US Search

US Search Review: People Search and Background Checks

 
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Rating:
Bottom Line:
Good price and easy to read, detailed info on bankruptcies, but not as good with criminal check
Full Review:
Introduction:

US Search is one of the cheaper people search/background check services we looked at. Of course, it always pays to be price-conscious, but we had to wonder if saving $20.00 would come at a cost to the depth and accuracy of the information.

Pricing and Features:

At only $39.95 per search it's a tempting alternative to Intelius's $49.95 background check. It advertises all the usual goods: age, address, tax liens, civil, criminal, judgments, and lawsuits. It also allows you to search by Social Security number, a nice bonus. Their nationwide criminal check is also cheaper, only $19.95. What's more, they throw all kinds of serious discounts at you for future background searches. They also offer compelling bulk discounts aimed at those that need 10 or more searches.



Our Test:

We found two brave individuals (who will remain nameless) to act as our subjects, one with a highly unique name, another with a reasonably common name. We ran the searches and asked them to verify their information. It did well with bankruptcies (for which a lot of information was provided), associates, and previous addresses. It did less well with criminal convictions, however. Also, in one case, it mistakenly reported an ex-spouse as a relative.

The address history is particularly extensive, as is the property information, down to the roof type and heating type. It felt more like a trip to Home Depot than a true dip into our subjects' pasts. Interesting to some degree, but we would have preferred to know that one of our subjects had a past arrest, rather than a former home with an asphalt roof and steam heat.

Other Features:

As with other background/people search services we reviewed, there are a host of add-on services they'd love to sell you such as social network, email, reverse phone, and nation-wide criminal look-ups. They do offer a "No Results - No Charge" guarantee, but it's not a guarantee that you'll find the exact information you're looking for. Chances are, you'll find some qualifying piece of information on anyone (and you'll probably find that just by doing the basic pre-order search).

Conclusion:

Based on our testing, we wouldn't recommend US Search.com as a primary resource, particularly if criminal searches are part of what you're looking for. It's not a bad choice, however, as a cheaper second-opinion on addresses and bankruptcy information.

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Service Details:

Report Price:$39.95
Information Included:Address history, lawsuits, sex offender check, judgments, liens, phone numbers, marriage/divorce, state criminal check
Best For:Address history, property details
Depth Grade:B
Accuracy Grade:B

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Disclosure: NextAdvisor.com is a consumer information site that offers free, independent reviews and ratings of online services. We receive advertising revenue from most of the services we review. Our editors thoroughly research and whenever possible test each service we review and offer their honest opinions about each one. We are independently owned and operated and all opinions expressed on this site are our own.