• InstantCheckmate

InstantCheckmate

Write a Review

Overview

InstantCheckmate has a rating of 1.8 stars from 341 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about InstantCheckmate most frequently mention credit card, phone number, and email address problems. InstantCheckmate ranks 152nd among Government Records sites.

  • Service
    82
  • Value
    86
  • Shipping
    30
  • Returns
    42
  • Quality
    71

This company responds to reviews on average within 10 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 18.2%
Positive
2
Neutral
0
Negative
9
7
See all photos
How would you rate InstantCheckmate?
Top Positive Review

“Good customer service”

Sat I.
3/23/24

The customer service team are very professional and helpful, they make sure to clarify any confusion and I get every information I need.

Top Critical Review

“Slow and inaccurate information.”

PAUL M.
9/10/24

It's definitely priced too high. At night it can be very slow. Often times it gives a lot of incorrect information. It's definitely priced too high. At night it can be very slow. Often times it gives a lot of incorrect information. It shows my grandfather's information (he died in 1952) as my information.

Reviews (341)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

instant checkmate (43) background check (25) customer service (39) email address (13) credit card (27)
Thumbnail of user andrewp59
New York
11 reviews
44 helpful votes
  • Send Message
December 5th, 2014

Stay away and do not give them an info. They pull you in with some teaser info, like they listed my sister as a relative and her new last married name. So I was duped into going deeper, thankfully I did not give them my CC info. Do not use them, its a scam like everyone says below!

Thumbnail of user georgetteh27
Illinois
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 11th, 2022

Very helpful, I found who I was looking for. I had not seen her in over 20 years and lost contact. Now our class reunion will be more fun. Thank you. Norma was the representative who helped me and she was great. Very kind and patient. I will be using you guys again in the future. Give Norma a raise, she is a very good employee.

Tip for consumers:
good for finding your friends

Products used:
checkmate.com

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello Georgette,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. We are delighted to see that you enjoyed your experience with us, and were able to track down your friend! We will also be sure to pass along your kind words to Norma, and we look forward to assisting you again in the future:)

Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support

Thumbnail of user dottieb1
New York
4 reviews
17 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 27th, 2015

This company is a giant rip-off! You can get the info they charge you for anywhere on the net. You keep getting pop-ups that say if you want more info you have to pay more. They do not provide what they promised. Do not waste your time and money on this bogus site. Be aware. They will charge you every month. This is a giant scam!

Thumbnail of user pm310
New Mexico
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 19th, 2022

Instant Checkmate is a much better choice. Though there may be minor inconsistencies sometimes, their information is the most up-to-date of any. Their Customer Service is A+++++ and always willing to help. Their pricing is also far superior to any of their rival sites. Highly recommend.

Products used:
Information

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello P M.,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. We are delighted to see that, overall, you enjoyed your experience with us and with our dedicated Customer Care Team, and we look forward to assisting you again in the future!

Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support

Thumbnail of user mjm6
Texas
8 reviews
58 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 16th, 2022

I was sent to this site from the County Court website. I also looked it up to see if it was legit. Given that it was seemingly being used by the court and the initial information I got was that it was legit, I went ahead and did a one month (I only needed one report). Boy, do I regret it! All I can see is the dashboard, which has a lot of errors, but I can't open or download anything because the site doesn't work properly and it freezes up my computer. There is definitely missing information and a lot of completely incorrect information. These people are just buying old and unverified lists and then publishing it. This is such a scam!

Tip for consumers:
DON'T!

Products used:
I would have used the reports if I could get to them but I couldn't.

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello MJ,
Although we are happy you gave us this feedback, we are sorry to see that this happened. If you need assistance navigating our site, or need to report any site issues, please call our dedicated Customer Care Team at (800) 222-8985 (our team is available from Monday - Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm PST, excluding some Holidays) or email us at support@instantcheckmate.com and we will try to make this right.

Thank you

Thumbnail of user deborahb2580
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 7th, 2023

This is the first site I found to be very comprehensive and extensive with information. Quite frankly I don't know what all the hoopla is about regarding customer service. Whenever I have had a concern, their customer service folks attend to the issue immediately with a satisfactory outcome.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello Deborah,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. We are delighted to see that you enjoyed your experience with our site, as well as with our dedicated Customer Care Team! We look forward to continuing to assist you in the future.

Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support

Thumbnail of user robertm3094
Minnesota
1 review
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 20th, 2020

One personal checkup for $2.99. They converted payment into a monthly subscription which cost me over $100. It was 3 months before I caught it. I am sure this is how they make their money. This is a type of fraud. Do not use this service. Where is their BBB rating.

Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello Robert,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. If you feel that you've been charged in error, please reach out to our dedicated Customer Care Team at (800) 222-8985. Our team is available from Monday - Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm PST* (10:00am - 10:00pm EST) so we can make things right.

Thank you

Thumbnail of user daleh34
North Carolina
1 review
24 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 30th, 2015

Just like all these other reviews it was a big ripoff for me. The info. Joined and cancelled within 20 minutes. I looked up myself and found very minimal info. Unless I paid another $9.98 for the "Premium search results" and that is for each search you do.

Thumbnail of user davidw4982
New Jersey
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 16th, 2022

InstantCheckmate worked very well for me and I was able to use their system to eliminate a problem that was greatly bothering my family and myself. Within minutes of getting the information that by using InstantCheckmate allowed me to access obtain the problem was finished and over with for hopefully forevermore. However if I ever run into this problem, or problems like or similar to it again I will most definitely be back without hesitation. I would only change one single thing for people like myself in that if there was a subscription for a day, or for one usage search it would most likely bring many more people to InstantCheckmate due to them only needing to find one individual and it would be more cost effective for them. I am truly happy that InstantCheckmate services exist for helping people to solve what could be serious problems and nip them in the bud immediately. I would recommend InstantCheckmate to anyone.

Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello David,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us want your feedback. We are delighted to see that you enjoyed your experience with us and were able to find what you needed! We look forward to assisting you again in the future:)

Thank you,
Instant Checkmate Support

Thumbnail of user michaels299
Michigan
1 review
24 helpful votes
  • Send Message
August 24th, 2015

I wanted to know if there was a warrant out for an individual that i know. Thought I could pay for a membership and that would be in. Not at all. After I because a member I received no information at all, only more options to pay for more information. When I did pay it still didn't release any information to me. This site is a scam.

Thumbnail of user garyp62
California
1 review
13 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 22nd, 2015

Lucky for you nobody with money has shut you down. You have a license to steal and then to add insult you throw another 20 on there. Thank Bush and associate for deregulation or a few of you would be in jail

Thumbnail of user elizabethc148
California
1 review
7 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 6th, 2016

I use paypal, but do not check it often enough! I did not order this, and they were billing my paypal account $29.63 every month! I finally got them to refund 2 months charges, but I am out 2 more months. Scary!

Thumbnail of user amyd35
North Carolina
1 review
14 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 5th, 2015

This claims to know everything which it did have some information that someone could very easily figure out by visiting my facebook profile... and it even got some of that wrong! I am 19 and it says im 20. It says i live 2 cities away from my home... this thing is not accurate... i wouldn't trust it.

Tip for consumers:
STAY AWAY! Don't waste your money!

Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user larryt29
Texas
2 reviews
14 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 26th, 2015

This webste is all about the initial page where enter a name and place, and the flashy interface portraying search of some database. In reality, they have no more than a phone white page has. Save your time and your money

Thumbnail of user anthonyb1782
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
March 23rd, 2022

This site could not provide basic information I already knew and could obtain on my own. I tried looking up several people with backgrounds I already knew. Always the same poor lack of information. A complete waste of money!

Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello Anthony,
We are constantly working on and updating our records and we appreciate you taking the time to give us constructive feedback. We apologize you were unhappy with some of the information in our reports. Since we rely on third-party data sources, we can only display the information that we were provided, which could potentially include incomplete or inaccurate data. We hope to continue to improve our services to make them better for you and future customers. Please feel free to contact our dedicated Customer Care Team at (800) 222-8985 or email us at support@instantcheckmate.com and we will try to make this right.

Thank you

Thumbnail of user eata1
Michigan
1 review
9 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 28th, 2016

Somehow, they got a hold of a debit card number, and e-mail, and charged $28 to my mom's account. Checked the email we were told was associated with the account when we called to dispute the charge, even looked in the spam folder, and nothing saying we created an account. The only email received from them (in the spam folder) was today giving a confirmation of a refund, and a cancellation of the account. Supposedly somebody ran a background check on my brother's wife using her maiden name. We never even heard of this scamming company before this, never signed up, never used their services. Now I have to alert my brother about this. 100% fraudulent.

Thumbnail of user pb50
Colorado
1 review
9 helpful votes
  • Send Message
June 4th, 2016

They say "Type any name, wait 15 seconds and be amazed." That is a flat-out lie. It should say "Type any name, wait 15 minutes, and get ready to use Pay Pal." If false advertising laws applied to the internet, they would be locked up. What a rip-off!

Thumbnail of user maxc25
Idaho
1 review
10 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 17th, 2014

After trying out their services I found that given where I live their services couldn't really tell me much more than I already know. In fact, much of what I expected to show up didn't. I am also rather annoyed that I couldn't cancel my subscription from the site itself. I had to call an 866 number to do so. I did find however that the person I spoke to about cancelling my account was very polite and helpful. I would recommend the service to those who live in bigger cities. For those of us who live anywhere else however... I doubt you'll find anything u can actually use other than sex offenders, which u can find free on other sites.

Thumbnail of user rolandog5
Texas
1 review
12 helpful votes
  • Send Message
April 18th, 2016

I accessed Instant Checkmate, was charged $22.86 for a month's subscription. The information they provided was minimal and they kept trying to sucker me into paying additional money in order to download the skimpy information they provided and they also kept trying to steer me into paying even more money to access their "Premium Database" service. This is a real crock of $#*!, and I really should have known better. I cancelled the subscription effective the end of the month I already got suckered into paying for. We'll see if they continue to automatically charge me for additional months. I just hope this SiteJabber site will not try to charge for posting this review.

Thumbnail of user brianb124
California
1 review
14 helpful votes
  • Send Message
July 7th, 2015

Info was very incomplete. Did a search on my friend to check how complete the service was. Even with the extra premium search it was very incomplete. I could find out more on Facebook. Dont waste your money

Thumbnail of user sandraj33
Florida
1 review
11 helpful votes
  • Send Message
February 2nd, 2016

Instant checkmate is no more than a scam. The information it present is not correct. Then in addition it charged my credit card for the last 6 months after it was cancelled. Do not fall for this scam.

Thumbnail of user nancyp2441
Illinois
1 review
1 helpful vote
  • Send Message
October 30th, 2023

People I don't know, and addresses and phone numbers I don't recognize were inserted into my information. My marital status was nonexistent, which is a problem because I am trying to date. My daughter's information was totally made up! I wouldn't trust that any information is true since mine was so off. This is a dangerous service!

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello, we apologize you were unhappy with some of the information in our reports. Since we rely on third-party data sources, we can only display the information that we were provided, which could potentially include incomplete or inaccurate data. We hope to continue to improve our services to make them better for you and future customers. Thank you for understanding.

Thumbnail of user rika4
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 8th, 2022

Nightmare alert. Once they get you for a month, you have no ability to cancel. They block even their 800 number once they get my number. Then I needed my password. On forget my password they promise to send a confirmation email and did not. I did this several times. Still no ability. I've reported them to the Attorney General.

Service
Value
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K. – InstantCheckmate Rep

Hello Rik,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us with your feedback. If you feel that you have been charged in error, please call us at (800) 222-8985, or email us at support@instantcheckmate.com, so we can make this right.

Thank you

Thumbnail of user nikn4
New York
1 review
24 helpful votes
  • Send Message
November 21st, 2015

This site should be banned! Its basically a scam! Payed $22.95 just to see an old address from 6 years ago! There's even pictures that were supposed to be of the person I was looking up but the pictures were not of this person! AFTER paying the $22.95 and only seeing the old address it says get more detailed info for only $19.95! I called And emailed to request cancellation and a full refund but they said once I viewed the report I am not entitled to a refund!... again, the Only accurate info on the "report" was the address but that's from 6 years ago! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR YOUR TIME! Yes it sounds exciting when you read the FAKE reviews that say things like "your site saved my life", "I'm greatly appreciative to you and your website... it opened my eyes"... but it is NOTHING as it advertises! Yes these are all Fake! If it wasn't only $23 I'd be suing these people right now! Don't do it!

Thumbnail of user waynen6
Ohio
1 review
12 helpful votes
  • Send Message
January 3rd, 2016

I did the search on a name under the name of that very person, and then these idiots tell me that the person I asked to do the search on will never know it!
You want to pay for that? Well, there is sucker born every minute.

Sitejabber for Business

Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

From the business

The Leading Background Search and People Search tool on the internet. Enter a name and state to start your people search and run a background check.

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user nicholask381
Nicholas K.
Typically responds within 10 days

How do I know I can trust these reviews about InstantCheckmate?

  • Sitejabber’s mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
  • Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
  • Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
Have a question about InstantCheckmate?