Employment verification
Employment Verification
- 01
What it is.
Confirming where a consumer works, for one purpose only — establishing that we are contacting the right person at a place the law permits us to reach them.
- 02
What the law allows.
The FDCPA defines location information as a consumer’s place of abode, telephone number and place of employment. Nothing else. Employment is inside that definition, which is exactly why it is confirmed and nothing beyond it is asked.
15 U.S.C. § 1692a(7) · § 1692b · 12 C.F.R. § 1006.10 - 03
How we work inside it.
Scripted contact, one attempt per person, no disclosure that the consumer owes a debt, and no statement of our business unless we are asked directly. Employers are never told the nature of the call. Every attempt is logged against the account.
15 U.S.C. § 1692b(1)–(3) · § 1692c(b) - 04
Why we do it.
Wrong-party contact is the most common way a routine account becomes a complaint against our client. Confirming the person before the conversation is the cheapest compliance control available, and it protects the consumer first.
01 Compliance
Compliance Controls
Employment confirmed only as location information, never as a means test
One contact per person, unless the earlier response was erroneous or incomplete
No disclosure that the consumer owes a debt, to an employer or anyone else
Our business identified only if asked directly
Contact inside permitted hours, consumer local time
Every attempt scripted, logged and reviewable against the account
Data retained on the schedule and destroyed on it
The framework behind these controls, and our licensing and bonding, are on our Compliance page →
02 Limits
What We Never Do
Ask an employer about wages, income, salary or ability to pay
Tell an employer, a co-worker or a receptionist that the consumer owes a debt
Contact an employer after being told the employer prohibits such contact
Use a false pretext or false identity to confirm employment
Use employment data for anything other than locating the consumer
What a consumer can ask us to do — including disputing an account — is on Consumer Rights →
Locating and employment are one obligation
Confirming a place of employment is a subset of location information, and it is governed by the same provisions. How a consumer is located, and what may never be said to a third party while doing it, is set out on Location Information.