In this Instant Checkmate Review I will clarify whether this is a good background check service or not, and will try to answer some of the frequently asked questions about this website.
Instant Checkmate is a very nice looking website, so my first impression was very positive, unlike many of the other background check services we’ve investigated.
What this service can do for you
They have been around since 2012 and are well established. The company offer a wide variety of services, but their main focus is criminal background checks. Here are just a few of the services they offer:
- Search their criminal records database
- View a map of sex offenders close to where you are
- Perform a reverse phone look up to see who’s been calling you lately
What we like in particular about this service is that the results from a background check are provided to you in a very concise, and easy to read report, which saves you a lot of time. The reports are also stored for easy access in your dashboard.
However, what we did not like is that the report you download isn’t always complete, and more payment is required if you want the full details of someone’s criminal history. This isn’t a scam, but is just an additional cost to receive a more detailed report. The problem arises is that this comes as a surprise to some people. It also depends on your membership whether you need to pay additional amounts for full reports.
From doing this detailed review of Instant Checkmate, we found that there is also an option to perform unlimited public record searches and receive unlimited reports for a monthly membership fee. It might be worth becoming a member for a month and doing everything you want to do in that month before cancelling.
Customer feedback and testimonials
The majority of negative customer reviews are actually about their billing system. Even without paying extra for a full report, the data on the basic one is still very good. There is sufficient data for the purposes of a criminal background check. The Instant Checkmate reviews posted by customers are a little worrying at times, but we did not have this terrible experience. It seems like many had unrealistic expectations about the service. It won’t find everything about every single person, and due to the size of the data out there, it won’t always be 100% accurate either.
Their customer support is based in the United States which is very good. There customer support number, while we did not try to call is spread around the website and is available 24/7. This is definitely a positive sign.
Doing a search on the website is relatively straightforward, and all you need is a name, age and location. It will take some time to get results, which is somewhat annoying. I’m not entirely certain whether this is because their system is very slow or whether it’s just that it is going through more information and more databases than some of the alternative people search sites out there.
Conclusion
Overall this service is good value if you’re wanting to check someone’s background. However, you do have to understand what the service is offering, as there seems to be confusion around this. This website does not have access to special or private data. It accesses many different databases, but it is limited to public records only. In theory you could do all of this for free, but it would take a lot longer and you might not find what you’re looking for. I personally prefer receiving a neat summary report detailing the criminal arrest records of whoever I am researching and paying a small fee for this service.
This is certainly a useful website, and their service is good enough to give it a try. They offer a free trial, so if you’re curious about anyone, now is the time to go search their background.
For more information, you can follow us on our RebelMouse page.
Instant Checkmate Review 