Criminal records and driving here

A CRIMINAL RECORD DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY STOP YOU DRIVING HERE

We run a background check on everyone who delivers, whatever they ride. Having something on it is not the same as being turned down, and we would rather say so up front than have you decide not to apply.

WHAT WE ACTUALLY DO

A conviction for drugs, or for something else that did not involve violence against a person, is not by itself a reason to turn somebody down. If something comes back, a person reads it — not a machine, and not an automatic rule. They look at what it was, how long ago it happened, and whether it has anything to do with the work: driving, handling somebody's shopping money, or being at a stranger's door.

Anything older than 7 years is not normally weighed at all.

WHAT WE CANNOT GET PAST

There are four, and they are the whole list:

• A felony conviction for violence against a person.
• A sexual offence, or being on a sex-offender registry.
• A recent conviction for theft or fraud against a person — you buy a customer's shopping with your own money and are paid back when the run settles, so money passes through your hands on every run.
• A recent serious driving offence, such as DUI, reckless driving, or driving while suspended. This one applies only if you are driving something with a motor, and an insurer may set it for us.

"Recent" means inside the last 7 years.

TWO ADD-ONS ASK FOR MORE

Customers can pay extra to have their shopping carried inside and unpacked onto the counter. Those two need a background check that came back completely clear, because they put you inside somebody's home. Everything else on the board — every ordinary delivery, every doorstep add-on — is open to you on the same terms as anyone else.

YOUR RIGHTS, WHICH ARE NOT A FAVOUR

The check is run by an outside agency and it costs you nothing. If we are ever going to act on something in the report, you get a copy of it first, together with a summary of your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and a real window to tell us it is wrong. Mixed-up identity is the commonest thing wrong with a consumer report, and we would rather find that out than act on it.

You do not have to volunteer your record to us. We do not ask on the application, and the only thing we act on is what the agency reports.