The importance of carrying out a linked address search cannot be overstated.  Take for example an applicant who has a CCJ or Court Decree against their name at an address they were living at 12 months ago.  The applicant then relocates to a new address and provides this address for carrying out an on-line check.

When an on-line search is carried out in court databases it requires a name, date of birth and an address.  If all 3 match then any CCJs or court Decrees will be found for the address provided.  If the address does not match then the applicant will show up as having a clean record – even though this may not be the case.  This happens because court databases will often not be updated with the applicant’s address(es) subsequent to an original entry where a court order was recorded.

The only way to ensure a full search of court databases is to first carry out a linked address search, and then search against each of the linked addresses found along with the applicant’s name and date of birth.  The linked address search against court databases helps to ensure that any court orders against an applicant are found. We strongly recommend that you only use the services of a company who include linked address searches, otherwise your CCJ/bankruptcy/Insolvency check may not be worth the paper it is written on!