By: Matt | Last updated April 23, 2019 
Background checks are helpful in several scenarios: for job recruitment, to track someone down, to make sure you are not living/working/dating a criminal, to reconnect with a former classmate and so on.
Factors to consider when choosing a background check service
The first things you have to consider when choosing a background check service are price and reputation of the company. Next, you want to check out their interface and make sure it is easy to use.
The time required to generate a report is also important. The shorter the time, the better.
The way the information in the report is organized is also important. Data should be easy to find and read.
But perhaps the most important aspect to keep in mind when it comes to background check services is the accuracy of information. There are services out there that offer outdated or incorrect information, whether it’s address, phone numbers and so on.
Intelius overview – Is it a good background check service to consider?
Intelius is a public records company founded in Seattle in 2003. The company is deemed one of the best background check services on the market, in terms of accuracy of information. It has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. However, Intelius did have its share of lawsuits and complaints, for allegedly enrolling people into marketing programs without their consent and for deceptive credit card charges.
When it comes to available searches, Intelius lets you choose between people searches, background checks, criminal records and reverse phone lookup.
What can’t you use Intelius for?
Because it is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), Intelius can’t be used for:
- Employment purposes
- For determining someone’s eligibility for credit or insurance
What can you use Intelius for?
Intelius can be a very useful service for other various purposes:
- To run background checks on yourself, to see what information about you is available online; if you find inaccurate info about yourself, you can take action to correct those errors
- To do a background check on people coming into contact with your family, especially your kids: the parents of a new friend of your child, their new coach, teacher and so on. This way you can make sure those people are trust-worthy and your family is safe
- To find out information about a potential blind date or online date and more
Intelius reports – what do they include?
The reports generated by Intelius can contain information such as:
- Full name
- Birthday
- Addresses
- Phone numbers and email addresses
- Criminal record
- Marriage and divorce history
- Lawsuits
- Bankruptcies and more
Intelius has a mobile app that is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Intelius gathers its information from public records. So while this doesn’t seem as much to you, because anyone can have access to those records, it is time-consuming to obtain all of them. You have to visit a lot of institutions, make a lot of trips, compose a lot of emails and make a lot of phone calls. Intelius is useful because it compiles all the data into a single report and saves you the trouble of doing all the detective work yourself.
Pricing and included information
Intelius lets you perform several types of searches and charges you differently depending on the report you order. You can choose between three options.
If you want a background report, you have to pay $49.95.
If you want a people search report, you have to pay $3.95. A people search Plus report is $9.95. The Plus report is more comprehensive. In the standard people search report you just get the full name, addresses, aliases, possible relatives, phone number/s. However, if you order the people search Plus report, you get some additional information, such as email address and social media info.
Intelius offers a monthly membership as well: Intelius Premier. With Intelius Premier you have to pay a monthly fee of $29.95/month and for this fee you receive a monthly background report. With this membership you also get discounts for other reports or in case you want an additional background report.
With Intelius Premier, a people search report is $0.95. A people search Plus report is $6.95 and additional background reports are $39.95.
While you can’t download your report, you can keep them stored in your cloud account for one month and a half.
