A background check just cost you a job or apartment — and it may be wrong.

Ask the employer or landlord for a copy of the report and the adverse action notice, then compare every record to your own history and write down exactly what is wrong and why. Dispute the specific inaccurate record with the screening company in writing and keep their response. If the company keeps reporting information you have shown to be false, or the error has already cost you an opportunity, an FCRA attorney may be worth talking to.

See what was reported about you, understand what may be inaccurate, and review your options. Start with your report — free, private, and no judgment.

Wrong criminal records, expunged cases that still show, records for someone with your name — these are common. You weren't careless. The report may be wrong.

What qualifies as a background-check error?

An error is a specific statement about you that is not true or is not reported the way the law allows. Being unhappy with an accurate record is different from a reporting error.

A criminal record that belongs to a different person with a similar name or date of birth

A case that was dismissed, sealed, or expunged and is still reported as open or convicted

A charge reported as a conviction, or a single case reported multiple times

Information older than the reporting periods the FCRA allows for that type of record

Employment, education, or eviction history attributed to you that is not yours

What are the steps to dispute a background-check error?

Move quickly and keep paper. You can request your file from the screening company. When a report is used against you, the required notices should identify the screening company; employment screening also includes a copy of the report before final adverse action.

Request the full report and the adverse action notice in writing.

Compare each record line by line against court records, discharge papers, or your own employment history.

Write a short dispute naming the exact record and why it is inaccurate, with copies of your supporting documents.

Send the dispute to the screening company and keep proof of what you sent and when.

Save the results notice, and ask the employer or landlord whether they will reconsider once the record is corrected.

When should you contact an FCRA attorney?

Talking with a consumer-law attorney can make sense when the paper trail already shows the problem:

You disputed a documented inaccuracy and the screening company reported it again anyway

The report included a record that is not yours, or a sealed or expunged case

The reinvestigation looks like no real review happened at all

The inaccurate report already cost you a job, a promotion, or housing

Credit Hound is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. No one can promise a case will be accepted or that any particular result will follow.