Conflict Check Searching

Search – Above the line – At this step, input the known information about the individual above the line. The fields within this ‘above the line section’ are designed to begin by creating a wide catchment of results, which can then be narrowed down using the below the line filters in Step 4. See the above diagram for above the line search options, and below the line filters. 

The rule of thumb is, the more above the options you use in above the line search, the less hits you will get to filter. This may, or may not be a good thing depending on what you are trying to search for. Searching one field like surname, will catch everyone with that surname. Add a first name and the results will only be those with both names. Add a phone number also, and you can guarantee only one likely result. 

The process of choosing which fields for an above the line search will depend on the type of information you know about the person, and what exactly you are searching for. There is a different approach if you are looking for a known existing client, than if you are trying to search widely for a potential other party where you may not have exact spelling of a first name.  For example, If you have the person in front of you, and you need to find that exact person, a mobile phone number can be very accurate for many clients, as these are rarely shared and often (but not always) stay the same. Otherwise say a full name, date of birth and suburb will be fast and provide minimum results, providing this information has previously been accurately entered, and they have not recently moved home. This is why sometimes it is best to start above the line with minimum information, then filter the results. Starting with just a surname is often a good idea, where for example a first name may have been entered as Catherine, Cath, Katey, or Kate. 

The same applies where you are running a conflict check on someone who may or may not be an other party. You may not have exact information, so in this case it would be good to start with minimum information, then filter the results widely afterwards. 

CLASS is fairly good on variations: Using a surname like Smith, will pull all the Smiths, as well as Smith variations like Smithy, or Smithers – this shows you no longer need a wildcard (like a * or a % common to many databases) to catch variations, CLASS does that automatically. However CLASS is no Google, in that it will not find Smythe, as that is spelt differently to Smith, it is not just more letters. Conflict check will also search current and also previous information (e.g. other names, aliases, previous addresses) to improve the likeliness of finding results. So someone with a pre-married surname as Smith will still come up in initial search, even if the Surname Column shows a different – their current – name. 

Once you have decided on what to start with, and you may want to try this several times to, for example, try different combinations or check different spellings.

Click on Search to display results. Or,  click on the Clear button which will clear only the above the line search fields, allowing you to start a new search. .