We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. Learn more
  1. Home
  2. Background Checks
  3. Intelius Review

Intelius Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.4 / 5 (Excellent)
14 Customer Comments & Reviews - see all comments
Our content is free because we may earn a commission when you click or make a purchase using our site. Learn more.
Founded in 2003 by former InfoSpace executives, Washington-based Intelius provides information services like background checks, reverse phone lookup, and criminal records searches. The company holds an A grade with the BBB and has fulfilled orders for over 50 million background reports over its history. Intelius provides services online and via apps for Android and IOS.
 
SEARCH NOW

How is Intelius rated?

Breakdown

5.0/5
Types of Background Checks
5.0/5
Report Quality
5.0/5
Reputation
4.0/5
Pricing
2.5/5
Customer Support

Overall Rating: 4.4 / 5 (Excellent)

Intelius scores highly with us mainly because of the contents of their background checks themselves. The company provides unparalleled detail and accuracy. In the online background check marketplace, there is no shortage of consumer complaints about information being out of date or inaccurate. Intelius, who has been in the game longer than most of its competitors, has a strong reputation for reliability and exactness. To date, the company has fulfilled orders for over 50 million background checks. Most customer complaints center around not understanding the billing process. Know that Intelius will likely migrate you to a monthly subscription after your trial period. So make sure to cancel with the company in the correct timeframe if you do not wish to continue service.

Intelius Screening Details

Report Quality - 5 / 5

Intelius' screening services are second to none. The company is able to search literally billions of public records and provide some of the most comprehensive and accurate background checks out there. The company's database is routinely updated to ensure information is up to date. What's more, Intelius' reports have an extremely intuitive layout and are easy to read and reference. They can include a person's detailed criminal history, tax liens, bankruptcies, court rulings, education and employment history, marriage and divorce records, aliases, relatives, and associated phone numbers and emails if the information is available. Intelius provided the most detailed background reports of all the companies we evaluated.
Legal Records
Civil Actions
Bankruptcy
Sex Offender Registry
Marriage and Divorce
Federal/Nationwide/State Criminal
Other Records
Social Media
Credit Check
Past Addresses
Education & Employment

Intelius Company Reputation

Reputation - 5 / 5

Intelius customers are presented with a two-tier pricing structure when purchasing reports on the Intelius website. Each offer includes the standard one-time purchase price and a second discounted report price plus a one-week trial of the Intelius Premier Plus membership. If the user elects to continue with their selected report type but does not wish to continue the Premier Plus membership they are instructed to cancel the Premier Plus membership within the first 7 days and they will be charged $7.95 for the Premier Plus trial membership. However, if the user does not cancel, the member is enrolled in the Premier Plus membership and their credit card will be charged a monthly fee of $29.95 (plus applicable taxes) going forward.

Intelius provides one state criminal check in the background report, and federal and nationwide criminal search as an add-on at $19.95. A one-time standalone Background check can be purchased for $49.95. This plan is offered at $10 off with a 7-day trial of the Premier Plus membership, which includes a monthly background report voucher.

Key Reputational Facts

Year Founded
2003
BBB Rating
A
Number of BBB Positive Reviews
1
Number of BBB Negative Reviews
84
Trust Pilot Rating
1.1 out of 10
Verified Contact Info
Yes
Date Collected
2018-02-02

Certifications & Actions

Classified by FCRA as Consumer Reporting Agency
No
NAPBS Accredited
No

Intelius Pricing

Pricing - 4 / 5

The majority of customer complaints about Intelius seem to revolve around billing problems. Although the company clearly states on its billing page that customers will be charged on a monthly basis if they do not cancel after the trial, many report not being aware of this before purchase. Intelius has a detailed and searchable help section on its website where customers can get answers to questions about their reports, accounts, website features and billing. The company's customer service phone number is listed in the checkout process. It is also on the receipt email and in the "how do I cancel my membership" Help section.
Free Report
No
One Time Report Charge
$49.95
Monthly Subscription
Yes
Plan 1 Name
Premier Plus
Plan 1 Monthly Price
$29.95

Company Profile

Full Name
Intelius
Company Website
https://www.intelius.com
Headquarters
1501 4th Ave Ste 400, Seattle, WA, 98101

Our Comments Policy  |  How to Write an Effective Comment

Leave a comment for Intelius
Minimum 12 words.
 No maximum length.
* What's Your Rating?
To make this comment as helpful as possible for our community, please provide at least 2 sentences.

14 Customer Comments & Reviews

Loading Reviews ...
Christopher S
2/7/2019
50 bucks to tell me nothing but the name I already knew. What a waste of money

Andrew J
1/3/2019
Intelius? You mean "PeopleConnect". Intelius is owned by PeopleConnect, who also own US Search. And in all 3 cases, there is no such thing is customer support. There is no email. There is no phone number (except for media inquiries, which is what I'm using for technical support). I'm giving it a medium rating, not because of any particular problems I'm having, but because asking technical questions is very difficult, and this suggests I might have problems later.

A
ann
12/28/2018
Had previously used Intelius about 2 yrs ago. Went to do an updated search and paid almost $100 for all criminal records searches plus regular search. New report had much of the previous information deleted, especially business and criminal information.. I could, however, pay more for them to go to the courts (they claim) and obtain more detailed information. When I complained that I had paid over $50 for court information that had been in the previous report , they refused to refund charges for criminal background information stating there could be many reasons why it wasn't there. They offered a free different report, but that wasn't what I needed. Canceled account to prevent further... Read More

Craig H
10/15/2018
The report they provided was no different than what I found on the Internet with a free search. The $8.95 spent is not worth their effort. Recommend you avoid this website. Requested a refund due to their lack of information but was denied. Learned my lesson to not trust a site that already has horrible online reviews.

Top Rated
Our Partner
Paid memberships include unlimited reports
  • All searches are private and confidential
  • Leading provider of detailed and updated public records reports
  • Quick Background Checks, People Search, Criminal and Traffic Reports and more
READ FULL REVIEW >
SEARCH NOW

Related to Background Checks

Top Articles