Instant Checkmate Reviews

I ran a search for someone I know for a fact was married three times and had been arrested for third degree larceny (it was in the paper). None of these information came up and I was charged after I cancelled. I called and asked to speak to a manager. She said there wasn't one. Total scam.

I went online to search some information. I found nothing on anyone. I even searched some people I knew had a few incidents in their background and even wasn't able to turn anything up there. Then I was charged $22.86 for three months in a row with no help from Customer Service. It’s a rip-off just like I was afraid of.

Two problems: 1) I entered for a free search, only to find that only my search was free, and getting the info at the end would be charged for. At best, that's misleading; 2) There were long waiting periods where it said it was making a "secure connection," where I suspect it was either downloading malware or searching my computer for passwords. Coincidentally, I checked my bank account log on screen and my username and password were both missing from that screen. I have a security program running and have downloaded hundreds of files, but this was the first time I found my bank username and password missing. I am highly suspicious that this is what happened here and am contacting my bank.

This company is run by a bunch of dishonest crooks. They somehow got my credit card information and debited my account for a bogus charge in hopes of me not noticing. I contacted them and they actually told me they couldn't look up my account without me providing, get this, my credit card number and security code along with my Social Security Number. She told me they couldn't simply look up my account by my name or address. What a load of crap. These clowns should be run out of the country! It's truly a shame that scam companies like this one give other legit internet folks a bad name. InstantCheckMate.com, why don't you crawl back under the rock you came out from or just do us all a favor and stop breathing our oxygen?

Thank you for refunding my money. I'm still a little dissatisfied with the fact it took 9 months to resolve the issue. I think you should be more upfront with the 7 days free trial and the fact that extra information cost more money. Once again Thank You for the refund but I won't ever use your site again.

This company is definitely a scam. You only get a portion of what you pay for initially. If you want anything comprehensive that they promised in the beginning for the $23, you have to pay an extra $10 plus $1.99 for the privilege of getting PDF copies of the reports. They fail to be upfront with what they have promised to deliver and what it will really cost you. When I called Instant Checkmate, a representative told me that I could get all the items such as criminal background checks, licenses, old phone numbers and addresses with just the $23. But in reality, you only get a portion. It appears as though they withhold the parts that you are most likely to need and that is where the $10 has to be paid per each inquiry. She said she was having system problems and put me on hold for 3-4 minutes while going to open my account. She returned to say that since they were having system problems and could not get into my account, she could refund the $23.

I did a background check of myself. My birth date was wrong. No marriages were noted, although I have been married twice. Very little information available, period. I called and complained. The customer service rep saw I only did one check on myself. When I told him I needed either a refund or would dispute the charge with my credit card company, he said he would issue me the month's credit. I have the confirmation number, so we will see. Be persistent. Get your money back, or even better, do not use this site.

I expected to pay $1.99 for a one-time look up. I found a monthly charge of $22.86 on my credit card statement. When I called, they cancelled the second month charge, but refused to refund the initial charge of $22.86 which I would never have agreed to pay, if it was clearly stated.

I believe this website is for the most part a scam. I first wanted to check my own record to see if this site has their records straight and it's believable. Unfortunately, after agreeing to pay $9.95 monthly for 6 months - which promised an unlimited number of searches per month, I found out that for this money, I was getting only name, date of birth and a phone number and that's only to view! I paid additional $1.99 to have the information on PDF and to be able to print it. And on top of this, only my name was correct! My birthday and phone number were wrong. And for additional information, I would have to pay additional $10! What a scam and chaos - misinformation creating website this is! Beware! Beware this is a scam and computer generated information about real people. My real phone number in their records was a combination of 2 different phone numbers I had in the past.

This company is totally misrepresented. The information they have is no more than what you can get online researching public records. When you want to discontinue your unused membership time, they tell you they will cancel your membership. You do not get reimbursed any of your unused membership time. You are told that you already called and they told you they would cancel your membership, but they do not let you cancel your membership for a refund of the rest of the time. Don't waste your time or money on this company. They have no updated information. You can find out as much as they have and give you a runaround on the phone.

Pretty much wasn't satisfied. I was looking for criminal background; instacheckmate said it had it. It did not have anything on criminal history, only address, relatives, and marriage. I called and told them I was not satisfied and I only got half of my money back. Call the state authorities and you can get a comprehensive public record that is worth it. Do not use instacheckmate!

This was a total waste of money. When I ran a trial background check on someone and it said it had full records of the person I was checking, I paid the one-month membership fee. The results they said they found were a joke. I only found half of the addresses for the person, no criminal history which I know there was and no records for marriages or divorces. What a scam. Then I had to call them to cancel the membership. If I didn't, they would continue to bill me a monthly fee. Anyone looking for a background checking system needs to keep looking. This site is a rip off and there is no money back guarantee. I was able to find more info in an hour of searching public records for free than this site found.

I gave $20+ to try the service for 1 month. The information I received on the 3 people that I searched was out of date, did not contain addresses or birth dates that were accurate. This site does not deliver as advertised. Also, it was not clear to me that the membership would continue until I notified them to stop. Thank you, Consumer Affairs, for all the comments on your website. You saved me another month's payment.

Someone contacted me on Zoosk. I was leary because of the Yahoo email account and did a real background check. There was no such person. He tried to make me suspicious of him and then told me to check him out on Instantcheckmate.com so he could get me to subscribe. Of course, there were no records of him even though the site said they had found him. The address they gave had hundreds of occupants. Ladies, beware of Instantcheckmate.com.

I bought a 1-month trial. Of the 10 or people I searched, all of them had incorrect and missing information (including myself). InstantCheckmate promises you information in 7 different categories (personal, location, criminal history, marriage/divorce history, related person, etc.). For every one I searched, there was no marriage/divorce history even though most of the people I searched are married and have been married for years. InstantCheckmate couldn't even find my traffic ticket. This is a total waste of money. I'm still trying to get my $23 back.

I purchased the one month subscription and began to use the site. Every name I put in had outdated information, not the correct information, down to birth dates. I called the company to complain and the woman told me it was because I was using Safari. Their site didn't mesh well with Safari. So I tried it on another browser and the same thing happened. The site is a total scam! And a huge waste of money.

I found this site linked to an attorney's site. So I figured it was on the up and up. I purchased the one month unlimited trial and ran my own report. When the info came back, it was incorrect. I immediately contacted them and spoke to Dan telling him I ran my report and it was incorrect and I wanted to cancel immediately and be refunded since I wasn't even on their site 10 minutes. He said that I wasn't in their database and to call back in 45 minutes to an hour. Then I found the feedback on this Consumer Affairs website and was astonished.

I have been trying to opt out my information from their website, but it is still there which is making me very frustrated. This is the first ever website which is not removing my info after several attempts. All other websites usually remove your info between 24 to 48 hours. Can anyone tell me if I could take any legal actions against them?

I purchased the one month program. All info is completely wrong. No mug shots on any person and I even checked myself and most recent address was 12 years old. I called to get refund, but they were willing to only give half back for 30 minutes use. What a scam! Buyer beware! Don’t waste your time! Google gives more accurate info!

You charged me 10 months of the same fee. How dare you! Your bogus company states a one month fee of $19.86. How can you get away with raping people of their money? Add your name to the list of the criminals that should be investigated online. Sick.

Service was not as advertised. I deliberately looked up someone with a known criminal background and nothing appeared. I entered several names and received nothing. I called the customer service department and was told by Liz that I would receive a refund for my one month fee. Hopefully, they will resolve this and will do as they say. I would not recommend anyone to use this site for anything.

They offer you a $1 membership for 5 days. They automatically start charging you $29/month until you cancel. It's nice of them to hide this in the fine print. Complete waste of time and money. Also I wanted to note that the info they provided was severely lacking. It had many birthdays incorrect, as well as criminal records completely missing. Don't waste your time or money on this site!

I signed up for a one-day membership and found this site had no useful information on it. I found more useful info on Google for free. Later that month, I was charged $29.00 on my credit card and come to find out I had to cancel through a rep or they would keep charging. I should have known better. I don't know how the owner of this site sleeps at night. What goes around comes around! People will do or hurt anyone nowadays to make a dollar.

I also did the $1 trial membership. After a couple of days, I began to get a bit worried about any automatic renewal and logged back in to the site in an effort to remove my account information. I found no such option so I searched "insta-check $1 trial". The consumer reports, with 54 complaints, popped up just under the company site. I was already aware that the site was not accurate on information after trying it on day one. After reading the reviews, my worries were substantiated.

I paid for a one-month unlimited reports for this service. I did searches on people I knew to have criminal records. I received nothing but age, name and address. There were no marriage or divorce records and no criminal records. This is a very poor service at best and a big waste of money. I called and cancelled membership and got a refund (they said it will take 3-5 days for refund). Don't waste your money!

I purchased an unlimited one month membership from Instant Checkmate for just under $23. After less than ten minutes of use, I realized the services they purport to provide are bogus. Using very narrow search techniques produced long, inaccurate lists from the entire nation that clearly fell outside of my search parameters. As a test, I conducted searches using information I knew to be entirely accurate including known criminal records and got search results of zero. Within ten minutes of my purchase, I called Instant Checkmate to cancel my account. I spoke with Scott at Station #22. When I told him that I'd just purchased a membership minutes ago, was unhappy with the service they offered and asked for a refund, he guffawed (not much of a surprise to me after experiencing the poor quality of their site. I was surprised, however, that they picked up the phone!

I signed up, put in information, and the outcome gave me inaccurate information. The birth date was wrong and it was not detailed enough under the criminal record section. It brought up random people with the same name (most with different middle initial). I called and asked for a full refund, and they said it will take 3-5 business days (which is pretty standard for refunds). I think for the money that is paid for this service, it needs to be a little more accurate with the information they show of the people you investigate. For example, I do not need to know the sex offenders that live near them. I need to know if they are the sex offender.

I have been trying to cancel my $1 5-day trial for a couple days now. Tomorrow, I'm to be charged $29.63 for membership. The phone number listed (1-866-490-5980) goes to fast busy almost immediately. They seem to go through great lengths to make it impossible to reach them to cancel. I did find an email address that even that they seem to try to hide. They intentionally left the @ sign off, which makes it easy to miss. But that works as well as the number they ask you to ring as there is no reply. I've called my bank thinking I could just have it blocked when it hit, but they said there is nothing they can do.

I used it for the day. Birth dates were inaccurate but served my purposes. I read everything that I clicked a button for but apparently didn't see that if I didn't call to end my trial membership, the monthly fee would be charged. Lo and behold, I see the monthly charge being processed by my bank. I called Instant CheckMate and asked why I was being charged. I was told that I didn't cancel my trial so a monthly charge was being taken. He said that he could cancel my membership but that I would only get a 50% refund which I took and cancelled. Make sure you cancel your $1 trial membership.

While checking info on myself, I found false statements. I checked on some family and found false statements about them too. I think they should be shut down!

I signed up without researching and realized immediately that it was inaccurate information on me and my family members. I asked for a full refund and was told no on the same day I joined. I believe this company should be shut down immediately for fraudulent information, first and foremost, as well as theft by deception! It was a sixty-dollar mistake made by me. By law, it’s a huge mistake once they are caught!

I called on a whim running through this website. I signed up for the $1.00 free trial for 5 days. Not for me, so I cancelled. I checked my bank statement and now have a recurring amount taken out. When I called, the girl on the phone even told me my password (although she couldn't tell me that I had in fact not used this since that day) and checked with her supervisor and said (within 45 seconds) that I had in fact not called in to cancel; therefore, it was unfortunate but I still owed the $29.63. When I complained, she said she would refund 50%. Great, but beware that you keep all numbers and what you said and did.

I needed to do a background check on someone and got suspicious when results came back empty. I did my own name; I have a bad past with a long criminal record. I got zero results and that's when I realized the services they offer were a complete waste of my money and time.

$1 trial service is used to implement monthly service charges. The service wasn't worth $1 let alone $28. Company should be shut down. I look forward to the class action lawsuit that is the logical outcome of this practice.

Preemptive Strike: a surprise action that is launched in order to prevent a company known for questionable business tactics from doing it to you. In this case, it was "me," the individual consumer, conducting a preemptive strike against InstantCheckMate.com, a company known for its questionable business practices. Here's the sequence of events:

I thought I purchased a one month membership on December 28, 2012. Right after I went on to the website and did 3 searches, all 3 were either missing information (lots of information) or completely wrong. For whatever reason, I didn't call to cancel the night I purchased and I actually completely forgot about it until now - when I viewed my credit card statement. When I googled them to get their phone number, it pulled up all these horrible reviews about this company and go figure; they are the same exact complaints I have. Thank goodness I read somewhere that said something about them just signing people up for memberships without consent or I wouldn't have even thought to ask about that.

This is the worst background checking service around. Out of 20 people I knew were married or divorced, it picked up nothing. In fact, not one person came up as being married. The rest of the menu offered is pretty much the same. These guys could have a sweet site, but either their search parameters are off or they are to lazy to figure out how to find information. A complete waste of money. Go somewhere else or do your own investigation.

Rip-off Outfit - Laughably poor background search capability and forced (non-requested) monthly deductions (the latter part criminal fraud).

Since I was skeptical, I tried to run a report on "James E. Holmes", 25, in all states. This man was the shooter from the Aurora Theater back in July, and I figured that the site would easily find his arrest records. After the search, the website found 9 results, none of which were him. If this website can't find a high profile convicted felon, it obviously sucks.

I ordered a background check on myself from InstantCheckMate.com. I have a need to know every address I have ever had since the age of 18 for a background check. While I cannot remember every address where I have lived, I know most of my own personal history. This site has only five addresses listed, my four most recent and one from twenty two years ago. My personal data is incomplete and some items that should have data have none at all such as marriages and divorces. I have no use for data pertaining to sex offenders living at any of my former addresses nor would another person using this service to perform a background check on me.

I paid a one time $22 for a one month unlimited search. Very inaccurate info. My name and address were right, but I could not find me with the right birth date. So all the other stuff was wrong. I called after 5 minutes and they refused to give me a refund. On top of that, the guy told me to watch out because they would be charging my card every month even though I signed up for a one time charge. Wow. I, like many others (now that I have read these reviews), must change my credit card number. Sure wish I had checked on Checkmates first! I think they are a ripoff!

The information this agency charges for their reports is obtained from (according to their telephone rep) the County Clerk's office for the name and state provided. I did a test on the information I received back from Check Mate and found nothing in the report categories to be true. The problem, I learned from the Check Mate operator, is that once the information comes in with people of the same last name in an area, it is often misentered into the Check Mate data entry system (human system error for Check Mate fault) for people of like last names in the same cities or towns which results in totally incorrect information.

Instantcheckmate.com - As a now retired former finance manager and general sales manager from the retail automotive industry of more than twenty-five years, I would like to say that if our dealership's CSI scores were as low as these reviews indicate yours to be, then in no time at all, our doors would be locked shut. What concerns me about this business model is that there are so many more companies offering a similar type computer-based service with 'Knowledge' being offered and sold as the product, which is in and of itself a reputable working model. Where I have a problem is twofold. First is the arbitrary and capricious pricing structure that the average Joe (who is using this service from 10 times per year to maybe 10 times per month and who is being gouged for $25 per month plus any hidden fees that are built into the model for the express purpose of padding their profits) is paying. And I, too, think profits are a fabulous wealth-building device. I just believe being upfront and placing it all on the table for the customer to decide is the best policy. Eventually, consistently low trending reviews are going to kill this business, sending them to competitors!

I registered for a one-time, 30-day Instant Checkmate service for about $22. After doing about 60 reviews of people that I personally knew, I found that only 2 or 3 of them had accurate and complete information. The rest were not right. They were either severely incomplete, or were not even listed in Instant Checkmate's system at all. After about 5 days of having registered, I called Customer Service to cancel. I was highly dissatisfied and would not be using the site again because I could not rely on it. I was offered half of my money back because I had used the service. I stated that if I had not used the service, I wouldn't know that I needed to ask for my money back.

InstantCheckMate promotes one-time $1 criminal check offer. They then use credit info to create a $25 monthly charge without one's authorization. They say it is your responsibility to cancel a service, which you never signed up for. If you demand your money back, they will probably give it back. They have promised mine back (6 months’ worth) in 3-5 business days. I think that this is to limit the number and quantity of complaints. Of course, they used my money for investment/interest. The recycling of this scam on perhaps hundreds of thousands or millions probably keeps a large average investment balance from everyone's money (even one month's worth). Must make a lot of money this way, and they probably avoid criminal prosecution as they claim customer's responsibility to cancel, and they do eventually give your money back.

Don't do it. It is a scam. What a total waste of money. There is no information. I called immediately to cancel. I'm glad that I only signed up for one month for $19.86 and I have already requested a new credit card number, so this company cannot put further charges on my account.

I'd like to say that the information I just requested and paid money for 20 minutes ago was insufficient and inaccurate. This was an experience I could have done without and kept my money. I would very much like a refund today of the money spent. This is the first time and date that I used it. There are several reviews which claim your company to be a "scam," but I would hope that you're an honest business with the best intentions though you seem to have fallen short of reaching the expectation of your customers. I would appreciate a speedy response. Thank you.

Billed for account and not notified. Scammed on free trial period. I thought I cancelled this two months ago!

All the information they have, more can be found on your state's court document website for free. The service is full of misinformation and inaccurate information! Google the name and you'll get more accurate information. I consider the service stupid tax! Don't waste your money.

Overall, I think the site is a breach of people's privacy and someone needs to shut these people down. What happened to people's privacy? I understand if they were a sex offender, rapist or murderer that maybe I could understand. But overall, the site is a load of crap and am surprised that they have been getting away with this as long as they have already.

I purchased a 1-month subscription. Records were duplicated, outdated, and in one instance completely inaccurate - divorce and marriage records that don't match in fact. Criminal records were assigned to multiple individuals. I tried to get my money back. I was told that because I waited 2 days - I was waiting for a response from my email sent "on the first day" - I made the purchase. They told me I used the service multiple times. Yes, I did, to verify the quality of the records. I determined they were pretty much worthless and inaccurate. I received 1/2 of my fee back. Stay away.

My husband of eight years did a check through this "company" on me. It turned up criminal records and four marriages. I was married once in the past for sixteen years and have not been married since. I have no idea who the people in this company's information are except for my ex-husband. This check also turned up a lengthy criminal history and other unsavory things. I am a teacher and have had to go through a state investigation, plus an FBI check for criminal history, had my fingerprints checked by the FBI, the local Sheriff's department, a Homeland Security check. My application for teaching and background checks were extensive and asked all prior names, prior marriages, social security number, employment history, education history, states I've lived in and much more. I understand why these agencies would want this information as they want to make sure people are fit to teach children and I wholeheartedly believe if they would have found my information inaccurate that I would not be teaching.

A few months ago, I had to look someone up, one person, that's it. I don't remember ever signing up for a membership to this thing and yet 3 months later, I'm seeing I've been paying monthly charges of $19.98 for the one person for that one time only. This site does not offer discounts with a membership. It does not offer incentives. It does not offer anything that would require a membership in the first place. Fees should go to services rendered. If someone wants to look someone up, that is an action that would require a fee. When someone is not wanting to look someone up, they should not be still paying a fee. That is ** business and this site is clearly a scam and I'm surprised I don't have a virus or something for using it. I wish I hadn't bothered at all.

Not accurate info - I paid for 1 month for info. The check totally missed marriage/divorce records of the individual. The only accurate info is info that is accessible for free; name, address and related family members. Dangerous service because you could miss important info. I don't believe the good reviews.

I tried to do background checks on several people. The information was inaccurate, outdated, or missing altogether - an absolute rip-off. I regret giving them (InstantCheckMate.com) my credit card info. As sleazy as this company is, I now feel vulnerable.

I purchased a one month trial of this business, but every search I input yielded no viable results. I searched for myself as well, in both states I've had arrests in (I've had a few) and absolutely nothing came up on my criminal history. The closest results I could find to myself were in different towns. Very dissatisfied. I called them twice and spent 20 minutes on the phone with various representatives, all of which kept telling me that because I did more than two searches, they could not issue me a full refund. Eventually, I got them to issue me a partial refund and take me off of their consumer database. The jury is still out as to whether or not this has worked, but I still feel very cheated out of my money. This will definitely be a lesson learned. Next time I will do extensive research before choosing to invest in something as ludicrous as this!

I looked up family members to see how things were reported. Everyone I looked up, including myself, has information that was very outdated. I called today to cancel.

Instant Checkmate is a complete scam! It pulled up reports of completely different people after the website assured me they found the person I was searching for. I wish I could get my money back! This is such a scam!

I got an email which stated, "Look up anyone background for free!" I'm game, so I looked up my background to see my report and paid $1.00. It is okay to see my whole report and paid $24.95. Well, I have no criminal background to see, so I just clicked on the page. Eight months later, I was looking at my credit statement and I asked myself "Why is my bill so high?" And I saw this instant checkmate. "What the hell is this?" So, I called them and they said well I didn't call and cancel and they would refund my last payment. So, I ask how many payment I paid and she said eight. I asked "Can I have an account even if I have never accessed information from your search links?" She said oh I must have. They know I didn't. They are robbing people everyday and they get a way with no jail time. They just get to rob more and more people.

I purchased a subscription from Checkmate as I needed criminal info on someone. I have 2 issues with them. First of all, the info was outdated, incorrect and inadequate. None of it was worthwhile because it was all info I was able to get on my own. Second, I tried to get a refund and they said I used the service too many times. What I did was go on their website repeatedly (3 times), one time after another, to see if there was another way to get info since what they gave me was inadequate. After going back and forth with them, they begrudgingly gave me 1/2 my money back.

On or above March 5, 2012, I ran a credit check for the fee of $9.99 to be debited from my bank account; and they overcharged my bank account in the amount of $49.17 USD which was totally unauthorized. Please kindly credit the account in the above-mentioned amount. If l don't hear from you in 3 days, and you don't credit my account in the amount overcharged, I will hire an attorney immediately to investigate this crime.

Wrong stuff on page: it shows my number and address with a wrong name and age!

Erroneous charge - I did not use your service and did not complete the transaction when I realized the cost was more than the one dollar. Yet you charged my Visa card anyway. I want the charge refunded to my Visa immediately!

Only $100 was supposed to have been taken out, but it was $35.00 instead.

I did a one time personal check on an individual. I paid the fee and want InstantCheckMate to stop debiting my checking account for $39.63 every other month. And yes, if it is not corrected, I will hire an attorney.

They debited my account $40.93 on Saturday, February 11, 2012. I cancelled membership with them within 2 hours of using their service.

I have a checking account with money in it and have not found any way to transfer funds or send a check to buy service, or even contact this service! If I wanted an attorney involved I would have had him contact you!

I don't know why the government gave too much access like that on the internet, why do they allow someone to sell your information online for money. The worst thing is that they are located in Las Vegas Nevada. They are so stupid, why don't they look for a better job just like everyone else, or sell their family information only? Something has to be done about this website (www.instantCheckMate.com). I called to have them remove my information on the internet, they told me that I need to pay. Why should I pay because I didn't give them any permission to selling my info. What should I do?

A few months ago I called for information and after I enter my information somebody told me that the info was not available. Since then your company has been charging my account $34.63 every month. I have been sick and in the hospital. That’s why I didn't know this scam. I never authorize this withdraw. If I don't get any response in a few days, I will have to file a complaint with Better Business Bureau.

I purchased a background report for $19.86. I got nothing, except the name of the individual and a vague description of where they may live. After entering the individual's name for search, the report claimed they had what I was looking for. Once they collected the billing, I only got graphs, that the individual was a "probable criminal". That individual's history was blocked, and I was told they could get this info.

I made a a test request for $1.99 on 10/11/11, and received a credit card charge, dated 10/12/11, for an additional $59.16. It was unauthorized. Please arrange a credit for my card for $59.16. Advise by return e-mail, that the credit has been processed.

They advertise 1 research for $1.00 but end up charging your credit card $40.00 if you do not cancel within 5 days.

I tried instantcheckmate.com to check some information. The information was unavailable. I called the 866 number and spoke with less than helpful members. I was told that money would be refunded in 3-5 business days. The amount was refunded and then immediately charged again to account. I called to find explanation and the company could not find me in the system. I spoke with Michael who said he is the boss and that there was nothing that he could do. He was less than helpful and the site claims customer satisfaction is top priority.

I was told about a reduced rate but I was charged a different amount which was more than what I can afford.

InstantCheckmate.com makes a profit by selling personal information to others online. Information such as current and past addresses, known relatives, phone numbers, everything. The site even gives a map of the address. Too much personal information is shown and there is no mention of how to get your information removed. I have not given my permission for that information to be posted and fear that it may be dangerous.

I tried to cancel membership and did. I only wanted one month and was told I ordered a full year and the company will not refund me the difference. They will not identify themselves other than an 866 number. I want them to do the right thing. I paid $179.40 for one report. I am willing to pay for a month's membership but they will not budge.