Consumer Rights Blog

When someone uses your identity, it can be hard to know who you need to notify first. Start by filing an identity theft report with the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov, then contact the bank or card issuer involved and one of the three credit bureaus for a fraud alert. Depending on what happened, you may also need to involve the police, SSA, IRS, or FBI.

If your rental application was denied or marked "failed" after an AppFolio background check, you may have the right to file an AppFolio dispute. Errors in tenant screening reports can include incorrect credit data, criminal records belonging to someone else, or outdated eviction filings.

Did you fail a First Advantage background check due to errors? We can help you recover!

Identity theft is when someone uses your personal or financial information without your permission. They can use your name, Social Security number, credit card number, bank account information, medical insurance number, or other identifying details to get money, credit, services, medical care, tax refunds, employment, or other benefits. That is the basic identity theft definition most people are aware of.

Identity theft is the kind of situation that feels like a personal, financial, and legal attack – all at once. And it basically is. One day, everything looks normal. The next day, there is a bank charge you didn’t make, a credit card you never opened, a debt collector calling about an account you don’t recognize, or a credit score that suddenly makes no sense.

It might not seem fair, but companies are now able to research your background to determine if you're moonlighting.

As soon as you find out that someone has stolen your identity, one of the first steps is reporting it to the credit bureaus so you can limit further damage and start clearing the fraudulent information from your reports.

How do you know if you’ve been hit by identity theft? While there’s no 100% certain way to know if you are a victim of identity theft, it starts with a gut feeling that something just isn’t right with your money, accounts, credit, or mail. It might be unfamiliar bank or credit card charges, a sudden credit score drop, accounts or inquiries you didn’t authorize, bills or statements that stop coming, debt collectors calling about debts you don’t owe, and notices from the IRS, a bank, insurer, or medical provider about activity that is not yours – all these are warning signs of identity theft, so the best thing you can do right now is act on it.

Background check errors happen way more often than the screening industry would have you believe. Here’s a number that feels quite uncomfortable: a 2024 study published in Criminology found that 60% of participants had at least one false-positive error on a regulated background check report. Sixty percent. That’s not some rare glitch in the matrix. That’s the baseline.

Have you or someone close to you become an identity theft victim? If yes, filing a police report for identity theft is an important step in dealing with it. The process is straightforward but requires following specific steps. In short, you start with an FTC report at IdentityTheft.gov. Then bring that report, your ID, and any available fraud documents to your local police department. Ask for the fraud department, and request the report number and copy.

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Mistakes on your TransUnion credit report can lower your score, block loans, and cost you real opportunities. This step-by-step guide explains how to file a dispute, what documents to submit, what happens after the 30-day investigation period, and when FCRA violations give you the right to take legal action - with help available at no upfront cost.

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Most people don’t think much about their credit report until something goes wrong. Then they discover that a wrong balance, an account that was never theirs, or someone else's bankruptcy is sitting in their file, and that it has already affected a loan, an apartment, or a job offer. By the time they realize what happened, the damage is done. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) exists specifically for situations like this. It gives consumers legal rights against the companies that compile and report consumer information, and it provides a path to both correction and financial recovery when those companies fail to follow the rules. If you’re trying to figure out whether the errors on your credit report cross into legal territory, how they can be corrected, and if you’re entitled to compensation, talking to a Fair Credit Reporting Act lawyer is the right starting point.

If you’re dealing with a credit problem, it’s natural to search for a credit repair company or a credit fix attorney and expect to find someone who can truly help. The problem is that those terms cover two very different types of services, and knowing which one you actually need makes a big difference in what happens next. One is a paid service that disputes items on your behalf (credit repair service). The other is a legal practice that pursues claims under federal law when your rights have been violated (FCRA attorney). This page explains how the two work, where they overlap, and where they don’t.

Many things besides paying your bills on time affect your credit score. Here’s how to control the ones you can control.

Equifax credit reports can (and often do) contain mistakes. Learn how to start a dispute to get those mistakes fixed.

How to file a dispute with Experian and get a reliable solution for your credit reporting issue with professional legal guidance.