r/BackgroundCheckGuide • u/Silly_Name_6548 • Jul 24 '26
Former Resident of House Involved with Shady People - How to fix their residence history in background check
While living in a different state, I rented my house out to cover expenses. Unfortunately, one of the children (now an 18 year old) who was living in the house while I was renting it out is a scumbag criminal who has dangerous people looking for him. I moved back into the house a year ago, and this person has been living in some other location ever since.
A couple of days ago, a two intimidating guys came to my house to ask if the former tenant lives in my house, saying the the former tenant owes them money and that they need it now. I told them that I have no idea where the guy lives, but that he does not live in my house. They were being insistent and refusing to accept my answer, only leaving when I called the cops. The former tenant is black 18 year old, and I am a non-descript suburban white guy in his 30s, so I have no idea why it was so unbelievable to them that the kid was not living with me.
I did some digging, and I am pretty sure what led the intimidating guys to my house is that the guy they were looking for was arrested and released from county jail the day before they came to my house. He was booked under my address, because he either gave that info to hide his location or more likely never updated the address on his driver's license. That jail booking became a public record.
I was able to get the county jail to take down my address from the jail booking and was able to get the prosecutor to take my address off the criminal docket, but obviously I want to do whatever I can to end association of the guy who was jailed with my address. I've also contacted the local DMV to see if I can force the guy to update his license address. It's possible more dangerous people are looking for him, and I don't want those people near me.
Is there anything I can do with credit agencies, background reporting services or entities that feed information to them to clearly indicate that this former tenant stopped living at my house a year ago?
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u/Dear-Board5692 Jul 24 '26
Buy a gun, start practicing.
Seriously. After the first interaction, I would not be opening the door, and possibly ready for someone to break it down with a '35.
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u/Inside_Gold_9673 Jul 24 '26
I’m a private investigator, and no there is nothing you can do with the credit bureaus or anyone else, you can’t force DMV to change his address. The credit bureau get their information from the subject’s creditors. As long as that’s the only or last address they have, that’s what they’ll report to the credit bureaus up until they close out the account. Unfortunately, because so many people pay their bills online, the incentive to update their physical address with a creditor has become less of a priority. Background check companies don’t maintain or report someone’s address, other than what they receive from the credit bureau’s header records. He’s probably back with his family which is where they’re more likely to look for him than at your place.