and provided OCR-ready paystubs (for UK/US nationals) the employment background check might take less than one hour. It seems to me that their business is tremendously automatised, with bots scanning and data mining documents and an absolutely useless offshore call center being there just to reassure candidates that everything is fine. - After that, you will get various emails asking for more documents, that often do not even apply nor exist in your legislation. You can reply to these emails attaching those (sensitive) documents, IN CLEAR. They have one unique mailbox. I've no idea how can they manage to pass GDPR compliance with it. - Sometimes their call center will say "we did not receive the documents" and sometimes they will say "oh, they are here - all is good" (hours before they ask for them again). Apparently "processing the documents takes 48h/72h before they are seen by the team handling your case". This means that every time you send a document the background process takes at least 3 more days. They do not communicate internally, and I doubt they will see your documents anyway. - They have one VoIP number (apparently in the country the Company you are applying for is located) that redirects the calls to non-US/non-UK/non-EEA nationals. Generally I have no problem with that, let me be clear. But these people will have access to all of your sensitive documents (passport, university transcripts, contacts, employment contracts, invoices, etc). If this was confirmed it would be a GDPR issue which would deserve to be investigated by the competent Authorities, as I think it is legitimate, with this way of proceeding, the fear of identity theft and bank frauds done in your name. - Interesting to notice is that call handlers do not say their operator code: they just say their first name real quick. This makes no one accountable: again, I doubt this Company has ever been externally audited, these are red-flags pretty hard to miss. - They have no clue whatsoever of the privacy rules and legislations ruling the Country you have worked in. I've no idea why they claim to be able to perform international background checks. TAKE HOME MESSAGES ------------------ 1. I do not trust the authenthicity of positive reviews. Under their titles we can see that they were all "invited" to leave a review. Countless people sued Sterling, as a quick Google search reveals: I suspect it's not a bad idea in certain circumstance (I'll consider to join a class action if they don't finish my report in time). 2. If you have not worked in the US/UK and you have been a solo trader, my suggestion is to completely *refuse* the job offer, straight away and without thinking it twice. If you can't or don't want (i.e.: like in my case, if you really like the new Company), do not resign yet from your previous Company (if you are employed) or do not stop your business (if you are a contractor); do not stop taking interviews (if you are unemployed). It will realistically save you time and money. 3. If you are a Company using Sterling, please use a competitor. 4. Companies who decide to use Sterling, in my opinion, should state this before the interviewing process, even in the job advertisement (at the start, in bold red, in capital letters and with a danger symbol), so that candidates may google Sterling and make an informed decision whether carrying on with it (again: in most cases, you should not). Saying that my experience with Sterling has been terrible, to this date, would be an understatement.

Well, it was easy to communicate and log-in to do what was required. The person I spoke to was very nice and professional. It seems to me that everything was expedited quickly, and the reports sent to the employer in a timely manner. I feel Sterling was fair and impartial to get the information they wanted about me.