Behind most rental denials, failed background checks, and refused bank accounts sits a screening company you've never heard of — and a report you've never seen. Federal law gives you three rights over that report. Almost nobody uses them.
If a landlord, employer, or bank takes adverse action because of a consumer report, they're required to tell you and identify the company that supplied it. If your denial came with no explanation — ask, in writing. The notice is your starting point.
After an adverse action, you're entitled to a free copy of the report from the screening company (federal guidance: request it within 60 days). Not the landlord's summary — the actual report. Errors hide in reports nobody requests: other people's evictions, paid debts still showing, dismissed cases reported as if they stood.
Dispute an inaccurate item and the screening company is generally required to investigate — typically within 30 days — and correct or delete what can't be verified. In writing, with your evidence attached. It's free, and it's the same mechanism whether the error is an eviction that isn't yours or a collection you paid years ago.
Disputes fix errors: records that aren't yours, debts you paid, cases that were dismissed. They do not erase history that's true — a screening company verifies accurate records and they stay. If the eviction or debt is real, disputing isn't the path, and nothing on this site will pretend otherwise. What actually helps: settling and documenting it, second-chance rental programs, and time. We built this site for honest people hit by wrong records — that's the whole business.
Coming to this site next: complaint data on every major screening company from the federal CFPB database — who gets complained about, and for what — plus situation-by-situation guides and a free "which company screened me?" identifier.
Based on the US Fair Credit Reporting Act as explained in FTC and CFPB consumer guidance, checked August 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; your denial letter and the agencies' official pages govern your case. Free help: your state attorney general, and complaints at consumerfinance.gov.