The worst possible customer service action a company can take is to make a potential customer sit through 40 minutes of "analysis" and then reveal the overpriced service. I can't believe I fell for this bull$#*! and only hope someone else reads this before going through the same daunting process.
I ran checks on three people I knew had criminal backgrounds and nothing showed up. The info that did populate was very basic and I could have found it online with minimal searching on my own. Some of the info wasn't even accurate. I cancelled the membership and my login no longer worked - said account inactive. Yet I still got charged the next month. Won't issue me a refund.
This website really stinks. Don't even spend a second on it. I saw the sitejabber reviews while I was going through it, and quickly caught on and didn't go on to the payment page. Thank you for saving me, everyone who posted reviews here.
I only needed basic information on a few people. So I was happy with the results. But the main person I checked on has never lived anywhere else than Kentucky. The report I got from you said he also lived in Alaska and Pennsylvania.
Hello John,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. We are delighted to see that you enjoyed your experience with us (other than a few errors, which we apologize for), and we look forward to assisting you again in the future!
Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support
For the heck of it, I tried 2 people, myself and my Sister. For myself, it had none of my children/stepchildren, old address and old phone #, and possible relatives were mostly right, but the ones that were right were only in-laws and it didn't seem to know which one was my husband. It just did a google on me and I could easily find out more information about myself. Next, I tried my Sister, it missed her husband completely, he was not even listed and they have been married since 2007, it thought her ex-husband (who is deceased) was still her husband and had no idea he was deceased. It kept asking questions about both of us as I was doing it, I ended mine early and I ended hers early (once I saw the supposed relatives page). They have to be kidding me with this garbage... I could do a much better job on my own... this is SUCH a scam... they will never get a penny of my money.
Not only do they lie about hidden fees and charges but they also don't provide any real information. I signed up to pay $9 dollars a month but they actually charged me $59. I only ran one report and then canceled. And learned way more from a quick google search than they provided. Hell a phone book could give me more information than they did. Do not waste your time or money! This is without a doubt the worst company I have ever dealt with!
I cancelled within 72 hours and got a full refund after arguing with a staff member. He offered me 1/2 of my money back, I used the 72 hour law to get a full refund. They use false advertising to reel you in and then try to charge extra for information I was able to get on my own... Who knew that some counties and cities don't care one whit for a criminal's privacy. I hate dealing with people who don't speak English very well and, of course, I got one who couldn't understand me. Do NOT use this "service." It's horrible.
Out of curiosity and after having "opted out" a year ago, I checked InstantCheckmate to see if they were still posting "information" about me. Sure enough. I found erroneous, potentially libelous crap and they had me related to people I am certainly NOT related to.
People who seek info on the internet should be aware that there is much that is simply not true and can't be relied upon. They are not doing themselves any good.
I used their service mostly to see how much of a scam it could be. Paid up, waited for the results... got the results, they were identical to the free (and inaccurate) info you can find out there on other sites. Then waited to see how long it would take for the unique email address I used only with them to receive spam. 4 months as it turns out, yesterday the spams started pouring into that address. It's not enough that they charge you for info you can find for free yourself, they also profit from selling your info to spammers.
Hello Paul,
We are constantly working on and updating our records and we appreciate you taking the time to give us constructive feedback. We apologize you were unhappy with some of the information in our reports. Since we rely on third-party data sources, we can only display the information that we were provided, which could potentially include incomplete or inaccurate data. We hope to continue to improve our services to make them better for you and future customers. Please feel free to contact our dedicated Customer Care Team at (800) 222-8985 or email us at support@instantcheckmate.com and we will try to make this right.
Thank you
Second doesn't even give you anything to prove they aren't after credit card number. Do they even have a legitimate address the feds can pick them up. Like the other guy said, they don't need to do background checks on criminals could likely start at home.
There's this woman I like, but she completely ignores me. I Googled her name, and BINGO! Instant Checkmate was there for me. I was able to find out her present and past home addresses, her phone numbers (GREAT!), her family members, age, birthdate, and more. She won't be able to ignore me for long!
This is THE most comprehensive resource I have come across as far as publicly exposing personal information/doxing. Definitely recommended for unstable people looking to gain an edge in the game.:-)
Hello John,
The use of the Instant Checkmate site as a “Great Resource for Stalkers!” is a use that violates Instant Checkmate's Terms of Use. The Terms of Use at section no. 8 “Restrictions" states in part, that:
“In addition to the above restrictions, the Websites, the Related Services and Materials and the Background information Services may not be used for the following purposes:
To physically or emotionally injure or harm any person or entity (e.g., stalking, harassment, defaming, libeling, threatening providing obscene or indecent materials, fraud, identity theft, and criminal activity).
To promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities or advance physical harm or injury against any group or individual.”
Should you have questions about the use of our products, please contact our dedicated Customer Care Team at (800) 222-8985, or email them at support@instantcheckmate.com so they may best assist you.
I signed up for the 5 day trial and forgot to cancel on the 5th day. The $37 was pending in my account the next day and the agent was able to reverse it immediately and also offered me a lower price if I didn't cancel. I've dealt with other companies who were not so nice about the exact same thing, so I was honestly surprised that the agent was super friendly and happy to assist me, without any attitude or pressuring. Thank you!
Hello Linda,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your feedback. We are delighted to see that you enjoyed your experience with us, as well as with our dedicated Customer Care Team! We look forward to continuing to assist you in the future.
Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support
Joined the site to try it for 30 days. Paid $22, ran a check on myself to see what showed up. They acknowledge completion and went to preview. They wanted more money to obtain full report. All they gave me was generic info for the money I paid. If you are not ready to pay more money for full report then stay away.
After 10 minutes the search completed and I was given a very brief summary page. Most of the details regarding relatives and possible relations was wrong, last names matched in some cases but didn't recognize the first names so I knew that whatever was contained in the *paid* copy probably weren't going to be much better.
Hello Pishi,
We are constantly working on and updating our records and we appreciate you taking the time to give us constructive feedback. We apologize you were unhappy with some of the information in our reports. Since we rely on third-party data sources, we can only display the information that we were provided, which could potentially include incomplete or inaccurate data. We hope to continue to improve our services to make them better for you and future customers.
Thank you
I used this company to try to find a deadbeat. All of the information they provided on the report was typical White-Pages stuff. What's worse, I used a private email address for my account on September 30th 2015. Since that time, my previously-private inbox has been flooded with daily solicitations from Publishers Clearinghouse, Asian Dating, House-flipping scams, instant-money offers... Instant Checkmate is an obvious reseller of email addresses and they don't really provide what I would consider to be a useful service.
I thought I'd run a background check on myself to see if I'd ever use this outfit a second time. According to my background check, I'm very mysterious in that most of my publicly recorded history was missing. Plus, every time I wanted a more complete view of myself, there was an added fee. Hah! In the end, I discovered that I'm still very mysterious but my wallet has lost a lot of weight.
I've been receiving spam mail for the past 3 months from them and their affiliates. There is a clause in the privacy policy that allows them to spam you. HUNDRED of emails a week. HUNDREDS.
This type of business practice needs to be outlawed entirely.
I needed help accessing the report I had filed, and somehow lost, on my computer. The customer service representative was incredibly patient, expert and professional. She walked me through the steps and hung in there while I struggled to accomplish them. She was warm and personable as well.
Hello Suzanne,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. We are delighted to see that you enjoyed your experience with us and with our dedicated Customer Care Team! We will be sure to pass along your kind words, and we look forward to assisting you again in the future:)
Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support
They suck you in by saying it is only $2.99. Then when you pay, it says you must sign up (for a minimum of $23) to get your results. They must make a bundle off of that $2.99 with so many people buying into the line of crap!
This is the email I sent them, it sums up the service pretty well...
Why would you make someone pay the $10 before telling them that all of the advertised info that they are paying for is only available for an additional fee? That isn't a background check, that is a scam. I could've gotten the $10 info from whitepages. So issue a refund.
Answer: No, you can't see anyone's call log or texts. At first it was 1.98 to receive access to the report. Then once I paid the 1.98 I selected "access report" (again) then I was promoted to select a membership Lowest being 22$. Most options tell you that you're paying that amount the same day but the cheapest membership didn't say you would be paying the same day but you are. So roughly 24$ to see what you could've found on Google. When you get to the phone log part it says "you're stuck" or some bull crap probably pay more money which is unreal as you have selected a membership already. This is a rip off there's just now around it smh
Answer: Contact your credit card company, tell them that InstantCheckmate is making unauthorized charges to your card; have your credit card company cancel your card and issue you a new one. I know, it sucks. That's what I had to do. For several months I got "declined payment" indicators listed in my online credit statement, which was good, because InstantCheckmate couldn't get their fraudulent charge to go through. The police, the FBI, or FTC or somebody needs to crack down on InstantCheckmate. I guess maybe it'll take a class action lawsuit against them. But really, the wisest thing to do is to cancel your credit card, have a new one issued -- and be extremely cautious and careful from now on to whom and where you use and give your credit card number. I know, it's a pain in the a##! Good luck. Cheers.
Answer: Absolutely not worth the money they give you incomplete answers and keep charging you for additional answers. Incorrect &/or incomplete reports. Stay far away!
Answer: Appears to be feedback manipulation on consumeraffairs.com to me. Notice all of the replies from Instant Checkmate. They had no current or correct info for me other than my childrens names, which I can find easily anyplace.
Answer: I recommend watching your credit card statement for additional charges for a few months. This company is notorious for not cancelling accounts.
InstantCheckmate has a rating of 1.5 stars from 344 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with InstantCheckmate most frequently mention credit card, phone number and email address. InstantCheckmate ranks 86th among Government Records sites.
Hello Meghan,
Although we are sad to see you were unhappy with your experience, we appreciate you taking the time to offer us feedback. While we wish we could provide all of the information to our customers for free, we do pay to access our data sources and it costs money to maintain our website. Please reach out to us at (800) 222-8985, or email us at support@instantcheckmate.com, if there's anything we can do to improve your experience.
Thank you