NEWSWEEK.COM 19
and Social Security numbers didn’t
match, either, Kelly says.
Common names can increase the
risk for a mixed file at LexisNexis
and other similar companies. So can
non-Anglicized names, which might
not fit neatly into companies’ match-
ing algorithms, according to Kelly.
James Francis, a colleague of John
Soumilas who says he has obtained set-
tlements with LexisNexis and compa-
nies like it for 20 years, complains that
LexisNexis seems to view its obliga-
tions to accuracy as “minimal, at best.”
LexisNexis spokesperson Richman
wouldn’t comment on specific poli-
cies and declined to address Francis’
comment, but says that the company
undergoes regular audits to ensure
legal compliance.
CORRECTING THE ERRORS
No matter how an error begins, Lex-
isNexis’ wide reach means consumers
need to correct any misinformation
the company spreads. But, as some
consumers have learned, it’s much
easier to find an error than to fix one.
LexisNexis has a dispute process for
people who have found inaccurate or
incomplete information on their
file. The client of Kelly’s who faced
sky-high car insurance rates got her
record corrected within a few weeks
after filing her dispute.
“We encourage consumers to notify
us of potential inaccuracies in their
data so that we can further ensure
the accuracy of our information,”
Richman says.
But for some, the process is less
straightforward. The first step is to
request a copy of your personal report.
Fard, the writer, says it took three
attempts over eight months to receive
hers, after getting conflicting answersfrom customer service about whether
it was possible to dispute the report.
Jaynes says he had similar difficulties.
When Fard did finally receive her
report, she says it contained her per-
sonal information along with data on
her sister and her sister’s boyfriend. She
notes that the report had her sister’s
name on it, but it came to Fard’s address.
She says that for her, “It just seems
like LexisNexis records are a mutation
of information that just snowballs.”
Fard says she requested changes to
her file last March, but as of August,
she has yet to receive a response
from LexisNexis.
For consumers who have a job
offer or an insurance policy on the
line, LexisNexis’ dispute process—
even if it goes smoothly—may not be
fast enough. Kelly’s client alleged she
had to pay more than $1,500 for six
months of car insurance—more than
four times the market rate, according
to the initial complaint. Soumilas’ cli-
ent Smith, whose background check
got mixed up with a criminal’s, was
temporarily unemployed and was
unable to pay his bills, according to
evidence submitted at the trial.
In cases like Tolbert’s, a fixed report
might not stay fixed, either. It can be
difficult to truly solve an error “with-
out real humans talking to real people
and pulling up real records,” accord-
ing to Rapp, the attorney.
And the fact that data brokers often
share information makes corrections
all the more complicated. You might
find that the data broker that distrib-
uted an inaccurate report about you
doesn’t know where the information
came from, says Butler of the Elec-
tronic Privacy Information Center.A PROBLEM OF UNKNOWN SCALE
LexisNexis won’t say how many mixed
files there are. During Smith’s lawsuit,
the company contended that during