Choicepoint...heard this on a radio program...

[CoffeeCat]

A caller to Tom Martino's show was angry with ChoicePoint for disseminating false
information about him to prospective employers. The man said he gained employment
four times, with large companies, but was let go. ChoicePoint erroneously reported
that the man was a convicted bank robber and that he had a couple of DUIs.

The callers said that communication with ChoicePoint was almost fruitless. ChoicePoint
would not tell the man information about the DUI (what county it was rec'd, etc), so the
man could not obtain information clearing his name from law enforcement. The guy had
no idea where this supposed DUI happened.

I thought this was really odd. ChoicePoint wouldn't remove the information or provide
this man with information so he could clear his name.

Will this be a tactic in upcoming elections? Will they erroneously list innocent people
as "felons" to get them off voter rolls or to prohibit voting?

[Donnachaidh]

1. he needs the ACLU to get involved.

[acmavm]

2. They already do that if I understand their connection with the

administration correctly. And they had a role in the elections in Mexico recently. Same thing.

[wakeme2008]

3. that is the difference between credit and information companies.

There are laws that allow you to see your credit report and make corrections. Non of that for the "information" brokers. :grr:

[sui generis]

4. In fact, they also report major surgeries you've had

MIB information, whatever an employer or prospective employer is by law allowed to request.

[peacetalksforall]

5. Republicans own Choicepoint? .. nt

[sui generis]

6. It doesn't matter - if the reason his employers gave

was the information in ChoicePoint, then he needs to sue them to prove it. And he needs to sue those employers for acting in bad faith. It's one thing to make a decision based on the best information you have. It's quite another to make it based on information that you cannot verify through any other source.

[Marie26]

7. Choicepoint has a horrible record

It's been reported that up to 70% of their records contain significant errors. Unlike credit reports, they're not governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and there's no guidelines on how the info is compiled, or how consumers can correct their file. It also leaks files like a sieve - over 150,000 files have been stolen so far. Despite all these errors & mistakes, Choicepoint keeps rolling in the federal contracts.

"ChoicePoint files found riddled with errors -
Data broker offers no easy way to fix mistakes, either"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7118767/