Mixed Up With Someone Else on a Background Check: How to Fix It

Why name mix-ups happen on background checks

Background screening companies often build reports by searching court, criminal, and other records for a person's name and comparing other identifiers. When the matching rules are loose, or when records are missing identifiers such as a full birth date, a record can attach to the wrong person.

The Federal Trade Commission described this kind of problem in a 2018 case against a tenant screening company. According to the FTC, the company's system required an exact match only on the last name, with a non-exact match on first name, middle name, or birth date. The FTC's example: a search for Anthony Jones born on a given date could be matched to records for Antony Jones, Antonio Jones, or Antoinette Jones with the same birth date. The company agreed to pay $3 million to settle the charges, and the FTC said some renters may have been turned down for housing as a result.

If you have a common name, or share a name with a relative such as a parent, this is the error to watch for.

Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Background check companies that prepare reports for employment, housing, credit, or insurance decisions are consumer reporting agencies. The Fair Credit Reporting Act sets several rules that matter here.

Accuracy procedures. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681e(b), consumer reporting agencies must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information about the person the report is about.

Notice before an employer acts. According to the FTC, if an employer might reject you based on a background report, it generally must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights before making that decision. This window is your chance to point out the error.

The right to see your file. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681g, you can request the information a consumer reporting agency has in your file.

The right to dispute. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i, if you dispute the completeness or accuracy of information, the agency generally must reinvestigate free of charge within 30 days, and delete or correct information that is inaccurate or cannot be verified. The period can extend by up to 15 days if you send more information during the reinvestigation.

Landlords and lenders who take adverse action based on a consumer report also have notice duties under 15 U.S.C. 1681m, which include telling you which company supplied the report.

Step 1: Get the report

If an employer sent you a pre-adverse action notice, it should include a copy of the report. If a landlord denied you, the adverse action notice should name the screening company. Contact that company and request your file. The CFPB keeps a list of many consumer reporting companies, including background screening and tenant screening companies, with contact information.

Read the whole report, not just the summary. Mixed records often show up in the details: a case in a state you have never lived in, a birth date that does not match yours, or a middle name you do not have.

Step 2: Identify every wrong record

For each record that is not yours, write down why. Common giveaways include:

Be specific. "This record for Anthony R. Jones, born in 1971, Harris County, Texas, is not mine. My name is Anthony M. Jones, I was born in 1974, and I have never lived in Texas" is far more effective than "this is wrong".

• A different date of birth, or only a partial date.
• A different middle name or initial.
• A county or state where you have never lived.
• Dates when you were somewhere else, such as in school, the military, or another job.
• A physical description that does not match you, if the record includes one.

Step 3: Gather your proof

Collect documents that show who you are and where you were:

Court records are often available from the clerk of the court that handled the case. Some include identifiers, some do not. If they show a different birth date or middle name, that is powerful evidence.

• A copy of your driver's license or state ID. Redact anything not needed, and do not send your full Social Security number unless the company's process requires it.
• Proof of address history, such as old leases or utility bills, if the record is from a place you did not live.
• If you can get it, the court record for the case, which may show the defendant's full name, birth date, or other identifiers that differ from yours.

Step 4: Send a written dispute

Use the screening company's dispute process. Many offer online forms. Whether you dispute online, by mail, or by email, include:

Keep a copy of everything you send and note the date. If you mail it, consider certified mail so you have proof of delivery. Our guide to disputing a background check error has more detail on the dispute process for all kinds of errors.

• Your full legal name, date of birth, and current address.
• The report or file number, if you have it.
• Each record you are disputing and why it is not yours.
• Copies of your proof.
• A request that the company delete the records and send a corrected report to everyone who received the original.

Step 5: Talk to the employer or landlord

Do not wait for the reinvestigation to finish before speaking up. Contact the person handling your application and keep it short and factual:

"I received the background report. It includes a criminal record that belongs to someone else with a similar name. The birth date and location do not match mine. I've filed a dispute with the screening company and will send you the corrected report as soon as I have it. Could you hold the decision until then?"

Many employers and landlords will wait. If they do not, keep documenting. Our guide to telling employers "that's not me" has more wording.

Step 6: Follow up and escalate

The company generally must complete its reinvestigation within 30 days and send you the results. If the records are removed, ask for confirmation in writing and make sure a corrected report reaches the employer or landlord.

If the company does not fix a clear error, you have options:

File a complaint. You can submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which forwards it to the company and tracks the response.

Add a statement. Under the dispute rules, if a dispute is not resolved, you can ask the company to include a brief statement of the dispute in your file.

Talk to a lawyer. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows people to sue for certain violations. Many consumer lawyers handle these cases, and legal aid organizations may help.

Preventing the next mix-up

Once a company has mixed you up, it may happen again with other screening companies that pull from similar sources. A few habits help:

• Use your full legal name, including middle name, on applications.
• List all past addresses accurately so the screener can match the right records.
• When you know a check is coming, consider requesting your file from major screening companies in advance.
• Keep your dispute results and correction letters. If the same record appears again, you have proof it was already found not to be yours.
• Check people-search sites, which often feed on similar data. See people-search sites that mix you up and our broader guide to same-name confusion.

When the record belongs to a relative

A common version of this problem is a parent and child, or two siblings, with the same or similar names. Reports may confuse "Jr." and "Sr.", or drop the suffix altogether. Mention the relationship in your dispute if it helps explain the mix-up, and point to the birth date difference, which is usually decades apart.

Common questions

Sources

1. Texas Company Will Pay $3 million to Settle FTC Charges That it Failed to Meet Accuracy Requirements for its Tenant Screening Reports (Federal Trade Commission)
2. Employer Background Checks and Your Rights (Federal Trade Commission)
3. 15 U.S. Code section 1681e (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
4. 15 U.S. Code section 1681g (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
5. 15 U.S. Code section 1681i (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
6. 15 U.S. Code section 1681m (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
7. List of consumer reporting companies (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
8. Submit a complaint (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)