Mountford69:
They insinuated I was a thief and could potentially steal their truck and because of a five year gap in my CV they said for all they know I could have been in prison!!!
Really? I see it as they gave you an opportunity to “fill in the gaps” in your CV and provide access to someone who could confirm what you have said. When I gave references early this year I made contact with them (the references) first to check that they were happy to act as a reference and that the contact details are up to date.
Why you found that so onerous is strange to me.