Identity Verification Via Photo

[pravstar]

Hi there,

I needed to verify if someone is who they say they are. I believe they are using false ID to obtain tenancy. Unfortunately I have no evidence to substantiate this, so the police are unable to assist at present.

I would like to know if there are private companies out there that can cross reference a photo I have with police records to see if there are any current outstanding records, or previous convictions, I have a sneaky suspicion that this person has been in trouble with the law before.

I am happy to pay for services that could assist, could someone point me in the right direction as to whether or not this is possible, or whether there are alternative routes, as I have do e background checks and this person does not seem to exist.

Thanks

[mccfluff]

gets a dbs check done on them?

http://www.experian.co.uk/background-checking/tenant-screening.html

that's just one company who does it, there are others

[fiction-factory]

Hi- are you hoping to get enough evidence for the police to question this person or do you just want to vet them for your tenancy?

[murraymints]

doubt you will get anywhere with a photo ..if false name is being used...just tell them that since you can't verify id..no tenancy....ask for National Insurance Number perhaps...that will give an agency a starting point ?

[Buenchico]

>>>gets a dbs check done on them?

The only people who have access to DBS checks are employers and voluntary bodies who are considering taking on a new employee/volunteer in a role associated with the administration of justice or which involves regular contact with children or vulnerable adults. Absolutely nobody else can access DBS checks and anyone who attempts to do so will be committing a serious criminal offence. (You can't even get a DBS check on ourself. Even police officers' access to criminal records is restricted on a 'need to know' basis. A police sergeant was found to have checked up on the criminal record of his daughter's boyfriend. He was sacked, prosecuted and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment).

Similarly, the Data Protection Act prohibits anyone from creating a private database of criminal records. (Newspapers have to take care to remove details of court cases from their websites after a fairly short period of time in order to ensure that they don't effectively create such a database).

If you've already had a background check carried out (with it appearing to show that the person doesn't exist) then all you can do is either to reject the tenancy application or to simply ask the applicant to show you some additional ID. For example you could ask him, without prior warning, to open his wallet and show you his bank cards. (Anyone who's got a debit or credit card would normally show up on a background check unless, possibly, he's never applied for credit or had a mobile phone account).

>>>I have a sneaky suspicion that this person has been in trouble with the law before

Given that over a third of British men acquire a criminal record before the age of 30, that would hardly be surprising! Surely you're not really suggesting that they should all be denied the right to rent housing for the rest of their lives, are you?

[HTthomas1]

Check out the verification solutions from https://www.idmerit.com/
hope it will help.