InstantCheckMate.com
Complaint 333483 Details

I came into contact with this business through an online search engine. The company advertises to provide personal background checks for a set monthly fee. Pre-purchase advertising deceptively indicates that with each report you will receive not only basic information such as address and telephone numbers, but also criminal history, sex offender history, government provided (FAA/DEA) trade license data, bankruptcy and lawsuit histories, as well as social media data. In reality, once the consumer has paid the advertised price of $22.86 for one month (re-occurring charge until canceled) of unlimited background checks, the consumer is only then advised that any information other than name, address, and telephone numbers....is considered "PREMIUM" information.....and will require an additional up-charge of $19.99. While the fine print does state that all information may not be correct and/or complete, nothing in the disclosures indicates that an addtional charge may be required to receive the initially advertised services. This is a classic bait-and-switch scheme. I immediately contacted the Company's customer service department and demanded a full refund based on deceptive advertising. The customer service representative stated that she would immediately cancel the contract (which only serves to prevent future re-occuring charges), but that the Company was unwilling to provide a refund under any circumstance. She also advised that I could use the remaining 30 days of "service" (a service which is so grossly incomplete as to negate it's usefulness for any purpose, commercial or otherwise. I repeatedly insisted that the "service" I received was not the service for which I paid. Her reply was that the disclosures statement on the internet provide that not all information is accurate or complete. This, I advised her was not the basis of my complaint.