FAQ

• TVS is a BBB member.
  http://www.bbb.org/mbc/business-reviews/credit-reports/ats-tenant-screen-in-surrey-bc-1234801#bbblogo
• You likely found TVS on Google, or on one of the other major search engines, or were referred by a friend/associate. A fraudulent/deceptive company would not remain on a major search engine too long as complaints would/should dictate that the listing be deactivated. Your friend/associate should be able to tell you if they have had problems. If they have referred you, they are obviously satisfied with the service and have not been subjected to fraudulent/deceptive practices.
• Fraudulent Companies more often than not solicit up front fees from you. They want your money before you find out they are not legitimate. TVS does not request any up front fees. It is a pay-as-you-go service which means low risk.
• TIP: When you use a Credit Card for online purchases or any other purchases your Credit Card Issuer will do a charge back to the Merchant where it is deemed that a fraud has taken place.  And ... Fraudulent Operators (generally) do not have credit card capability.

• A credit report serves to establish credit worthiness and show ON TIME or DELINQUENT PAY HABITS
•   A credit report assists in establishing the identity of your Prospective Tenant by comparing their personal information to that entered on the rental application.
• A credit report may list aliases or nicknames.
• A credit report in most instances lists current and previous addresses and current and previous employer(s).
• A credit report via TVS gives you a risk predictor score based on current experience and history.
• A credit report is one of the most important components in your tenant screening process.

TVS offers volume discounts to Members that request 10 or more credit checks per month.

There are a number of ways in which that can be done. Here are two suggestions: 

• Favorable consideration was not given your application to rent as there were other more suitable candidates.
• Favorable consideration was not given your application to rent as it did not meet our (my) criteria for tenancy.

If you reject an Applicant as a result of a Credit score, Criminal or Eviction Search, then you must provide them with a Declined Applicant Notice.

You should ensure that the credit report is sufficiently shredded. Privacy laws dictate that you must safeguard this confidential information.

Yes, you must have the written consent of the applicant to obtain a copy of his/her credit file. Most Rental Application Forms have the consent clause just above the signature on the last page. You can obtain a Rental Application from the TVS website under "online forms."

TVS takes seriously its responsibility to protect Consumer privacy and will report all matters for Police investigation where credit information has been misused or obtained under false pretences. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides for a severe penalty where a Consumer's information has been obtained under false pretences. Section 619 of FCRA refers ...

Section 619. Obtaining information under false pretenses [15 U.S.C. § 1681q]
Any person who knowingly and willfully obtains information on a consumer from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

If you cannot show that you had authorization or consent to obtain a Consumer's credit history, you will be in breach of the Agreement that you signed with TVS Tenant Verification Service Inc. This will result in immediate cancellation of the TVS Service and/or other repercussions as noted above where the matter has escalated.

With TVS connect High Risk Tenants who use stolen identities to rent cannot provide a consumer credit report as they will be unable to pass the authentication process.

If you want to minimize the risk of renting to an Identity Thief ... then use Connect. And if the prospective tenant cannot provide a consumer credit report ... conduct further due diligence to verify credit worthiness and tenant worthiness as noted in #8

These are the main reasons why there is No Consumer Credit Report found:

• Prospective Tenant is young and has not yet established a credit file. Ask ... have you ever applied for credit with a major lender. E.G. Bank, credit card company, cell phone in your name, utilities in your name etc.
• Prospective Tenant has not been able to establish a credit history because of poor/sporadic employment. This is often the case when no credit history is available. Request employer's pay stub to verify employment and bi-weekly income or copy of bank statement. Does he/she have a bank account?
• Prospective Tenant is not being truthful. Many high risk tenants will provide false information on a rent application. Be aware that this could happen to you. Look at two pieces of I.D. and request a pay stub or income tax return from the previous year to verify Identity. No Consumer credit file where an Individual is more than 23-24 yrs old? Red Flag! Conduct further due diligence.
• Prospective Tenant is on a Disability or Income Assistance Allowance and does not have a credit file because it is difficult to obtain credit without being gainfully employed.
• Prospective Tenant is a new arrival to the country and has not yet established a credit history.
• Prospective Tenant has been incarcerated for a long period of time.

Having no credit file = red flag and your tenant screening should include further due diligence.

 Visit www.criminalfraud.com   click on Landlord Fraud.

Monday to Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
(Pacific Time)

TVS has two forms that you can use during the application process; a Rental Application Form and a Notice to Tenant that advises the Prospective Tenant of the consequences should he/she leave you stuck with unpaid rental fees or damaged rental property.

Other forms are available to members on our website.

You can choose to pay via Credit Card or you can choose to make the tenant pay.

TVS is bound by Privacy Laws. It does not share its database with 3rd parties and it does not participate in spam e-mail programs. The only e-mail you are likely to receive from TVS is the Welcome Letter. Important notices may be sent out periodically that advise of website changes, etc. Only important e-mails will be sent to you.

Our web site requires permission to use cookies on your machine. If you are experiencing problems when logging in, perhaps this permission has been denied. This can be for several different reasons, but they are all under your control:

• you may have disallowed cookies altogether in your browser.
• you may have the privacy policy in your browser or internet security software/firewall set to a level that stops cookies from being used by this site.

Cookies in this site are used to keep the privacy of your information and reports and keep you logged on.

Cookies are not used in any way that abuses your privacy or security.

Please change your settings to allow cookies either in your browser or firewall. If you choose not to, we're afraid that we cannot bring you online services.

TVS is a provider of information obtained from Credit Grantors via Experian and CIC who obtain their information from many different electronic sources and data bases. TVS does not verify or guarantee the accuracy of such data.

All data should be verified or discussed with the Individual whom it belongs to. If any of the data is incorrect, they should contact TVS for information on how to correct the inaccurate information that may be on file with the various Companies or data bases.

• There is no documentation needed in order to use Experian Connect service and get a full Credit Report.

• If you choose TransUnion Short Report upon sign up, the following documents are required:

  • Independent Landlord
  • Independent Landlord operating under a business name
  • Property Manager or Realtor acting as a property manager

• If you choose TransUnion Full Credit Report upon sign up, a site inspection along with the following documents are required:

  • Property Manager with site inspection
    (Note: You are required to operate under a business name to qualify for a site inspection)

Please contact customer service toll free at 1-877-974-9328 to initiate a dispute on your behalf.

In 2007 they implemented a policy where only a Site Inspected End User (You) could obtain a full consumer credit report. Non site inspected End Users could only obtain a credit decision report.

Why? Identity theft!

They finally got it right. Now, the Consumer will order his/her consumer report and pass it to the End User! (You) This is the way it should be and here is why.

• The Connect process identifies both the End User & the Prospective Tenant and minimizes risk of identity theft and/or tenant fraud and landlord fraud. Connect protects landlords & tenants.
• The cost can be passed on to the tenant...if the tenant is motivated to rent, he/she will obtain own consumer report and pass it on to End user.
• If the tenant can't pay for the screening reports, how will he/she make rent payments?
• If the Tenant doesn't have a Credit Card, the landlord can pay for the reports and recoup costs from tenant.
• The End User (You) will get a full Consumer report designed specifically for the residential rental industry.
• No longer will a tenant be able to provide false information on a rental application. They must correctly answer out of wallet questions in order to obtain their consumer credit report. YOU will know precisely who you are renting to and won't be wasting your time on applicants that don't meet your criteria and who you don't want to rent to.
• TENANTS benefit from this process as they will see their own credit, criminal and eviction reports.

If you get a blank page when clicking a link to browse a TVS report, please verify that you are using the latest Adobe Acrobat version available. Check Adobe Acrobat website for the latest version.

Sometimes cleaning your browser's cache can do the trick