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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.
Name-only matching plus national databases equals strangers' convictions on your report. If you share a name with someone who has a record, cheap screening can hand you their history — for a job, an apartment, or a volunteer role. This is a known, documented failure mode of bulk background checking, and the dispute process is built for it.
The record's identifiers don't match — different birthdate, middle name, physical description, or a county you've never set foot in.
To get your free report — send to the screening company named in your denial letter (use the contact route on its official site or in the letter itself):
I was denied [housing / employment / a bank account] on [date] based on a consumer report you supplied. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act I request my free copy of that report. My name: [full name]. Address: [address]. Date of birth: [DOB]. Please send it to the address above.
To dispute an error — send with copies (never originals) of your evidence:
I dispute the following item in my file: [describe the entry exactly as it appears]. It is inaccurate because [not mine / paid on date / dismissed by the court / wrong amount]. Enclosed: [list documents]. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, please investigate and correct or delete this item, and send me the result in writing.
Keep a copy of everything you send, and send by a method you can prove (certified mail or the company's own dispute portal).
Full plain-English walkthrough on our home page.
Cheap bulk matching reports 'probably the same person' as if it were certain. The legal duty of reasonable accuracy is what your dispute invokes.
Yes — each screener has its own file. Fixing the biggest data brokers helps most, because many screeners buy from them.
Disputes fix errors. They don't erase history that's true — accurate records survive investigation. If the record is real, what helps is settling and documenting it, second-chance programs, and time. We built this site for honest people hit by wrong records.
Companies most often behind this situation: firstadvantage · checkr · lexisnexis risk. Based on FCRA consumer rights as explained in FTC and CFPB guidance, checked August 2026. General information, not legal advice. Free official complaint route: consumerfinance.gov.