Inadvertently submitted wrong information on background-check form
April 29, 2013 3:15 PM   Subscribe

I recently filled out a background disclosure form. The form asked for my last salary for each of my employers in the last 10 years. I inadvertently filled out the form with my first salary. What can I do now?

Hi everyone about two days ago I filled out a form for a background check for a new job. I inadvertently filled out the salary information putting in my "first" salary as opposed to my "last" salary for my last 10 work positions. I filled out the form after a 13 hour day and should have paid more attention but didn't. What are my options now? If relevant this may help:

1) This is a background check needed in order to be eligible for a job I was recently offered.

2) The form clearly states that upon my signature I had to make sure that I was providing the right data. (I had finished a 15 hour workday and was extremely tired).

Is it kosher to call the company (especially since the form was submitted recently) and point out the error? Do I have any other options? Is this job lost?

Please let me know your thoughts. I already quit my job and would be very unfortunate if I get into any problems as a result of my mistake.
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Not a big deal. Call and point out the error. If you've already been offered the job, this won't be a deal-breaker.
posted by ewiar at 3:18 PM on April 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yep, very minor issue. Make the call, and offer to fill out a new form if need-be.
posted by craven_morhead at 3:20 PM on April 29, 2013


Yes, just call them and say what you said here, except for the 13-hour day. This is a reasonable mistake and you are simply asking for the opportunity to correct it. It's not like you forgot to mention you served 20 years for embezzling.
posted by beagle at 3:20 PM on April 29, 2013 [4 favorites]


I went through a background check related to contracting at a large credit card company recently. I was asked to list all education-related dates (when and where, etc.). It's been 20 years, so I was really just guessing on much of it. When did I take that last calc class? July 1991? Sure, sounds right.

CCC did their own research and came back with a bunch of corrections. Night classes I took at the U in 1997, etc. When they asked for clarification, I told them they were correct and I'd forgotten that class or whatever. No problems.
posted by chazlarson at 7:16 PM on April 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


I work in Backgrounds in a county government, we have people call and email corrections almost everyday. Not a big deal.
posted by jennstra at 7:42 PM on April 29, 2013 [1 favorite]


a salary history for a background check? Sounds odd to me. Anyway I wouldn't worry about it. HR departments generally don't give out that info--just ranges.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 4:03 AM on April 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


I've had people put the wrong social security number on a background check. Just call them and let them know. Everyone makes mistakes. It's likely this isn't the first time this has happened.
posted by timesarrow at 9:33 AM on April 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


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