RentGrow Background Check Errors? We Help You Fight Back

One of the most important steps to successfully getting an apartment or rental home is completing the background check. Background checks are integral parts of most housing application processes these days, and they are oftentimes carried out by third-party background check agencies like RentGrow.

Normally, RentGrow does a stellar job. But what if RentGrow makes a background check error, compromising your prospects? In that case, you need to know what to do and how Fair Credit can help you fight back.

What is RentGrow?

RentGrow is a dedicated resident screening service offered to property owners using the Yardi property management software. Yardi is essentially project management software tailored to and specialized for landlords and property managers, helping them juggle payments, tenant applications, work orders, and much more.

RentGrow is the subsidiary service embedded in this software, offering thorough and comprehensive background information on new tenants. A landlord, for example, might use RentGrow to double-check the background of an apartment applicant, ensuring that they only accept new tenants who have excellent work histories, a consistent record of on-time payments, and no criminal backgrounds.

Since RentGrow is the primary resident screening service utilized through the Yardi software platform, tenants who receive screening reports will see the “RentGrow” name at the top of the document rather than Yardi. 

What Are RentGrow Background Check Errors?

While RentGrowh has a reputation for quality and success, background checks still occur from time to time. RentGrow background check errors are any mistakes or out-of-date information reported for an apartment applicant that shouldn't be. Here are some examples:

• Your Social Security number has one number transposed incorrectly. This results in RentGrow bringing up the wrong rental applicant information, causing the landlord to think you are deliberately trying to mislead them or have stolen someone’s identity
• RentGrow presents out-of-date information regarding your financial history. For example, if you filed for bankruptcy 15 years ago, which already be out of the public record. But if RentGrow provides this information to a landlord with an earlier date, the landlord may not think you are trustworthy
• RentGrow presents completely inaccurate information due to a computer software error or by confusing your identity with someone else’s. For example, this rental screening service might say that you were convicted of a crime 10 years ago, even though you know for a fact that such a thing never occurred. But your landlord does not!

In essence, any inaccurate information presented to a landlord, homeowner, or other individual is a RentGrow background check error.

How Do These Mistakes Happen?

RentGrow background check mistakes can occur due to pure human error. For instance, someone working for RentGrow might simply pull up the wrong file when compiling your background or tenant screening information. Then, they provide the inaccurate information to a landlord by accident.

However, RentGrow mistakes can also occur due to software bugs, laziness, or other factors. As an example, a RentGrow tenant screening agent might lazily search for your name in government and criminal databases even though your name is very common. They don't double-check the middle name or initial for the first result that comes up, resulting in them providing completely erroneous background information for your soon-to-be landlord.

Bottom line: the reasons for RentGrow background check errors don’t really matter. What matters is how they can affect your attempts to secure housing.

Why Are RentGrow Background Check Errors Bad?

Everyone needs a place to live, but many apartment landlords and homeowners are very strict about who they accept. After all, the last thing an apartment landlord wants to deal with is a new tenant with a long criminal history and a history of not making rental payments on time.

With one or more RentGrow background check errors negatively affecting your apartment application, you could find it much harder to actually secure housing in any city. Even if you have a good credit history and a good job, an error can cause landlords to mistrust you. 

They might think you have deliberately tried to mislead them, or they may think that you can’t actually be trusted because of an event that allegedly happened in your past.

Put simply, RentGrow back and check errors are bad because they compromise your employment and housing options. With errors following you around for weeks or months, furthermore, you may find it difficult to get an apartment or house anywhere, not just the first time you notice the mistake.

What to Do if You See One or More RentGrow Background Check Mistakes

On the plus side, there are options you can pursue to fix RentGrow background check mistakes. The Fair Credit Reporting Act reserves certain consumer rights you can take advantage of, especially with the assistance of knowledgeable background check mistake attorneys.

Look for More Errors

First, be sure to thoroughly check out your RentGrow background screening report from start to finish. Look for as many errors as you can find. After all, if RentGrow already made one mistake, the chances are high that it made more than one in aggregate.

There’s also another reason to check for more than one RentGrow background screening mistake. If you discover multiple errors, you can report them all with the same dispute letter, which can accelerate the resolution process.

File a Dispute with RentGrow

Speaking of the resolution process, you should next file a dispute with RentGrow. Remember, this is done through RentGrow itself, not through Yardi (even though Yardi is technically the company in charge of RentGrow).

RentGrow allows you to file a dispute online or by physical mail. The former choice is always better since it is faster and will result in an easier, better resolution overall.

When filing a dispute letter, remember to include as much information about the erroneous info or mistakes as possible, including where they can find the mistakes, the nature of the mistakes, and so on. Most background screening agencies are happy to correct erroneous information once it is brought to their attention.

Furthermore, RentGrow only has 30 days to investigate a dispute once it is filed. The more information you provide to RentGrow, the faster the agency can resolve the issue and tell your landlord or homeowner that they made a mistake. With a little luck, you may find that your apartment or house application gets another look.   

Contact Fair Credit

Unfortunately, some background screening agencies don’t fix false information. If RentGrow doesn’t investigate your dispute letter, you should contact Fair Credit right away. Attorneys can explain your legal options and help you file a lawsuit against screening agencies like RentGrow. 

If RentGrow doesn’t investigate erroneous information, it’s in violation of your consumer rights under the FCRA. Should your lawsuit be successful, you could recover up to $1000 or more to cover attorney fees and related expenses.

How Fair Credit Can Help Your Case

Knowledgeable background check error attorneys, such as Fair Credit, can provide lots of assistance to your case, regardless of whether or not you file a lawsuit.

At the beginning of the process, your attorneys can help you file your dispute letter promptly and accurately. Even though background screening agencies like RentGrow do have to investigate erroneous information, they can also request additional information from you if you don’t provide them with enough of it.

If that happens, the 30-day timeline mentioned above gets halted. That can extend the time you have to wait before your background information is fixed. Lawyers can make sure this doesn't happen.

Furthermore, the right attorneys can help you gather sufficient evidence for both your dispute letter and any upcoming lawsuit, if applicable. That information can include old credit reports, documents noting your identity or previous addresses, and much more. All of that can be invaluable if you want to make sure your background information is 100% accurate going forward.

Should push comes to shove, and should you need to file a lawsuit against RentGrow to get them to fix erroneous info, you’ll once again be happy to have lawyers on your side. Knowledgeable attorneys know how to represent you in court and what to say, plus they can coach you if you need to represent yourself.

More importantly, the right attorneys will maximize your chances of a successful legal resolution should you have to pursue arbitration or a lawsuit against RentGrow. With Fair Credit, you don’t need to worry about paying us a dime, either. 

We only take a percentage of the money we win for you, and if you don’t secure any damages, you won’t have to worry about paying us anything. We don’t believe you shouldn’t have to pay to exercise your consumer rights.

Contact Us Today

Fair Credit’s trustworthy attorneys are well-equipped and ready to assist with your background check dispute or lawsuit. Whether you choose to take the fight to RentGrow personally or appeal to your landlord, we can provide you with the sound legal counsel you need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more.