Background check & tenant screening rights, by company.
Short answers — with the federal statute behind each one — to the questions consumers ask us most about Checkr, HireRight, Sterling, First Advantage, RealPage, SafeRent, RentGrow, SambaSafety, and the gig platforms (Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon Flex) that rely on them.
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Checkr
Can I sue Checkr for an inaccurate background report?
Yes. Under FCRA § 1681e(b), Checkr must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. Reporting expunged convictions, sealed records, or matching the wrong person exposes Checkr to actual, statutory, and punitive damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n.
Uber / DoorDash / Lyft / Instacart deactivated me after a Checkr report — what now?
FCRA § 1681b(b)(3) requires the gig platform to give you a copy of the Checkr report and a pre-adverse action notice with reasonable time to dispute before deactivating. Most platforms send the report and adverse-action letter simultaneously — that's a violation, and both Checkr and the platform can be liable.
Checkr is reporting an arrest that didn't lead to a conviction. Is that legal?
Under FCRA § 1681c, non-conviction arrest records older than 7 years generally cannot be reported. Reporting a stale arrest, or reporting an arrest as a conviction, is a stand-alone FCRA violation.
How long does Checkr have to investigate my dispute?
30 days from when Checkr receives your dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)), extendable to 45 days if you submit additional materials. Missing the deadline is itself actionable.
HireRight
Can I sue HireRight for getting my background check wrong?
Yes. HireRight is a consumer reporting agency subject to the FCRA. Common claims include reporting incomplete dispositions on criminal cases, mixing up applicants, and sham reinvestigations.
I lost a job offer after HireRight's report — what about the employer?
Under FCRA § 1681b(b)(3), the employer must provide a copy of the report and a pre-adverse action notice before rescinding the offer. Skipping that process — or giving you only a few hours to respond — is a separate FCRA violation.
HireRight reported employment history that's wrong. Can I sue?
Yes. FCRA § 1681e(b) requires reasonable procedures for accuracy on employment-history verifications, not just criminal records.
Sterling
Can I sue Sterling for misidentifying me on a background check?
Yes. Sterling (Sterling Talent Solutions / Sterling Check) frequently confuses applicants with similar names or partial SSN matches. That's a § 1681e(b) violation and a § 1681i violation when they verify the bad match.
Sterling is reporting a record that was sealed or expunged. What can I do?
Reporting expunged or sealed records violates both FCRA § 1681e(b) and § 1681c. You can sue for damages and attorney's fees, and force Sterling to delete the entry.
First Advantage
Can I sue First Advantage over a bad driving-record (MVR) report?
Yes. First Advantage runs MVRs for trucking, transportation, and DOT-regulated employers. Reporting expired violations, the wrong driver, or stale license-status data — and then refusing to fix it — is actionable under the FCRA.
First Advantage is reporting a drug test as positive when it wasn't. Do I have a case?
Yes. Inaccurate drug-test reporting causes immediate job loss and is recoverable as actual damages, in addition to statutory damages under § 1681n.
GoodHire / Accurate Background / SentryLink / InCheck / GIS
These smaller background check companies are all subject to the FCRA, right?
Yes. Every consumer reporting agency that sells employment or housing reports is bound by the FCRA. Size doesn't matter — they owe you the same reasonable-procedures and reinvestigation duties as the big three bureaus.
What if the screener won't even tell me what's on my report?
Under FCRA § 1681g, you have the right to a free disclosure of your file. Refusing or delaying disclosure is itself a violation.
TransUnion SmartMove
Can I sue TransUnion SmartMove for denying me an apartment?
Yes. SmartMove is TransUnion's tenant screening product. Reporting eviction filings that were dismissed, records belonging to someone else, or stale credit data violates FCRA § 1681e(b). Damages include lost housing, higher deposits, and emotional distress.
SmartMove reported a dismissed eviction as if it were a judgment. Is that legal?
No. Dismissed cases must be reported accurately. Reporting a dismissed eviction as a judgment, or omitting the dismissal, is a stand-alone FCRA violation.
RealPage
Can I sue RealPage for a bad tenant screening report?
Yes. RealPage (and its On-Site platform) provides tenant screening to thousands of apartment communities nationwide. Common claims: false eviction matches, inaccurate criminal records, and algorithmic 'do not rent' recommendations based on bad data.
RealPage's algorithm recommended denial — can I challenge that?
Yes. Under FCRA § 1681g(f), if a credit score or algorithmic recommendation was used, you're entitled to disclosure of the key factors. RealPage must let you dispute the underlying data — and is liable when that data is wrong.
SafeRent / CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions
Can I sue SafeRent for denying my rental application?
Yes. SafeRent has faced multiple class actions (including over fair-housing-tinged scoring practices). Errors in underlying eviction or criminal data are squarely FCRA claims under § 1681e(b).
How much can I recover from a tenant screening case?
Actual damages (lost housing, higher rent, moving costs, emotional distress), statutory damages of $100–$1,000 per willful violation, attorney's fees, and punitive damages where the conduct was reckless.
RentGrow / Yardi / AppFolio
Can I sue RentGrow (Yardi) over an inaccurate tenant report?
Yes. RentGrow is a Yardi-owned tenant screening CRA used by many large apartment operators. Stale eviction data, misidentified criminal records, and slow reinvestigations are all actionable.
What about AppFolio screening reports?
AppFolio's tenant screening product is also a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA and subject to the same accuracy and reinvestigation duties.
SambaSafety
Can I sue SambaSafety for getting my driving record wrong?
Yes. SambaSafety provides continuous MVR monitoring to employers and insurers. Reporting dismissed citations, attributing tickets to the wrong driver, or stale license-status data that costs you your CDL is actionable under FCRA § 1681e(b).
My employer fired me after a SambaSafety alert. Do I have a claim?
Potentially yes — against both SambaSafety (for inaccurate reporting) and the employer (for skipping the FCRA's pre-adverse / adverse action process).
Uber
Uber deactivated me because of a background check. Can I sue?
Yes — both Uber and the screener (usually Checkr) are potential defendants. Uber must comply with FCRA § 1681b(b)(3) before deactivating: provide the report and a pre-adverse action notice with reasonable time to dispute. Failure to do so is a violation.
What if the report is accurate but the conviction is old or sealed?
FCRA § 1681c limits how old non-conviction information can be reported (generally 7 years), and many states impose stricter limits. Sealed or expunged records cannot be reported at all.
Lyft
Lyft deactivated me after a Checkr background check. What are my rights?
Lyft is bound by the same FCRA § 1681b(b)(3) adverse-action rules as Uber. You're entitled to the report, a pre-adverse notice, and reasonable time to dispute before deactivation. Both Lyft and Checkr can be sued.
DoorDash
DoorDash deactivated me — can I sue?
Yes, when the deactivation is based on a background check. DoorDash must follow FCRA § 1681b(b)(3); skipping the pre-adverse step or relying on inaccurate Checkr data exposes both DoorDash and the screener to liability.
DoorDash sent the adverse-action letter the same day as the report. Is that legal?
Generally no. Courts have held that giving the consumer essentially no time to dispute before the adverse action defeats the purpose of § 1681b(b)(3) and is itself a violation.
Instacart
Instacart deactivated my shopper account after a background check. What can I do?
Same framework: Instacart must comply with FCRA § 1681b(b)(3) before deactivation, and Checkr must report accurately under § 1681e(b). Inaccurate reports and skipped adverse-action steps are both actionable.
Amazon Flex / Grubhub / Shipt / Other Gig Platforms
Do these protections apply to Amazon Flex, Grubhub, Shipt, and similar platforms?
Yes. Any company that uses a consumer report to make a hiring, contracting, or deactivation decision is a 'user' of a consumer report under the FCRA and is bound by the adverse-action rules in § 1681b(b)(3) and § 1681m.
Spokeo / BeenVerified / TruthFinder / Whitepages (People-Search)
Can a people-search site really be sued under the FCRA?
Yes — when the report is used for employment, housing, credit, or insurance decisions. The Supreme Court's Spokeo v. Robins decision made clear that people-search aggregators can qualify as consumer reporting agencies, and subsequent cases have imposed FCRA duties on them.
Nationwide representation. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal statute. We take background check and tenant screening cases from consumers in every state. Learn more about our background check & tenant screening practice or request a free case review.