info@carolinalaw.com
info@carolinalaw.com
Once reserved for certain professions and clearances, background checks are ubiquitous today. Employers, landlords, and creditors rely on screening companies to assess various candidates quickly. While these checks are intended to ensure security and reliability, they can sometimes lead to errors that seriously affect consumers. When a bad background check threatens your livelihood, Maginnis Howard’s experienced background check error lawyers are here to help.
Employers conduct employment background checks to verify the credentials and history of potential employees. These checks typically include:
These checks typically reveal felonies, misdemeanors, and any pending criminal cases.
According to the National Consumer Law Center, over 90% of landlords and property managers conduct housing background checks to assess potential tenants. These checks typically include rental history, evictions, criminal history, and credit reporting data.
Occupations that require specific credentials and certifications may run additional verification to confirm that an applicant is licensed, including:
Background checks are comprehensive assessments conducted by specialized third-party companies that compile and analyze data from various sources to create a thorough profile of an individual’s history. These sources commonly include criminal records, credit reports, employment histories, educational backgrounds, and social media activity. While these checks are valuable tools for employers, landlords, and other entities, they are not infallible and may sometimes contain inaccuracies. Common errors found in background check reports include:
Data that is no longer current should not appear in reports. One of the most common types of outdated information appearing on background checks is criminal history that has been legally expunged or dismissed. A screening company may not have up-to-date information or fail to verify the facts of your case.
Mixed files are extraordinarily common. They occur when individuals have a similar name, social security number, or other consistent personal information. Data scraping or human errors result in the mixing of individuals’ criminal, credit, employment, or rental history. Mixed files are especially damaging when someone with a clean criminal record is denied employment for something they did not do.
Sometimes, reports omit important contextual information. For example, certain records are missing from the sources used, or there are delays in updating databases. An incomplete criminal record might not show an arrest that was recently cleared, giving a misleading impression of an individual’s recent criminal activity.
Errors can also occur at the data entry or reporting stages, leading to incorrect criminal charges, misreported financial debts, or inaccurate employment history, including incorrect job titles, dates, or employer names.
Human error is no longer the only way a background check can display inaccurate information. In a digital age where automation is relied upon to assess large quantities of data, oversight and compliance are overlooked. System glitches, clerical mistakes, or misinterpretations of raw data can further compromise the accuracy of background reports, resulting in false positives or negatives. Companies may not prioritize verifying the data they have purchased in bulk. Whether the information is outdated or belongs to someone else, this has far-reaching consequences for consumers.
Errors in background checks can seriously harm your life, affecting key areas and leading to long-term effects. These mistakes can occur due to outdated information, clerical errors, or misidentification and result in:
Hundreds of consumer reporting agencies, including background check companies, comb through consumer data every day. The rise in automated services has dramatically expanded the options available. Some of the longest-standing companies and those with the most significant number of complaints include:
Each of these companies competes to provide the fastest turnaround and most attractive product to employers, landlords, and creditors. Unfortunately, not all screeners check their data and ensure compliance with consumer laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a comprehensive federal law regulating consumer credit information collection, dissemination, and use. It aims to protect consumers’ rights and ensure fairness, accuracy, and privacy in credit reporting. Specifically, the FCRA grants the right to:
Dealing with the consequences of a bad background check can be a significant burden. That’s why it’s important to consult an experienced FCRA attorney to guide you through this process. Our experienced attorneys will thoroughly examine your background check to identify any errors, assess the impact on your life, and help you recover compensation. If your FCRA rights have been violated, we want to help you hold background check companies accountable.
If you have been harmed by an error in a background report, you may be eligible for compensation. These can include:
Our attorneys have decades of experience protecting consumers through the FCRA and related laws. With us, you are never a case number. Our legal staff is proud to provide excellent communication with clients and will walk you through the steps of your case. Maginnis Howard has recovered millions for consumers across the Carolinas and the nation.
If a company, landlord, or other entity has taken adverse action against you due to a mistaken background check, contact us immediately. We are here to assist you at every stage, ensuring that others’ mistakes do not unjustly influence your future. We offer free consultations and take consumer protection cases on a contingency basis. That means you don’t pay anything unless we recover compensation for you. Let us help you protect your rights and restore your good name. We accept clients across the Carolinas and the Southeastern United States from our Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville offices.
You’re not alone if you’ve experienced job loss, housing denial, or insurance issues due to a background check. Our legal team specializes in helping individuals like you fix background check mistakes and pursue justice. We work on a contingency basis, so we only get paid if we win your case.
Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) gather information and issue reports about you to other companies. Background screening companies are regulated by the FCRA when they provide a consumer report, just like CRAs do.
