{
 "cite": {
  "title": "Situation guides — Screening Facts",
  "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/situations",
  "publisher": "Axion Labs — Screening Facts",
  "checked": "2026-09-06",
  "source": {
   "name": "CFPB Consumer Complaint Database (public bulk file)",
   "url": "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/"
  },
  "rule": "15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)",
  "license": "free to quote with the URL",
  "dataset": {
   "version": "2026-09-06",
   "fixity": "sha256-2491d5efd60eef26a2fbef7b10ad6a6169ef80e60a2fb7f2a55bfd843a5460fa"
  }
 },
 "attribution": "Screening Facts (https://screeningfacts.com) — CFPB Consumer Complaint Database",
 "situations": [
  {
   "slug": "eviction-on-my-record-is-not-mine",
   "headline": "There's an eviction on my record — and it isn't mine",
   "likely_companies": [
    "lexisnexis-risk",
    "saferent",
    "transunion-rental"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "Your ID and proof of your addresses for the period in question (leases, utility bills)",
    "The actual court record if you can pull it — the mismatched details are your proof",
    "The screening report itself, requested free after the denial"
   ],
   "first_move": "Request your free report copy from the screening company named in your denial (you have to be told who they are — ask in writing if the landlord didn't say). Then dispute in writing: identify the eviction entry, state plainly \"this record belongs to a different person,\" attach the mismatch evidence, and ask for deletion. The company must investigate — typically within 30 days — and delete what it can't verify as yours.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/eviction-on-my-record-is-not-mine"
  },
  {
   "slug": "eviction-case-dismissed-but-still-showing",
   "headline": "My eviction case was dismissed — but it still shows up",
   "likely_companies": [
    "lexisnexis-risk",
    "saferent",
    "corelogic-rental"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "The court disposition document (the clerk's office can provide a certified copy)",
    "The screening report showing how the case is being described"
   ],
   "first_move": "Get the disposition from the court first — it's the whole dispute. Then send the screening company a written dispute: the entry, the actual outcome, the document attached, and a request to correct or delete. If the case was sealed or expunged, say so explicitly; sealed records generally shouldn't be reported at all.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/eviction-case-dismissed-but-still-showing"
  },
  {
   "slug": "paid-debt-still-on-screening-report",
   "headline": "I paid that debt — it's still showing as owed",
   "likely_companies": [
    "lexisnexis-risk",
    "experian-rentbureau",
    "transunion-rental"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "Proof of payment or settlement (the date matters — get it in writing if you only have a verbal settlement)",
    "The report entry showing the debt as open"
   ],
   "first_move": "Dispute in writing with the proof attached: identify the entry, state the debt was paid on [date], request the entry be updated or deleted. If a collection agency reported it, dispute with the screening company anyway — they carry the legal duty to investigate what they publish.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/paid-debt-still-on-screening-report"
  },
  {
   "slug": "denied-apartment-no-reason-given",
   "headline": "I was denied and nobody told me why",
   "likely_companies": [
    "saferent",
    "realpage",
    "rentgrow",
    "appfolio"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "Your application and the rejection message, however informal",
    "A written request to the landlord asking whether a consumer report was used and by which company"
   ],
   "first_move": "Email the landlord or agent: \"Was my application declined based in whole or in part on a consumer report? If so, please identify the reporting company, as required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.\" Keep it polite and keep the reply — then you can request your free report copy — the real answer is in there.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/denied-apartment-no-reason-given"
  },
  {
   "slug": "background-check-cost-me-the-job",
   "headline": "A background check cost me the job",
   "likely_companies": [
    "firstadvantage",
    "checkr",
    "hireright"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "The job offer or interview record and the withdrawal message",
    "The report copy — from the employer's pre-adverse-action notice, or requested free from the screening company",
    "For record errors: court documents showing the true disposition, or identity documents showing a mismatch"
   ],
   "first_move": "If you got a pre-adverse-action letter, respond inside the window it gives: dispute the wrong entry with the screening company immediately and tell the employer a dispute is underway — investigations move faster when a job hangs on them. If you got nothing, request your free report from the checker named or from the major employment screeners directly, and dispute what's wrong in writing.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/background-check-cost-me-the-job"
  },
  {
   "slug": "bank-account-denied-chexsystems",
   "headline": "The bank won't open an account for me",
   "likely_companies": [
    "chexsystems",
    "earlywarning"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "The denial letter (it should name the database used)",
    "Your free consumer disclosure from ChexSystems and Early Warning — request both; you're entitled to them",
    "For paid/settled items: proof of payment; for unknown items: identity documents"
   ],
   "first_move": "Request your file from both companies — after a denial the copy is free. Read every entry. Dispute what's wrong in writing with evidence; for accurate old items, many banks offer \"second chance\" checking accounts while the old record expires over time, so ask specifically for one.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/bank-account-denied-chexsystems"
  },
  {
   "slug": "criminal-record-on-report-not-mine",
   "headline": "The check shows a criminal record — I don't have one",
   "likely_companies": [
    "firstadvantage",
    "checkr",
    "lexisnexis-risk"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "Your identity documents",
    "The report entry with its identifying details",
    "If obtainable, the court record of the actual case showing the other person's identifiers"
   ],
   "first_move": "Dispute with the screening company in writing: \"This record belongs to a different individual\" plus every identifier that doesn't match. Ask what matching criteria were used. Request deletion, not just annotation. If a job is at stake, tell the employer a mixed-file dispute is in progress and ask them to hold the decision.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/criminal-record-on-report-not-mine"
  },
  {
   "slug": "tenant-score-too-low-to-rent",
   "headline": "They said my 'score' was too low — what score?",
   "likely_companies": [
    "saferent",
    "transunion-rental",
    "realpage"
   ],
   "evidence": [
    "The adverse-action notice naming the screening company",
    "Your free report copy — request it; the score's inputs are in there"
   ],
   "first_move": "Request the report behind the score from the company named in your denial. Go through it line by line against your own records. Dispute every inaccurate input in writing with evidence. If everything is accurate, the honest path is different: bigger deposit offers, a co-signer, landlord references, and applying with smaller landlords who read applications instead of scores.",
   "url": "https://screeningfacts.com/tenant-score-too-low-to-rent"
  }
 ],
 "notice": "Free with attribution — the citation object says how. Building on this endpoint? Write to hello@getaxionlabs.com (a person answers) and tell us the field you need; we build it."
}