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Pinkerton Background Checks Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 3.6 / 5 (Very good)
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Established in 1850, Pinkerton began its long history after its founder and namesake foiled an assassination plot against President Abraham Lincoln. It is still one of the most famous detective agencies in the world, but it focuses its services on risk management and consulting solutions for corporations around the world. The company offers employment background checks, aimed at reducing risk and ensuring business continuity.
 
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How is Pinkerton rated?

Breakdown

4.0/5
Types of Background Checks
4.3/5
Report Quality
3.5/5
Reputation
3.8/5
Pricing
2.5/5
Customer Support

Overall Rating: 3.6 / 5 (Very good)

Known around the world as one of the most famous investigation firms in history, Pinkerton has a wide range of employment background check products available for businesses, including some that are not standard in the industry. However, scarce information on the website about the cost of these checks, the apparent lack of FCRA compliance assistance, and an unclear overview of their current reputation among previous employment screening customers may make some prospective customers uneasy. There is simply not enough information to determine whether they are truly the best or just middling.

Pinkerton Screening Details

Report Quality - 4.3 / 5

Pinkerton offers a variety of employment screening solutions tailored for many industries, such as healthcare, finance, and transportation. They offer all the standard checks—criminal, driving record, education and employment verification—plus a check of global terrorist watch lists, a search for worker's compensation claims, and industry-specific sanctions checks.

The company offers a continuous screening service that automatically checks national criminal records and flags records of concern. They also have a media search available—since many states prohibit the use of arrests without convictions in background checks, Pinkerton will search through newspapers and websites going back two years to turn up evidence of any "derogatory information," as they call it. The company points out that this search is useful when filling high-profile positions that may be exposed to other kinds of scrutiny.
Legal Records
Federal/State Criminal
Civil Actions
Bankruptcy
Sex Offender Registry
Global Watch List
Driving Record
Other Records
Credit Check
Education & Employment Verification
Past Addresses
Social Security # Verification

Additional Services

  • Drug Screening

Pinkerton Company Reputation

Reputation - 3.5 / 5

Unlike other background screening companies, Pinkerton is not accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), though they are FCRA-compliant. Pinkerton is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and holds an A+ rating with the organization, but there are no positive or negative customer reviews on their profile. Online reviews elsewhere are equally scarce. Therefore, despite their 168 year history, it is difficult to say what is the current customer sentiment regarding their employment screening services.

Key Reputational Facts

Year Founded
1850
BBB Rating
A+
Number of BBB Positive Reviews
0
Number of BBB Negative Reviews
0
Verified Contact Info
Yes
Date Collected
2023-10-11

Certifications & Actions

Classified by FCRA as Consumer Reporting Agency
Yes
NAPBS Accredited
No

Pinkerton Pricing

Pricing - 3.8 / 5

Pinkerton's website provides no information as to their pricing scheme, so the company's prices cannot be directly compared against those charged by competing firms.

One product they do advertise is Background Check Now, a service that allows employees or applicants to request and purchase a background check themselves and forward the results to the employer. This way, the background check would cost the employer nothing. However, consumers who are considering this option should be aware that there are some categories of information that may appear on a self-check that are forbidden from inclusion on an employer-requested background check.

Company Profile

Full Name
Pinkerton Background Checks
Company Website
https://www.pinkerton.com/
Headquarters
101 N. Main Street, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104
Mailing Address
101 N. Main Street, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104

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