Uber Background Check Errors? We Can Help You Fight Back

For millions of Americans, Uber represents an excellent way to earn some side income or to work with a flexible schedule. Lots of people love driving for Uber and making money in the rideshare industry. But to begin driving for this rideshare company, you need to complete an Uber background check.

Unfortunately, Uber’s background checks aren’t always 100% accurate. In fact, one or more background check errors could cost you a job or cause Uber to terminate your contract even if you are already driving for them. Read on to discover how Fair Credit can help you fight back against Uber background check errors and more.

Does Uber Require Background Checks?

Yes. Specifically, Uber requires background checks to look at two key pieces of information:

• A motor vehicle report or MVR. This is essentially a record of all your driving activities and potential infractions. It will include a detailed look at whether you were ever convicted of a DUI and whether you received a speeding ticket or other moving infraction in recent years
• A criminal background check. This examines your history for other criminal activity or past criminal convictions. Some previous criminal convictions might be stricken from your record after a certain amount of time has elapsed, but other convictions, especially felonies, never leave your record

Uber checks these things because it wants to make sure that it only employs drivers without an extensive criminal history and who can be trusted behind the wheel of a vehicle. For instance, if you have a history of sexual offenses, murder, terrorism, or other violent crimes, you will not pass the background check under any circumstances.

How Do Uber Background Checks Work?

Uber doesn’t actually perform background checks itself. Instead, it relies on a third-party company called Checkr: an experienced background-checking agency that provides background check services not just for Uber but for a variety of other companies, like DoorDash, Lyft, GrubHub, and more. 

Checkr, Inc. Explained

Checkr is a third-party background-checking company that performs the detailed investigations needed to make sure a job candidate is worth a company's time and money. In the case of Uber, Checkr checks each candidate’s driving records and criminal backgrounds more than anything else.

Checkr also provides companies with resources to hire formerly-incarcerated job candidates. However, Uber doesn't take advantage of these resources.

What Does Checkr Check?

Checkr might focus on driving history and criminal background checks for Uber, but it also checks a variety of other information for job candidates around the globe. This information includes:

• Global watchlist searches
• Civil checks at the county and federal levels
• Checks to see whether a job candidate is on the sex offender registry
• Social Security number tracing to limit the likelihood of identity fraud
• Credit checks, including examining each credit bureau’s detailed credit report
• Drug screening checks
• Professional and personal reference checks
• Education and employment checks at the national and international levels

In short, Uber’s background checks through Checkr might include some of this extra information, even though it normally just checks your criminal and driving background information.

Common Uber Background Check Mistakes

Despite Checkr’s experience in this arena, it does occasionally make mistakes when performing background checks for Uber. Some of the most common Checkr errors include:

• Identity theft mistakes, such as confusing one job candidate’s name with a similar name and assuming that negative information from the second person belongs to the job candidate 
• Sending information with typos, which can lead to confusion
• Providing Uber with inaccurate candidate data
• Attributing multiple entries for a single criminal offense to job candidates
• Using corrupted files to make decisions and recommendations
• Providing Uber with outdated negative information on background documents or credit reports
• Making mistakes during the copy, filing, and search processes 

Unfortunately, Checkr’s background check mistakes can lead to major consequences for your life.

For instance, if you apply to Uber and are otherwise qualified for the job, a Checkr background check with one or more errors could cause you to lose out on your employment opportunity. Uber might deny you a job offer even though you have a car and don’t have a criminal record because of something as simple as mixing up your identity with someone else’s.

Furthermore, an erroneous Checkr background check might make it difficult for you to keep your Uber driving job. Uber regularly checks the backgrounds of some employees as a means of catching employees who slipped through the first round of checks.

If you cleared the Checkr background check initially, but a second background check returns erroneous information, you might find your Uber profile suddenly suspended and be unable to earn money. This can be devastating for those who rely on Uber and other rideshare services as their primary sources of income.

Given the risks of a Checkr mistake affecting your employment stability, it’s a good idea to know what to do if you are denied a job or lose your job because of an erroneous Uber background check.

What if You’re Denied a Job Due to a Background Check Error?

If you are denied a job because of a background check error, you need to know your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA.

Put simply, the FCRA guarantees you certain rights that relate to your credit report and the accuracy of all credit and background-related information. You are guaranteed accurate credit information. If you see inaccurate credit information, you can file a dispute immediately with the credit bureau, credit furnisher, or other organization that has the inaccurate information to get it corrected quickly.

Furthermore, you have the right to request a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once per year. You can and should take advantage of this right; that way, you can catch any inaccurate information as it pops up, potentially preventing a background check fiasco in the first place.

Receive an Adverse Action Letter

In addition to the above rights, the FCRA states that all citizens are entitled to receive an adverse action letter:

• When they are denied employment, insurance, a loan or some other opportunity
• On the basis of their credit record or information

For example, if you are denied a job at Uber because of information included in your credit report or history, you have to receive an adverse action letter breaking that down. The adverse action letter will include:

• Information about which credit bureau(s) the background check organization used to get the information. It will also include a note that the credit bureaus can’t tell you why you were denied specifically (since they were not responsible for the denial)
• Information about the background checking organization – in this case, Checkr
• Information about how to contact or file a dispute with the credit bureaus or background checking agency

Furthermore, many adverse action letters will include an explanation for why you were denied. Uber, for instance, may have denied you on the basis of false information regarding your credit history. If that’s the case, it may tell you that upfront. But remember that this is not legally mandated by the FCRA – it’s an option that companies can take if they so choose.

File a Dispute

Once you receive an adverse action letter, don’t panic. It’s actually an important tool you can use to identify whether any inaccurate information affected your background check with Checkr.

Take a long look at the adverse action letter, investigate your background information, and if you find anything erroneous, file a dispute with Checkr or the credit bureau in question. You are legally allowed to file a background check or credit information dispute with any agency at any time.

Once you file a dispute, the agency in question has 30 days to investigate the matter, then five days to respond to you about whether they’ve made a decision. This is a fully legally protected right, so feel free to exercise it when needed.

Lastly, if a company does discover inaccurate information was used in a decision like loan underwriting or employment, that company is obligated to report the issue to the credit bureaus and to any other responsible parties. So, for instance, if Checkr made a mistake with your background check that prevented you from working for Uber, Checkr is on the hook to tell Uber about it.

Checkr can’t tell Uber that it should hire you or that it should reverse its previous decision. Still, correcting the record in this way is important to maximize your employment chances and to make sure that you don’t run into the same problem later down the road.

What’s Involved with Filing a Background Check Dispute?

When the time comes to file a background check dispute, you have three broad options for strategies you can employ. Let’s take a look at these one by one.

Try Contacting Checkr/Uber

Your first strategy should always be contacting Checkr or Uber.

For example, if you believe that Checkr’s background check is responsible for compromising your ability to drive for Uber, you should file a dispute claim with Checkr right away. Checkr is legally obligated by the FCRA to investigate any background disputes within 30 days of receiving notice, plus respond to the disputing party within another five days.

As a professional background check service, Checkr is used to this process. That's why it allows job applicants to file a dispute claim online from the Applicant Portal. At that portal, you can supply Checkr with ancillary information or supporting documents that prove Checkr provided inaccurate information to Uber.

Once Checkr is made aware of inaccurate information, it should contact Uber to correct the record. At that point, you can potentially apply for an Uber job once again or continue driving for Uber if your account is terminated temporarily.

Contact Credit Bureaus

However, some background check information is erroneous not due to Uber or Checkr, but because of false information on your credit report. That information could be erroneous because of the three big credit bureaus or for individual credit furnishers, like lenders or previous employers.

If that’s the case for you – for instance, if you have inaccurate debt dragging down your credit – you should contact credit bureaus and credit furnishers to get the matter resolved. For example, if you notice inaccurate credit information on your Experian credit report, you’ll need to contact Experian to get the inaccurate information fixed so it doesn’t follow you elsewhere.

Contact a Lawyer

In a perfect world, Uber and Checkr would realize their mistakes and happily correct any erroneous background information they used. But if Checkr refuses to investigate a dispute claim, or if it refuses to fix erroneous information, it’s automatically in violation of the FCRA.

When that happens, you are entitled to sue Checkr. That’s because the agency has a negative effect on your employment prospects and your overall well-being. You should contact knowledgeable attorneys who are experienced in this area right away.

Fair Credit can put together a rock-solid case on your behalf, plus negotiate with Checkr if needed. More importantly, they can advise you about the strategic wisdom of filing a lawsuit against Checkr depending on how much evidence you have and the circumstances surrounding your dispute claim. With our extensive experience, you’ll have a much easier time identifying and disputing inaccurate background information and filing a lawsuit if needed.

If your lawsuit is successful, you could recover up to $1000 in damages or even more. Furthermore, many lawsuit victories result in more damages to cover any attorney fees you may have needed to pay to acquire legal representation.

Wrap Up

Uber background check errors can and do happen due to Uber’s reliance on the third-party company Checkr. When this happens, don’t hesitate to exercise your rights under the FCRA and file a dispute letter with Checkr/Uber. The right dispute claim can get inaccurate background information fixed quickly, allowing you to continue driving for Uber or pursue other employment opportunities without worry. Contact Fair Credit to see how we can help.