Key Takeaways
- Background check errors are any inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, false, outdated, or unreportable information in a background check report
- These errors can cost you a job offer, rental, professional license, security clearance, or get you fired or deactivated from a current position
- Common reporting mistakes include false criminal records, mixed files, expunged records, and employment history errors
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to challenge inaccurate background reports and hold screening companies accountable
- If errors aren’t corrected or they cause you harm, a background check lawyer helps you get corrections and compensation
What Are Background Check Errors?
A background check error is any inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, false, outdated, or unreporatable information in a background check report. This type of report is used to screen people who are job seekers and renters, or those in need of insurance or security clearnance. Errors in background check reports lead to unfair and unwarranted decisions that can have a direct, immediate, and harmful impact.
3 Common Types of Background Checks
Background check reports are run for a variety of reasons, but these are the most common.
- Employment– conducted either during the pre-hiring process or periodically throughout employment
- Tenant screening (rental)– conducted during the application process for confirming eligibility to rent a house, apartment, or vacation rental
- Insurance– conducted prior to issuance of an insurance policy in order to mitigate the risk of fraudulent claims. Background check errors can harm you in any of the following ways and more.
How Background Check Errors Cause Harm
Background screening inaccuracies can lead to serious consequences for people who require them for a job, promotion, clearance, insurance, or apartment rental. If you experience any of these common consequences of background check errors, you should consider speaking with a lawyer for background checks.
- LOST JOB OPPORTUNITIES. From job and promotion denials to firings, deactivations, and rescinded job offers, background check errors can destroy career opportunities at any stage.
- HOUSING DENIALS. Renters have a hard enough time in the rat race for an apartment without also facing unfair decisions based on false information.
- PROFESSIONAL LICENSING ISSUES. Your hard-earned licensing can work against you if an background check report shows untrue ethical or criminal complications or false disciplinary action.
- SECURITY CLEARANCE PROBLEMS. Passing a high-level security clearance is impossible if your background check turns up false facts.
- MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. From missing out on long-awaited opportunities to losing sleep due to worry, or being plagued by anxiety, the toll these errors take is real.
- DAMAGE TO REPUTATION. Unfounded and false criminal accusations or incorrect employment, licensing or other history can damage your reputation.
- FINANCIAL LOSSES. Lost income, missed promotions, application fees, moving costs, loss of insurance coverage, and more. The financial losses that can flow from background check errors are as unique as your situation.
- DELAYS IN EMPLOYMENT OR HOUSING APPROVAL. Even when errors are eventually corrected, you may miss deadlines, job start dates, or housing opportunities while disputes are being resolved.
How Common Are Background Check Errors?
Very common. Statistical estimates put your chances of finding background check errors at 50% or higher, with the National Consumer Law Center describing background check errors as “rampant” and harmful. This means background check errors are very common and very damaging. Some industies, like the rideshare, delivery driver, and healthcare industries, face frequent problems with employment background check errors in particular. Read more about background check errors on The Consumer Justice Blog.
Common Types of Background Check Errors
These are the types of mistakes we most often have to fix in the world of background screening.
- Mixed file errors: Your background check information is combined with someone else’s information because of a similar name, birthdate, or Social Security Number
- Inaccurate personal information: wrong names, addresses, or Social Security numbers
- False criminal records: criminal record errors include wrong charges, incomplete information, unspecified outcomes, misleading information, reporting expunged or sealed records, false sex offender or national watchlist status, and other mistakes
- Eviction history errors: false or inaccurate information about evictions from prior rentals
- Education and licensing errors: wrong information about your education history or professional licensing status
- Dupicate entries: the same entries appearing multiple times as exact duplicates or being reported repeatedly in slightly different ways
- Expunged or sealed records: these records should not appear on a background check
- Outdated information: data that was never updated in public records or should have aged-off your report
- Inaccurate employment and income data: wrong informatoin about employment history, status, and income
- Identity theft-related: inaccurate financial, criminal, or other details caused by identity theft and fraud
Background Check Errors at a Glance
| Background Check Error | How It Happens | Potential Harm |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed File Error | Another person’s records are matched to your report | Job denial, housing denial, insurance denial |
| Expunged or Sealed Record Reported | Legally removed records still appear | Lost employment, rental, or insurance opportunities |
| Duplicate Criminal Record | The same offense appears multiple times | Unfair assessment by employers, landlords, and others |
| Outdated Information | Old information remains on the report | Employment or housing rejection |
| Incorrect Criminal Record | Wrong records, missing or inaccurate disposition, wrong charges, misleading information | Reputational harm and lost opportunities |
| Inaccurate Employment History | Wrong job history is reported | Hiring or rental delays or rejections |
| Incorrect Education Verification | Degrees or certifications are reported inaccurately | Employment denial |
| False Eviction Record | Eviction information is false, incomplete, or inaccurate | Rental application denials |
| Wrong Credit Information | Incorrect financial information appears | Housing and lending issues |
| Identity Matching Errors | Name-only matching links another person’s records | Lost jobs, housing, insurance, and leads to emotional distress |
What Causes Background Check Errors?
Background check errors happen because of flaws in data gathering, sorting, processing, and review procedures. Background check companies purchase consumer data from companies called “furnishers” and from companies called “data aggregators.”
The furnishers are the organizations and entities you have direct connections with- like prior employers, universities attended, etc. The data aggregators are third-party companies (you don’t have connections with) that collect, sort, and sell data from other companies, court records, and public records.
Background check companies use automated systems to do their own sorting and reporting of the data. The volume, scope, and scale of this data handling is massive and errors happen all the time. Once an error gets into the data stream at any point, it spreads quickly.
Top Causes Include:
- Clerical mistakes and data entry errors
- Mismatching, gathering, and sorting errors
- Identity theft errors
- Not updating systems or relying on old information
- Wrong data sent by the companies and organizations that provide it
- Poor investigation procedures
- Over-reliance on automated systems and lack of adequate human review
Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
In response to the high incidence of consumer reporting mistakes, federal lawmakers passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to protect consumers.
The FCRA applies to all consumer reporting agencies, which are the companies that create consumer reports, including credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), background check companies, tenant screening companies, insurance reporting companies, and others.
Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates. - FCRA
The FCRA also gives you the right to:
- Have an accurate background check
- Review your background check report at the time that it’s run
- Know which data in a background check report was used to deny you an opportunity
- Dispute background check errors
- File lawsuits against the responsible parties
- Seek compensation for harm suffered
- Make the consumer reporting agency pay for your legal costs and fees
In fact, the FCRA plays such a critical role in protecting consumers from background check errors, the lawyers who help fight these mistakes are frequently called FCRA lawyers.
Can I sue for background check errors?
Yes. Background check errors violate your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which gives you the right to dispute errors and file a lawsuit if your dispute is unsuccessful or you experience harm as a result of the error. A background check lawyer sifts through the documents, data, and disputes to determine if a lawsuit is the right option and the best option based on the facts.
What To Do If You Discover a Background Check Error
You should dispute the error, relying on your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If needed, you should file a lawsuit to get corrections and compensation.
How to Dispute an Background Check Error
Taking these steps to dispute background screening errors will set you on the path toward recovery.
- Get copies of your background screening report. You have a right to receive and review a copy of your report at the time that it’s run. If you didn’t receive a copy automatically, you can request one directly from the background check company.
- Review your report for mistakes. Carefully review your background check report. Go through line by line, highlighting or clearly marking any errors in your personal, financial, criminal, and other details. You are looking for any inaccurate, misleading, incomplete, outdated, duplicate, or unreportable information.
- Gather evidence. You’ll need to include copies of supporting documents and reference them in your dispute letter.
- Write a dispute letter. Prepare a clear and thorough dispute letter, listing specific errors, explaining why the information is wrong, and describing the evidence you have to support your position. What is wrong, why it’s wrong, and what proof you have.
- Submit your dispute. You file a background check dispute with the company that created the report using their online dispute portal or mailing address. We recommend filing via certified mail to preserve all of your legal rights and create a paper trail that is under your control, including proof of receipt.
- Keep copies of everything. Maintain a copy of the letter and the documents for your file, along with the mail receipt and any adverse action notice and communications with your employer or prospective employer.
- Track the timing. The screening company has 30 days to respond in most instances.
- Consider legal action. You can explore legal options with a background check lawyer at any point in the process, including the option to file a lawsuit and seek compensation.
Common Background Check Companies
Companies in the business of producing background check reports are part of a group of companies called consumer reporting agencies. These are the companies regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act that can be held accountable for how they handle your data.
- HireRight – Employment background screening
- First Advantage – Employment background screening
- Checkr – Popular with technology companies and gig employers like rideshare drivers and delivery drivers
- Sterling – Employment and workforce screening
- Accurate Background – Employment background checks
- GoodHire – Small business employment screening
- TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions – Tenant and housing screening
- CoreLogic SafeRent – Tenant screening and rental reports
- Experian – Credit and screening reports
- Equifax Workforce Solutions – Employment and income verification
How Consumer Justice Can Help
Our background check lawyers stand out from the rest. We have one of the largest consumer reporting law firms in the nation for a reason.
- have extensive FCRA experience
- deeply familiar with the consumer reporting and investigation process
- know precisely which evidence supports various claims
- skilled legal research team
- know how to negotiate with consumer reporting agencies
- know when to file a lawsuit and have a team of highly experience trial attorneys
- belong to consumer advocacy organizations and have representation on the national Executive Board of the National Association of Consumer Advocates
When Should You Contact an FCRA Lawyer?
Correcting background check errors is something you can do on your own and many people have successful outcomes. However, what should be simple can also be turned into a complicated and convoluted process by the background screening companies and other companies involved.
Reasons to Contact an FCRA Lawyer
- Your dispute is ignored
- Your dispute is not adequately investigated
- The information in dispute is falsely confirmed as accurate by the background screening company
- The information in dispute is removed but returns again
What Does a Background Check Error Lawyer Do?
- Supports the entire process. A background check error lawyer navigates the entire process with you, from the first minute you realize there’s an error until the final moment when you get corrections and compensation.
- Researches and explains the law. Understanding the specific facts of your situation in light of the applicable law are how a lawyer builds a strong claim. A lawsuit should go after the screening company using every possible legal option available.
- Understands the problems. An experienced background check lawyer has seen, heard, and handled every type of reporting error.
- Anticipates legal challenges. A lawyer knows the tactics used by the screening companies and other companies to delay doing anything to fix reporting errors.
- Provides personalized legal guidance. A lawyer helps you review and understand your background check report, where the information is coming from, identify and gather necessary evidence, craft and file legally sound dispute letters, and advise you of your rights and best practices along the way.
- Files a strategic lawsuit. If errors aren’t corrected or the fallout persists, a lawyer files a background check lawsuit to hold the consumer reporting agency accountable.
- Seeks compensation. If you’ve been harmed by reporting errors and you’re entitled to compensation, a lawyer knows how to make the claim and maximize the potential outcome.
How Much Does a Background Check Lawyer Cost?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act contains a fee-shifting provision which allows you to get legal help from an attorney without paying anything upfront or out of pocket. If you work with a background screening lawyer who uses this fee model, the background check company pays your legal expenses when you successfully challenge them.
You can also get a free consultation so that you pay nothing to have your case evaluated by a lawyer.
Key Takeaways on Costs
- Free consultation
- No out-of-pocket attorney fees
- Fee-shifting provisions under the FCRA
- Recovery of attorney fees from defendants when permitted by law
Contact Consumer Justice Law Firm
We have one of the largest consumer reporting law firms in the nation for a reason. Our team of experienced consumer protection attorneys are dedicated to protecting your consumer rights under the FCRA.
If you’ve been harmed by background check errors, reach out for a free consultation and personalized legal action plan from Consumer Justice Law Firm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my background check contains errors?
Most people discover a background check error after being denied for a job, apartment, promotion, professional license, or other opportunity.
Can a background check error cost me a job?
Yes. Many employers rely on background screening reports during the hiring process, or as part of ongoing employee checkups. Incorrect information can lead to a delayed offer, rescinded offer, denial of employment, termination, or deactivation.
Can a background check error prevent me from renting an apartment?
Yes. Landlords frequently use tenant screening reports when evaluating applications, which are specialized forms of background checks. Incorrect criminal, credit, or eviction information are the most common types of background check errors that lead to housing denials.
How long does it take to correct a background check error?
The timeline varies depending on the reporting agency and the nature of the error. However, by law, a background check company must typically reinvestigate the information in dispute and respond to you within 30 days. If this process fails to fix the errors, a lawsuit is likely necessary.
What compensation may be available for a background check error?
Depending on the facts of the case, compensation may include lost wages, lost employment opportunities, housing-related damages, motional distress damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.
Do I have a claim if I was denied a job because of someone else’s record?
Most likely, yes.
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