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The Work Number

The Work Number review: I hate this service... Customers last 82

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5:46 am EDT
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I was on the phone for an hour and a half trying to get my employment information. I threw in the towel and hung up. I went on-line and the still did not find an easy way to get my number. What's worse is that they do employment verification for a lot of huge companies!

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The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

82 comments
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Tmcgill2130
Cincinnati, US
Sep 08, 2014 3:06 pm EDT

TWN must abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FTC says the agency must report information that is fully accurate. A consumer can dispute what is reported. If they fail to correct, a complaint may be filed with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

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Tmcgill2130
Cincinnati, US
Sep 08, 2014 3:05 pm EDT

This is totally false that TWN is not responsible for insuring accuracy. It is classified as a Specialty Consumer Reporting Agency by the Federal Trade Commission, and must abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This federal law mandates that a consumer reporting agency report information that is fully accurate. If TWN is not reporting information accurately, a consumer has the right to dispute the information. If the TWN does not correct the information, the consumer can file a complaint directly with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

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Refuse to Use
Canfield, US
Jul 29, 2014 10:35 am EDT

I'm sorry, but not a chance. We do a LOT of hiring for PRN staff. These folks may work all the time, they may work once... they may never work. There's no way I can pay $24.95 every time I have an applicant we're trying to get into compliance.

And here's the kicker... now we're getting verification requests from The Work Number. Maybe we should start sending them an invoice for each one and requiring payment before the data is released. I think $24.95 per would cover the cost of me filling out the form and faxing it. Sounds fair enough, right?

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K Bene
Salt Lake City, US
Jul 09, 2014 12:34 pm EDT

This service makes it impossible to check a prospective employee's references without incurring huge fees. As a hiring manager
I cannot pay to check every potential employee's references through The Work Number. The above comment from The Work Number is incorrect and studpid. You don't decide to hire someone and THEN check their references. There are always more than one applicant for a job. The one that doesn't get chosen could be because they lied about past employment. I don't doubt that many fine people did not get the jobs they applied for because hiring managers were unable to pay The Work number's excessive fees! And to add insult to injury this is the employee's own information the are Paying The Work Number $65 for.

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TheWorkNumber sucks
Fremont, US
Jun 16, 2014 4:27 pm EDT

TheWorkNumber sucks. I spent hours and hours on the phone with their customer services as well as their supervisors, and got nothing. They cannot do anything. Totally waste of time. I don't know why we have to put up with this type of service. I wish theworknumber go out of business soon. Their services are not required.

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I HATE THE WORK NUMBER!
New York, US
May 28, 2014 10:56 am EDT

I am a landlord for federally subsidized housing. Tenant rent is dependent on receiving each tenants specific income information. We do not charge any application fees to obtain apartments and I do not think we should have to pay to receive information. The work number absolutely sucks! and makes my job more difficult than necessary. After acting like I wanted to set-up a contract with this people, I was contacted by Sarah Detweiler whose happy tone quickly turned sour once she found out my true intention. She basically stated that this is a fee based service and the only way around any fees is to have the company who has the contract with them to send the request on my behalf and then they ate obligated to provide me with the information FREE of charge. The only problem with this is for major corporations like Walmart -who can I get in contact with? Although I have tried to get Ms. Detweiler to put this in writing he I have never heard from her again. Maybe you can contact her for yourself and have better luck... her email Sarah Detweiler at sarah.detweiler@equifax.com.

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Stop the WorkNumber
, US
May 04, 2014 12:33 am EDT

The Work Number has cost me job opportunities because with the large pool of candidates, they are not going to hassle with this company nor sit through their tutorials. Their customer service is awful and I can barely understand the accent.

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Stop the WorkNumber
, US
May 04, 2014 12:31 am EDT

I have lost employment opportunities because perspective employers don't want the hassle nor spend the money to check my work reference. They don't allow you to send your information directly to an employer via the mail. Don't work for a company that uses this service. They don't about the employee's future career.

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TWN_ex-employee
elsberry, US
Dec 12, 2013 12:51 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

An employment and income verification can be provided to a requesting party in many ways, i.e., Pay stubs, Employee copy of Tax Returns, IRS Tax Transcripts and Letters of Reference from a Supervisor or Direct Manager which are all free and legal forms of verification. If you are unable to provide verification in this manner or the requesting party will not except these types of verifications you will need to use TWN service. If you need an employment verification and your verifying party is not willing to pay for the verification you can call your employer and ask them to provide you with a 'coupon code'. This coupon code will allow the verifying party access to the verification at no cost. The alternative would be to request your EDR or Employment Data Report. Your EDR is a very detailed employment report containing all the employment information your Employer has on file. An EDR provides detailed employment data such as/but not limited to; Your name, SSN, Job Title, Hire date, End date (if you are no longer employed), Total time with employer, Base Pay, Gross Earnings per pay period and may even contain Health Insurance information and 401(k) information . Please Note: The EDR, Employment Data Report is for your own personal use and is NOT indicative of what is provided to a verifying party though a basic Employment/Income Verification. Your EDR or Employment Data Report is watermarked on each page "For Employee Use Only" and is NOT an Official Verification. The information provided in the EDR packet is an unofficial copy and is not intended to serve as verification for a third party. To access your EDR, go to www.theworknumber.com and click on "I am am Employee" then click 'Enter Site'. You will need the Employer Name or 5 digit Employer code and your SSN/user ID to log into your Employee account. If you do not have the information you can contact your Employer or get assistance from TWN to help you retrieve your login information. After you are logged in you can request your EDR either for instant download and print or to have it mailed to you. Hope this helps assist those who are having difficulties with TWN.

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SierraL
, US
Dec 10, 2013 12:16 pm EST

This is an awful service. The website does not work properly, even as an experienced user, having to deal with it a lot in my job, I can never get the information through the website. Usually, I would call to get the information I need, but just recently my calls have been disconnected before I could even get ahold of a representative. I would not recommend any employer use these services. They are virtually impossible to use, simply because it is a flawed system through both the website and contact phone numbers. It is very frustrating. I hope that employees share their difficulties of the site with their employers to encourage them to switch systems. It is absolutely AWFUL.

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FedUp_with_theBS
, US
Dec 03, 2013 5:32 pm EST

Rip-off company that provides what an HR person can do. They make the employee and the verifier jump through ridiculous hoops... this company is a total waste of time.

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complainer 123
Topeka, US
Jun 16, 2013 11:14 pm EDT

http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/30/16762661-exclusive-your-employer-may-share-your-salary-and-equifax-might-sell-that-data?lite

January 2013 NBC report on The Work Number.

Notify your current Union Rep and advise others to do the same. Being turned down for an auto/home loan, rental application, etc. leads to stress, work absence, and poor job performance. Note: Equifax advises employers to respond to employee concerns about lenders not paying the fee/membership with, 'millions of others do, they should join the club.'

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AngryP
, US
Apr 29, 2013 1:38 pm EDT

I thought I was the only one upset about this process. I was appalled to find out that my company has outsourced to another company, my personal info. I do not know these people and why are they making money off of me? Is this even legal? How do people start a petition to rid this service? With all the identity theft going on in the world, a service like this should be against the law. It's bad enough people who do identity theft cannot be tracked down in a lot of cases. At least if you are working somewhere, and someone who works in your company do or does anything illegal with your info, they can be tracked down. A company tries to save money but this is only going to backfire because a lot of people do not want to pay(and should not have to pay) just to get info that should be given from the human resources dept for free. People should be very irate that someone is making money off of you..I still don't see how this is legal. smh.

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leggeaux
New Orleans, US
Mar 16, 2013 4:58 pm EDT

I'm trying to verify my income for my student loan repayment plan and it's ###ING IMPOSSIBLE ON THIS WEBSITE.

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WTF35
, US
Nov 09, 2012 2:56 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Apparently the EX TWN employee is outnumbered by the complaints and problems of this scam of a company. Hey I have an idea and maybe you can actually understand and agree if you were on the outside looking in. Go to the work number website and try registering and getting info on something as simple as basic verification and OH don't forget your credit card! You have alot of nerve defending something that is so over the top and in your face BS SCAM of a company you use to work for and probably still do. Fact is your EX Employeer TWN is a scam and you know it. Pay for a service that only requires basic info? REALLY? Miss me with that nonsense and bless your heart for sticking up for them.

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TWN_ex-employee
elsberry, US
Sep 19, 2012 1:04 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Fact is, most large companies, with thousands of employees, have outsourced employment verifications and do not do verbal verifications or in house verifications. No one said we have to like it. But like it or not, outsourcing employment verifications is not only legal, but it is becoming the norm with large Corporations. TWN is not the only HR outsource company. There are many companies that provide third-party employment verifications.

Sure one call still get a verbal verification or written verification from Jack's Pizza or Jill's Deli which are independently owned and operated local businesses or even from other small businesses, but a large corporation of say 10, 000 or more employees has most likely outsourced this process due to the large number of verification requests and the cost involved in filling these requests.

Keep in mind that an employment and income verification can be provided to a requesting party in other ways, i.e., Pay stubs, Employee copy of Tax Returns, IRS Tax Transcripts and Letters of Reference from a Supervisor or Direct Manager which are all free and legal forms of verification. If you are unable to provide verification in this manner or the requesting party will not except these types of verifications, then unfortunately, they will have to use TWN if that's how your employer or previous employer releases employment data.

Perhaps you could start a petition or legal proceeding preventing companies from outsourcing and charging for employment verifications and maybe you can even take them down with a class action lawsuit, but for now, The Work Number is not scam-laden, unconstitutional or illegal. Like it or not.

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TWN is a scam
, US
May 10, 2018 9:46 am EDT

Your points are valid but what employers are blind to is they think they are eliminating the burden and making money at the same time. What they don't realize is as they outsource the employment verifications, they have to pay for the same service 2x over to hire a new employee. The Work Number has become a monopoly and they continue to raise their fees. As of today it's 38.95. All this does is raise the cost to hire.

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stupid34
, PT
Sep 15, 2012 9:06 pm EDT

Hey STUPID it don't cost anything to verify with the IRS on a 4506.

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disgustedbyyou
salem, US
Sep 14, 2012 11:09 pm EDT

TWN_ex-employee, you are a ### and a scam artist. Listen to what you are saying, NO ONE should EVER have to pay to verify employment. I doubt you are an ex-employee, but rather a paid current employee of this scam-laden company. Of course an employer is going to throw aside an application that is going to cost them money when they can verify other employees with a simple FREE phone call. Fact is, theworknumber is unconstitutional and illegal. You will eventually be brought down, probably through a class action law suit and I will be there.

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TWN_ex-employee
elsberry, US
Sep 14, 2012 2:40 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I an attempt to address the most frequent complaints in the comments posted I will start by saying that I am an ex-employee of TALX, The Work Number (TWN) and also have worked for a company that uses The Work Number for Employment Verifications. One complaint is that employees cannot access their own Employment Verification. The reason being is that your employer or previous employer does not Contract with TWN to provide the verification to the employee. Your employer contracts with TWN to provide the Verification directly to the authorized requesting party, i, e., Landlord, Financial Institution, Car Dealership, Perspective Employer etc. The purpose of this is to provide the requesting party with a verification that cannot be changed or altered since the requesting party will be the one to access, view and print the verification instantly from a data feed that is provided by YOUR employer and made accessible through TWN website.

The Employment and/or Income Verification data made available through accessing TWN is provided directly from YOUR employer. In a comment posted there was a complaint about there being 7 years of missing employment data and to address this you can file a data dispute with YOUR employer or TWN and ask that it be updated or corrected. Again, all data accessed and available through the work number is provided by the Company that uses the service. TWN is not responsible for ensuring accuracy of the information being provided, YOUR employer is responsible. The data that is available through TWN is dependent on the Company and how much data they provide. If you have been with your previous employer for 10 years and there is only 3 being reported, it may be that that is all the information your employer has made available through TWN, contact your employer. It may also be that there was a break in service due to leave of absence or other reason that has reset the your hire date or length of service with the Company, contact your employer . TWN is not at fault when your information is not Current, Complete or Correct. TWN houses the data that is provided by your employer.

Your not Happy with The Work Number because you had to wait on the phone to get a PIN number? The Employer Code, User ID/Username and Password/PIN are created and provided by your EMPLOYER for first-time users. If YOUR employer has not given you your login information and referred you to TWN for assistance you will need to call and have the next available CSR (Customer Service Representative) assist you. Assuming that YOUR employer gave you the correct phone number to dial, you will need to select the correct prompts on the phone that correspond to the reason for your call in order to get assistance from the correct department. If you are hitting buttons madly because your frustrated that YOUR employer blew you off and you wind up in the wrong department and have to be transferred again, don't be frustrated with the Representative trying to assist you, be mad at yourself.

Upset with the CSR because you failed the Identity Verification Process? The questions are established by YOUR employer and must be answered correctly to verify the identity of the person calling before a User ID/PIN can be provided. So rather than be mad, you should be grateful that these security measures are in place and your login information in not being provided to unscrupulous individuals that may be trying to access your information with ill intent. Thank you TWN.

And last but not least, for hiring managers, landlords and financial institutions, I would not openly admit that you are in violation of discrimination when you state that "If I have two applications, and one is from an employer who uses the work number, I will take the other rather than waste time CHARGING THE EMPLOYEE who turned in the application." The fee for a Verification is NOT to be incurred by the employee, rather it is to be incurred by the requesting party. Advise: For any employee who's employer uses TWN, if you have a Verifier that is attempting to Charge you for the verification, contact your employer immediately and make them aware of this to get further assistance with the verification.

For Hiring Managers, if you have already taken the time to review your perspective Candidate, i.e., resume review, personal or phone interviews and background checks and have moved on to the final step of verifying the employment/income data they have provided you, then it seems safe to say they are in contention for the Job Position and you feel they will be a perfect fit in your Family. If you choose not to purchase the verification it should be because you don't feel that they will be a good fit within your Company Dynamics, not because you are not willing to pay for the Verification. What is your turnover rate?

For Landlords, especially of Condos/Apartments, you can verify wages through pay stubs, bank statements or Tax Returns. If you choose not to accept this type of income verification and you need to Verify income direclty through an employer who uses TWN, you can use the application fee you took from the perspective renter (upwards of $50.00). You collected an "application fee" before even considering renting them the apartment so use the application fee you collected, which I am presuming is for your time in processing the application, and process the application by paying for the Verification with the money you took for the application fee and get the Instant verification from TWN.

For Car Dealerships and Financial Institutions, Let me just say PLEASE. With the interest rates, office fees, filing fees, title and licensing fees etc. that you charge your customers/clients, its called the cost of doing business, just PAY FOR IT!

For employees that are still having a difficult time understanding The Work Number and how to use the service either contact your employer or view the tutorials and FAQ's available at the website. All the information you seek is available at http://www.theworknumber.com/Employees/.

For commercial verifiers that are still having a difficult time understanding The Work Number and how to use the service you can view the tutorials and FAQ's available at the website. All the information you seek is available at http://www.theworknumber.com/Verifiers/.

The current fee for a single (pay as you go) Employment Verification is $17.95 (employment data only)
The current fee for a single (pay as you go) Income Verification is $19.95 (employment and income data)

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choccook
, US
Dec 01, 2016 11:49 am EST

Funny...you didn't address how rude the CSR can be on the phone. Or maybe you were trained to be that way!

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DJC1988
, US
Sep 05, 2012 8:46 am EDT

Thankfully, I lost patience with this company long before giving them any personal information or being prompted for payment. I'm a hiring officer trying to do standard employment verifications for candidates, and find it frustrating to have this obstacle to getting basic information. This is one more reason that candidates should stay in personal contact with past supervisors, so they can be contacted directly.

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Landlord2
, US
Jul 20, 2012 2:12 pm EDT

I can speak as a landlord - this company SUCKS. I will do anything to avoid ever having to deal with them again.

I was trying to verify the income of three possible tenants (all work at the same company). It took me 45 minutes trying to register online because their website kept bombing. It seemed to not work on Firefox, so I had to fire up IE.

When I finally succeeded in registering, they sent me an email saying they couldn't validate my account, so I had to call them. There was NO OPTION in the phone menus to do what I needed to do even though this was the number they themselves provided for this purpose. So after 5 minutes on hold for the wrong service, I got someone who forwarded me to the correct number. After another 25 minutes on hold listening to insanity-producing muzak and some guy telling me to hang up and go to the website to register, I get a human. The human tells me that he will not verify the account because my email is associated with a company that is not known to do property management. It's my email, and it's my company, but the rental property is personal, so they wouldn't "let me" use this email address. WTF!?

Right about then, I get an email saying the account is verified, so I hung up, thankful that I could cut my losses.

So I started the process of verifying the tenants I had to input PINs obtained by the three possible tenants and given to me. All three were invalid. In speaking with the three tenants, they said each of them had a similar nightmare experience of more than 20 minutes on the phone talking to people who could hardly understand them.

What scares me about this company is their level of incompetence combined with the power of the information they hold.

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magicfinfive
Omaha, US
Jul 18, 2012 7:46 pm EDT

This company offered the absolute WORST customer service I have ever encountered! I spent hours yesterday trying to get a hold of someone to obtain a PIN (for MY salary code). I can be patient, but after my 3rd call, I spoke with 'William' and he was arrogant, condescending, and flat out rude. I am trying to get a home loan and needed my salary code. 'William' refused to help me because I did not know the DAY that I started my job (apparently my name, birthdate, SSN, address, job title, AND the month and year of my employment was not enough!). I told him what was on my company website as my start date and because that did not match, he told me I FAILED my security test and he would help me no further. Are you kidding me?! On top of that, I was lectured that I did not have my company code. I told him that I was not at home where I had it written, but I knew that the company code could be searched by company name. That was not good enough for 'William'. He told me to call back when I had the 'correct' info. I told him that if I could look up my company code by company name, he could too. Oh no! He just kept saying that I 'should be prepared when I call him!'. Wow. I have never had such horrible customer service in my life. How does this company stay in business? It is disgusting. Does anyone know of an e-mail address or number for complaints within the company? I could not find any such place on the site. Stay far away if you can!

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MeganC
, US
Jul 18, 2012 12:59 pm EDT

Theworknumber is such a huge scam! It's criminal that they charge companies to use them, and then turn around a charge another company who just wants to verify employment. They really cornered the market on being a useless middleman! I can't believe that UPMC uses them. I recruit for a large Health Care company and theworknumber has stood in the way of many applicants getting employment verifications. Criminal.

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meU78
Hope, US
Jul 16, 2012 2:02 pm EDT

I had a terrible time getting hold of somebody so that I could be assigned a PIN number. My bank found the interface so appalling it refuses to use The Work Number and insisted on a work around. Per the HR people at my job, this happens all the time. My employer needs to ditch The Work Number!

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Sarah*jess
Secaucus, US
Jul 12, 2012 1:27 pm EDT

I cannot agree enough with all the comments above. This is ### service. I cannot believe companies like Deloitte are using this service. It can be a pain to provide employment verification for past employees but this is excruciating. My condo purchase is pending due to this and I am losing it! One darn letter is all I need. It is so difficult to reach a person. he answered the call with "whom do you need to provide the verification to and does it include income?" I said yes and he said "I cant help you"..I said "excus..." and he hung up ABRUPTLY. no matter who u r, u never hang up like that on a customer. I wish these guys go to jail for setting up a business like this...or just rot in hell...

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4Reality
, US
Jun 15, 2012 6:33 pm EDT

Totally agree -- this company sucks. They require you to give your SSN, they had an old address instead of my current, the web site sucks, their phone system sucks -- I hate them. Call center is in Costa Rica -- Grrr...

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BJG_CDD
Boston, US
Jun 01, 2012 10:10 am EDT

This is one of the worst companies I've ever encountered and the disheartening thing is how many major corporations they happen to represent. What's amazing is that they have the nerve to charge employers who are simply seeking to verify employment years! This is absurd! To everyone complaining on this board wondering what to do about this: Complain to the companies who use this service, let them know how terrible it is, and this ### company will start losing major contracts fast.

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Toini
Houston, US
Mar 12, 2012 4:52 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The Worknumber records gave a potential employer 7 years less history in company that I worked for. I now appear to be misrepresenting my past employee history to the potential employer...The American Express ( the company) does not have a person who I can clarify the issue ( according to the switchboard) with but refers all inquiries to Worknumber instead. Worknumber informs me that there is nothing that they can do and advises me to contact the company. This is frustrating circle. I do not believe this kind of behaviour is legal and in accordance to any provedural standards. Very Disappointing. Where can I turn for help?

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Angry and Disgruntled
, US
Jan 25, 2012 5:29 pm EST

This "service" is a rip off and makes obtaining an employment verification unnecessarily impossible. I am in the process of changing jobs and relocating to a new city. I've been struggling with this service for over a week now. I'm trying to get an apartment near my new job but my landlord has been unable to obtain proof that I will have a job upon arrival because my new employer uses the work number and does not provide the needed information through any other means. The Work Number puts you through an automated cobweb of prompts and redirects that can take hours to get you to a real person. Then they charge a fee for the information. And you cannot access your own information. Because my landlord is unwilling to pay the fee and because employees are "unauthorized" to obtain their own information, I am being faced with having to pay up to 6 months rent in advance in order to get into my new home. This is absolutely ridiculous. Reading other people's reports on this failure of a service I see that many other people are also missing out on opportunities (both in financial, rental, and employment opportunities). It makes me wonder how many employment opportunities I too may have missed out on in the past as a result of this. I am disgusted and disturbed that this is being allowed to continue and that so many companies are continuing to use this service. I am also greatly disturbed by the fact that this service has obtained my personal information and will not allow me (the person for whom this information belongs) to obtain it myself. I urge anyone and everyone who has issues with the Work Number and the companies who pay for it's services to file a report against them.
Perhaps we can finally bring this scam down if enough people file reports against it.

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worknumbersucks
Austin, US
Aug 11, 2011 7:14 pm EDT

If I have two applications, and one is from an employer who uses the work number, I will take the other rather than waste time CHARGING THE EMPLOYEE who turned in the application. Why would I want to pay Equifax for this garbage service, employment verfication is a service you provide for your employees so they can apply for cars, homes and rental houses; if employment verification is a HASSLE and CHARGE then they run the real risk of being assessed the Work number fee or being summarily denied for inability to pay. Boycott the work number.

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worknumbersucks.com
Los Angeles, US
Apr 24, 2011 2:51 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The worknumber site is useless for employees. Why do they have links that say 'employment and income verification' if they aren't going to give you any such documentation? Speaking with a person whose only response was for me to get back on the site was absolutely infuriating. It's like I don't exist as an employee for University of X...I feel like such a undervalued employee.

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Cokeskoal
Phoenixville, US
Feb 02, 2011 9:27 pm EST

This company is a complete sham. I work in HR and refuse to even accept references filled out for companies that I know use theworknumber.com. I work for a non-profit agency and we are not going to pay $15+ to verify someone's employment. They claim to have free verifications for social agencies but it took forever to find out how to apply for this status and after wasting time filling out the application I never got a response. I wasted numerous hours trying to talk to a person on the phone and was told they would look into the application but again never heard back from them. Completely useless! Shame on any company that uses this "service".

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Terry100
Miami, US
Jan 18, 2011 2:20 pm EST

I have wasted the latter half of my morning on HOLD with this company just looking for a code to verify my salary. Absolutely ridiculous. Someone please start a competitive company and knock these guys off the list. I'm borderline enraged.

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Stephanie81
Ypsilanti, US
Jan 05, 2011 8:51 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This website may have cost me a job. I worked for a major retailer MANY years ago and suffered a long stretch of unemployment mainly due to the economy here in Michigan. I finally had the opportunity to go in to interview for my dream job with my dream company, but they wanted to verify my employment with the retailer. No problem...or so I thought. I assumed I could just go into the store and come out with a simple document that outlined my years of service...no. I had to deal with this stupid service, and my interview was to be scheduled with the new company that week contingent upon the receipt of a document detailing my work history with my former employer. To make a long story short, I was unable to gain access to my own report, had to order it ALL VIA TELEPHONE, and was told it would take 15 days. Thanks a lot. I may not have another shot at gainful employment for awhile. WORST SERVICE EVER!

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DV8Q
Portland, US
Jul 24, 2010 9:22 am EDT

I am currently unemployed and I received a job offer pending my background check results. The Work Number stated they did not have any information on me and requested I fax them my social security card and drivers license. I have faxed it over two weeks ago and when I called they said they are processing it. I asked for the information myself and they claimed they couldn't give it over the phone. What a waste and a monopolistic scam. I hope they do get a class action lawsuit against them.

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debonair
, US
Feb 02, 2010 4:55 pm EST

This is absurd. I am in the process of trying to purchase a condo, and need employment and income verification for a number of sources (two mortgage brokers, a real estate broker, and the condo board/s). Each of these people is expected to pay $69 PER MONTH for a subscription to "theworknumber" in order to obtain this information (which of course they only need from me this one time). They are all refusing to do so, and my HR won't help because there is an agreement with this 3rd party vendor that all requests need to go through them.. This is INCREDIBLY annoying! I think I have to 'pretend' to be a verifier rather than an employee, pay their stupid $69 monthly fee (how quickly I can cancel this I don't know yet) and make a bunch of copies of the info so that I don't irritate people I need to work with on this.

Does anyone know how much of the fees from "theworknumber" are given back to their participant companies (which number in the thousands and include many Fortune 500 co's) in kickbacks?

Maybe I am missing something, but this seems like daylight robbery to me -- complete ripoff for something HR departments used to do for free.

Forget trying to get hold of someone on the phone at this company either.

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AARP
, US
Jan 28, 2010 10:15 pm EST

I was already turned down for a loan from a local credit union who were unwilling to spend the time & the money to confirm my employment. The system even requires that the BANK give two credit references, with account numbers, to gain access...?

W
W
Whidbey Island
Coupeville, US
Sep 17, 2009 3:44 pm EDT

Nothing has changed in the last 2 months !...!
The system won't process requests from employees and they don't answer the phone.

Isn't capitalism great, all you need is machine to take money with a credit card and a corporate law department to defend against complaints.

We should have known it was just a money grab when we saw it was owned by Equifax !

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