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Complaint Details
Note that complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. See details.
Initial Complaint
04/08/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I signed up for a record search I assumed for only that one time but Checkmate charged my *****'s card repeatedly since September 07, 2023. I read others complaints and they too got conned out of money each month. Why is this company getting away with ripping folks off?I want our refund as I consider this theft of funds.
Business response
04/09/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from ***************************, ID #********.
When a user activates their account, they must provide an electronic signature authorizing Instant Checkmate to charge their card as described, including for the automatic renewal of their membership. Our Billing Terms are conspicuously explained on our registration page and in our Terms of Use. Customers are sent a confirmation email for any orders placed on the site.
We have cancelled all memberships and refunded *********************** account back to the payment option used to enroll, and no further charges will be incurred.
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
04/04/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I used their service once in December 2023 and cancelled it after that. No charges were made by them in January 2024. Now I see that I've been charged $28.57 and $6.32 for both February and March 2024. I cancelled it after one use and want my money back and no further charges made. Cancelled means cancelled.Business response
04/05/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from *****************************, ID ********.
When a user activates their account, they must provide an electronic signature authorizing Instant Checkmate to charge their card as described, including for the automatic renewal of their membership. Our Billing Terms are conspicuously explained on our registration page and in our Terms of Use. Customers are sent a confirmation email for any orders placed on the site.
Customers are able to cancel online from within their account, through our Customer Phone Support, or by sending an email to *********************************** After a thorough investigation, we have determined that no cancellation attempts were made through any of these channels.
As a courtesy, we have cancelled all memberships and refunded Duncans account back to the payment option used to enroll, and no further charges will be incurred. Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
03/18/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I signed up for a 1 time only usage. As is permisable on their site when you join. However, it apparently created a monthly subscription charge. When I realized the issue, I immediately contacted them & advised them I under no circumstances did I agreed to monthly subscription. I advised BT Instate Checkmate that I did not agree to this service, only a 1x usage & wanted to canx. The agent stated that since this was put thru by Amex she was unable to canx. This seemed extremely odd since there is even an option when you call to direct you to a # to canx the service (clearly others have used the service). Now I not only want to canx, but want a full refund for EVERY MONTH I have been charged beyond the 1 & only time I used this service. It is clearly deceptive & a scam. I DO NOT understand how BBB is giving them a A+ rating??? I have contacted *********** have assured me they will not be honoring any further charges from this company. Now I would like a refund for the months that were fraudulently billed to me.Business response
03/19/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from *************************, ID ********.
When a user activates their account, they must provide an electronic signature authorizing Instant Checkmate to charge their card as described, including for the automatic renewal of their membership.
Our Billing Terms are conspicuously explained on our registration page, ***********************************************, and in our Terms of Use. Customers are sent a confirmation email for any orders placed on the site.
After a thorough investigation, we were unable to locate an account with the information provided. In order to meet ****************** expectations, we request all applicable information listed below:
The first and last name used on the account
The email address registered
The first 6 and last 4 numbers of the card used
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
03/02/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I first performed a simple and free ****** search. I was instantly given free and accurate information, it was the 2nd result! After paying for the membership with Instant Checkmate, they weren't even able to provide me with that simple information, and certainly were not able to provide anything further. It's a simple case of false advertising. This website should be shut down, it's a scam!Business response
03/04/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from *******************************, ID ********.
Instant Checkmate compiles hundreds of millions of available public records from several different data sources. We pay for all of the information we provide. Our billing details are prominently displayed before a customer decides to sign up for our services, and these terms can also be reviewed at any time in our Terms of Service. We do not claim to be a free service. In order to view reports, an active membership is required.
We also gather the information in our reports from numerous third-party data providers and publicly available sources, and the information from those sources may not always be accurate or complete. As a result, inaccuracies in reports can unfortunately occur from time to time, as we explain in our Terms of Use. We therefore encourage you to use the report as a starting point and perform any additional investigation you deem helpful for your purpose.
Lastly, we have refunded ************************ account back to the payment option used to enroll, and no further charges will be incurred.
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
03/02/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Billing Issues
- Status:
- Answered
On Jan 23, 2024 I requested a search from the vendor called Instant Checkmate for a charge of $29.48 which I paid. Subsequently Instant Checkmate attempted to charge another $4.00 just three days later which my credit card company reversed upon my flagging the erroneous charge as no further products or services were requested. I do not have a record on my credit card any longer of this extra $4.00 charge and refund. (Although immaterial, the information from the search I paid for was inaccurate and useless however the vendor made no claims regarding the accuracy of the information provided.) I also cancelled the subscription on Jan 31. On February 22 I received another charge on my card for $29.48 despite the cancellation. I called the vendor's customer service, followed up this time with an email PLUS the webform (see attachments).I received confirmation that the charge would be reversed. I was given a transaction number for the request. However it is now March 2 and the charge has not been reversed. I contacted my credit card company as well to assist.Business response
03/04/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from ******************************, ID ********.
We gather the information in our reports from numerous third-party data providers and publicly available sources and the information from those sources may not always be accurate or complete. As a result, inaccuracies in reports can unfortunately occur from time to time as we explain in our Terms of Use. We therefore encourage you to use the report as a starting point and perform any additional investigation you deem helpful for your purpose.
Additionally, when a user activates their account, they must provide an electronic signature authorizing Instant Checkmate to charge their card as described, including for the automatic renewal of their membership. Our Billing Terms are conspicuously explained on our registration page and in our Terms of Use. Customers are sent a confirmation email for any orders placed on the site.
We can also confirm that there has been a dispute regarding the charges associated with the account in question, resulting in a chargeback. According to our records, it appears that the account is currently in dispute with their financial institution. In this case, we recommend that they reach out to their financial institution directly to address any concerns they may have regarding a refund.
We are also able to verify that the membership has been cancelled and disabled, and there will be no additional charges applied. Additionally, as a result of the dispute, this account will be inaccessible going forward.
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
02/29/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I am constantly enduring unwanted pop *** on my computer from this despicable company. In no fewer that seven recorded calls I have demanded that this pernicious business practice cease and desist, to no avail.Business response
03/04/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from *************************, ID ********.
To turn off notifications from Instant Checkmate, please visit our website, using the following link, **************************************************. This will disable the notifications on the device used to access our website.
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
02/27/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Remove my information from your database. Your opt out page is not working.****************************************************************************************************************************************************************Business response
02/27/2024
Dear *****************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from ***********************, ID ********.
Intelius information is gathered from many public sources, including local county courthouses, census bureaus, and other sources of public information. We do not create or add to the information we obtain. While we cannot remove specific records from a report, we do have the option to remove an entire background report from our site. The information obtained from a report is for personal use only.
After further investigation, we have confirmed that the name "***********************" is no longer accessible on the Intelius website.
Please have ************** clear the cache on the device she used to conduct the search so that the link is removed from her device. If, after clearing her cache and cookies, ************** still sees the information on our website, please have her email *************************** with a screenshot and the *** of the page that displays the information.
Additionally, this removal also applied to the public data displayed on all search sites owned by PeopleConnect including TruthFinder.com, Intelius.com, Instantcheckmate.com and USSearch.com.
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific time (10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time), Monday through Friday.
Sincerely,
Intelius SupportInitial Complaint
02/26/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Today, 02/26/24 I paid $31.07 (I thought it would be $27.08, but whatever.) for a CURRENT report. An event that happened last year wasn't on the report. Therefore my complaint is that the report I paid for isn't current. For me, it's worthless.Business response
02/26/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from *****************************, ID ********.
When a user activates their account, they must provide an electronic signature authorizing Instant Checkmate to charge their card as described, including for the automatic renewal of their membership. Our Billing Terms are conspicuously explained on our registration page and in our Terms of Use. Customers are sent a confirmation email for any orders placed on the site.
We have cancelled all memberships and refunded ********************* account back to the payment option used to enroll, and no further charges will be incurred. Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
02/14/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
My personal information is on their site and the removal process is not efficient. I did not give permission to have my information be public and would like it permanently removed. Their suppression tool is not a removal process and there are no other options in having my data permanently deleted.Business response
02/14/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from ********************, ID ********.
Instant Checkmates information is gathered from many public sources including local county courthouses, census bureaus, and other sources of public information. We do not create or add to the information we obtain. While we cannot remove specific records from a report, we do have the option to remove an entire background report from our site. The information obtained from a report is for personal use only.
We have removed the report for Tinesee ******. The removal process takes between 24 - 48 hours to be completely removed from our website. Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate SupportInitial Complaint
02/12/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
I received that my email address has been compromised due to Instantcheckmate.com on 04/15/2023. My name was also breach due to this situation as well. And CreditWise also stated that my email address is now on the dark web.Business response
02/14/2024
Dear ********************************,
This response is in regards to the consumer complaint from *************************, ID ********.
We understand ****************** concern regarding the security of his information. Regarding the data security incident, he can find our response and the most recent information regarding our security protocols at *********************************************************************;
We take the privacy of our customers very seriously and are taking all appropriate measures in response to the incident. We will continue posting updates as we have more to report. Additionally, Instant Checkmate is not currently offering compensation for customers whose information was disclosed by the recent data security incident.
If **************** would like to remove the user data that ********************** maintains for its customers, he can visit our ******************* at ***************************************************** and select ************** Tools, followed by Right To Delete, and then Delete My Account.
Furthermore, if **************** would like to remove the public data that Instant Checkmate collects to generate reports available on the website, he may also visit the same link and choose **************** Tools, Suppress ***************** and then Manage My Suppression Rules to initiate the process.
Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department at ************ with any further questions. We are available to assist you during regular business hours, from 7:00am - 4:00pm Pacific time (10:00am - 7:00pm Eastern time) daily, including weekends. (Holiday hours may vary.)
Sincerely,
Instant Checkmate Support
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Get a QuoteCustomer Complaints Summary
212 total complaints in the last 3 years.
75 complaints closed in the last 12 months.