Removing Another Person's Charges From Your Background Check

Attorney Answer

This is fixable, and federal law puts the work on the reporting company once you dispute it in writing. Do it in writing — a phone call does not start the clock.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, a consumer reporting agency that receives a dispute from a consumer must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, generally within 30 days, and must promptly delete or modify information it finds to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable. Criminal records belonging to a different person are exactly what that provision is for.

There is a second duty behind it. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b), whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates. Reports that mix your file with someone else's — a similar name, a shared date of birth, a transposed Social Security number — are the classic failure of that standard, and the failure is theirs, not yours.

What you can do

1. Get the actual report. Ask whoever showed it to you which company produced it, and request your own copy directly from that company so you are disputing the right file. 2. Dispute in writing to the consumer reporting agency, by certified mail with return receipt. Identify each entry line by line, state plainly that the charges belong to a different person, and ask for deletion. 3. Include proof of identity — government photo identification, proof of your current and prior addresses, and, if you are willing, the identifying details that distinguish you from the other person (different middle name, different date of birth). 4. If the underlying court or agency record is itself wrong about who was charged, contact the clerk of that court separately. Fixing the source stops the entry from coming back on the next report. 5. Keep the certified mail receipt and a copy of everything you sent. The date they receive your dispute is what starts the reinvestigation period under § 1681i. 6. If the entry survives the reinvestigation and stays on your report, that is the point at which a consumer lawyer has something concrete to work with under § 1681i and § 1681e(b). Many take these cases without an upfront fee.

⏱ Time limits apply. The reinvestigation duty in 15 U.S.C. § 1681i generally runs 30 days from the agency's receipt of your dispute, which is why the certified mail receipt matters. Separately, how long you have to bring a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act depends on when you discovered the problem and on your specific facts — do not let months pass while waiting for a response.