Accurate Background background check

Accurate Background is a background screening company whose website says it offers full-service employment background checks.^1,2

The CFPB's list of consumer reporting companies describes it as providing background screening services.

Accurate's "My Background Check" page at accurate.com/my-background-check has separate logins for its two platforms, AccurateAccel and AccurateAce, and says: "Please contact us at any time to check the status of your background check."³

Accurate says an AccurateAccel check has a 9-digit Search ID and emails come from customer_service@accurate.com, while an AccurateAce check has an 8-digit order number starting with 3 and emails come from ace_admin@accurate.com.

Accurate gives no set number of days. It says: "The time varies based on what is actually being conducted as part of your background check," and that holidays and weekends do not count toward processing time.³

Accurate adds that the time also depends on what the background check request includes and how quickly the sources of information respond.

Accurate says you can request a copy of your background check report at any time by calling (844) 220-6741 or by writing to the company, and that a request for all information in your file must be made in writing with a current photo ID.^2,3

Its page also lists Client Services at 800.216.8024 and customer_service@accurate.com for report copy requests. The CFPB's listing says Accurate provides one free report if you request it and if the company has a file on you.

Accurate says you can dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your report free of charge, and that the reinvestigation may take up to 30 days depending on the nature, scope and source of the information.³

You can dispute through its online dispute form, by phone at its Consumer Help Line, (844) 220-6741, or in writing to Accurate Background, LLC, Atrium Corporate Center, 3800 Golf Road, Suite 120, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008. Accurate also lists disputes@accurate.com.

Accurate's contact page, accurate.com/contact-us, has a section for people on whom Accurate is running a background check. It lists a U.S. phone number of (800) 216-8024 for AccurateAccel and (844) 220-6741 for AccurateAce, Accurate's two candidate services.^2,3,4

The page explains how to tell from your emails which service ran your check. The CFPB lists 800-784-3911, which Accurate's own pages label as its main office and headquarters number, and a mailing address of Accurate Background, Inc., 200 Spectrum Center Drive, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618. Accurate's own pages give the Irvine address as Suite 1100.

If an employer turns you down because of information in a background report, the FTC says the employer must tell you that you have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the background reporting company, and the right to an additional free report if you ask within 60 days of the decision.⁵

The FTC says the employer must also give you the name, address and phone number of the background reporting company, and tell you that the company did not make the decision and cannot give reasons for it. Before deciding, the employer must give you a copy of the report and a "Summary of Rights".

The FTC says to dispute a mistake by contacting the background reporting company, explaining the mistakes and asking that they be fixed, with any supporting documentation.⁵

After the company revises your report, the FTC says to review it to make sure the mistakes are gone, ask the company to send a copy of the corrected report to the employer, and tell the employer about the mistake. The FTC also asks people to tell it if they think a background check company included errors in their report, and to report an employer that got a report without permission or turned them down without the required notices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer reporting agency must conduct a reasonable investigation within 30 days of being notified of a dispute, and the investigation is free.^6,7

The FTC's description of the law says the agency must record the status of the information or delete it, and must tell you the results in writing within five days of finishing. The CFPB says companies must investigate a dispute free of charge.