If your receipt or invoice lists Equifax TWN Employment Data Access Fee, that line is a third-party employment-data access charge from The Work Number (TWN), a database managed by Equifax. It is not a second BackgroundChecks.com package price, and it is not a setup fee.
This article is for the employer (the customer who paid). It does not replace How does BackgroundChecks.com verify employment and avoid unnecessary validation fees?. Use that article for the verification steps.
You already agreed to this at checkout
When you add employment verification to an order, checkout requires a checkbox before the order can be placed. The order cannot be submitted without it.
That checkbox says the order includes a verification of employment, which may require searching The Work Number® database by Equifax. If required, you agree to have the data access fee charged to the payment method on the order. Checkout currently shows that fee as $100.71. That is the Equifax passthrough amount shown on the checkbox, not a second package price.
Click here on that checkbox opens About Equifax's The Work Number®. That disclose says:
TWN is an Equifax employment database used to verify employment records (instead of manual HR calls or emails).
We check TWN for work history in the last 7 years. If matching records are found, verification is instant.
We pass on the Equifax service fee. We do not mark it up.
You are not charged this fee if no history is found in the last 7 years, or if employment is verified another way (payroll information or pay stubs on the application).
Why this line can show up after I already paid for a package
The package you chose at checkout (Basic, Complete, or Professional) is the screening package. Employment verification is a separate search. When that search has to use TWN, Equifax bills an access fee and we pass that charge through. It can post on a later receipt than the original package charge.
The amount on your receipt is the passthrough for that order. Checkout currently discloses $100.71.
How to avoid it on the next order
Have the applicant complete payroll information, or upload pay stubs, during the application, before they submit. Pay stubs cannot be added after submit. See Why do you ask for payroll information on the application? and I do not have my payroll login or pay stubs. Full verification steps: 11709635.
If you do not need employment verification on this assignment, do not add ClearWork™ / employment verification to the order. See ClearWork™ - Employment Verification.
Can I get this fee refunded?
If we have already been billed for this passthrough surcharge, we do not refund it. See My applicant didn't fill out his background check information.
The 120-day unused-application window applies to an unused screening package when the applicant never submitted a completed application. It does not reverse a TWN access fee that has already been billed.
What this is not
Not a copy-of-receipt request. For a PDF of the charge, see How do I print invoices?.
Not a report-accuracy dispute. Accuracy disputes go to [email protected]. See How can a dispute be opened?. Only the applicant can open a report dispute.
Not I-9 or E-Verify. BackgroundChecks.com does not offer those products.
Still need a person
Email [email protected] or call 1-800-942-1366. Include the email on the account and the receipt or invoice number. Ask about the Equifax TWN Employment Data Access Fee on that order.