The Google "Screened" or "Guarantee" badge is available for businesses that pass a Google screening and verification process through Local Services Ads or its partners.

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If a business is backed by the Google Guarantee, and you (the customer, that came to a business through Local Services Ads) aren’t satisfied with the quality of the work, Google may, in its absolute and sole discretion, reimburse the customer up to the amount paid for the initial service, subject to a lifetime limit. The following are the upper limits of lifetime limits per customer in each country:

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• United States: $2,000

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First and foremost, Google requires all businesses who advertise on their platform to undergo various levels of screening procedures. These screenings include, but aren't limited to, checking current active business licenses, learning the level of insurance the business carries, and the business must pass stringent background checks through a third-party company hired by Google. This company goes to work and does a robust search on individuals and their company, including criminal, commercial and financial activity records, to retrieve the most up-to-date background check results. This stringent testing ensures Googles onboarding process has been diligent and provides the confidence to visitors on their site.

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The following types of checks in more detail, are as follows:

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• Business entity check

  • Google verifies that businesses are registered according to relevant laws and regulations governing doing business in the  United States. Businesses must also provide Google proof of their business registration by uploading relevant documents, providing registration numbers, by attestation, or other means.​

• Business owner background check

  • Google requires background checks for the business, the business owner, and their field worker roster (Advisors, employees, contractors, including subcontractors, or any other workers who provide services in customers' homes, workplaces, or any other properties). The background check for business owners and their field worker rosters involve identity and criminal history checks, like cross-checks against national sex offender, terrorist, or sanctions registries in the US. At the company-level, the process includes civil litigation history, like judgments and liens from federal and state courts in the US. The background check process doesn’t involve a credit check or a credit pull.

• Service Professional background check

• License checks

  • Google verifies that advertisers hold applicable State licenses for businesses and owners, and confirms that all Professionals are appropriately licensed.​ 

  • NOTE: Rise Financial Group recommends you find and work only with "licensed" professionals. Always understand fully what type of investment you are discussing with your Financial Professional and ask if you can receive a copy of their license. For example, if you are planning to do a 401K rollover when retiring from your company, we wouldn't suggest to go to an "Insurance Agent". You will most likely end up with an IRA annuity, because they don't have the ability to sell you anything else. A Registered Investment Advisor has the ability to offer a range of investments and services, and to also provide a "fee-only" service to you. Go to WWW.BROKERCHECK.COM and enter your Financial Professionals name and State in the search box and DO NOT work with ANY Advisor who has any Civil or Regulatory "Disclosures" on their record. If you would like more information on conducting a search, feel free to give us a call... Rise Financial Group has been a licensed Registered Investment Advisor since August of 2016, to check our Broker Check page record, click here: RISE FINANCIAL GROUP and owner, Daniel Anderson.

• Insurance checks

  • Whenever possible, each provider's business must carry general liability insurance coverage for the work performed.

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It is also important to understand what licenses the Financial Professionals you work with hold and how they apply to your investment. Always ask your Financial Professional what their legal obligations are to you when providing recommendations for your financial plan. Why ask this question? Because the difference between a Financial Advisor and a Broker comes down to the services they provide and how they're paid for those services. A "Broker" earns a commission on the sale of some type of investment, and a Financial Advisor earns money by giving people advice on their investments. In other words, Financial Advisors advise, and Brokers sell, simple. Most of the large, well-known firms offer their own Mutual Funds, and most of the time, they are included in your plan. These Mutual Funds may also be charging you daily fees, which are only noticeable when we run our portfolio review. You may think you're only paying your Broker .95% or 1.0%, but in reality, it is much higher than that. Also, it is imperative that you understand, Variable annuities (VA's) contain securities, and in general, we find that VA's charge some of the highest fees in the financial industry. In fact, we recently audited a client's variable annuity to find they were paying 5.14% in fees! We can help you learn these fee structures, versus the benefits you are receiving...

 

As you learned above, Business and Professional screenings are important with any business. Rise Financial Group would like you to know that as A Fiduciary Advisor, we took an oath to put our clients' interests before our own, and with great care and responsibility. This also means we provide full disclosure in every step we take together. Please reach out and speak with an Advisor today and truly learn the difference of working with a Fiduciary Advisor versus a Broker...