NOTE: If you are completing a TransUnion Background & Credit Check, you can find more info on this process here. You can confirm by reviewing the name of the Provider on the Credit & Background step.
Completing your Background & Credit Check with Experian
As part of the application, the property you are applying for may require a Background & Credit Check. This article will guide you through how to complete your Experian Background & Credit Check.
1. Provide your SSN: Entering a valid SSN is required in order for Experian to generate a Credit & Background Check report. You will need to enter the number twice to prevent typos.
If you do not have an SSN, select the "I don't have an SSN" check box while filling out the Experian form. Experian currently does not accept ITIN's.
If you have an ITIN but not a SSN, please also select 'I don't have a SSN' in order for you to move forward.
This will require you to leave a reason explaining the lack of SSN.
Once you've saved your reason, you can then proceed through the remainder of the application.
2. Provide Any Requested Authentication: Experience authenticates your credit profile using device metadata, your Basic Info entered earlier in the application and your SSN. If this information is sufficient to authenticate you, you'll move on to the third stage of the Experian Background and Credit Check.
If more information is needed to authenticate your Experian credit profile, you may be requested to provide one of the following:
A 2FA code texted to your device
A questionnaire asking about information that is on your Experian credit report that only you would know the answer to.
3. Review Your Reports: After successfully entering your SSN and clicking confirm, you should be able to review your Experian credit and background reports on the following pages.
This review step allows you to confirm that your credit and background information is accurate. If you have concerns about the credit score returned, check out this article. For information on how to dispute a report, click here.
Once you've reviewed, you'll be able to continue to share your report.
4. Share Information: Once you have reviewed and confirmed all of the information on your report, you will be asked to share the information with the leasing team.
Be sure to click on the checkbox which indicates that you understand and agree to the Experian Report Share Agreement.
The Leasing team will not be able to see your Experian Credit or Background report details until you have completed this step.
Disputing Results of Credit & Background Check
If you notice something incorrect on your Credit & Background Check report, you can dispute the findings directly through the VERO platform.
If your Credit Score is not what you expected, first read over some common Credit Score Concerns before filing a dispute here.
Navigate to the Credit Score page: You'll find a link labeled "Dispute the report here." Click this link to start the dispute process.
Follow the instructions: After clicking the link, you’ll be guided through the necessary steps to submit your dispute.
"Unable to Verify" Error after Authentication with Experian
After entering your SSN to authenticate with Experian, you may receive an "Unable to Verify" message in a pop up like the one below:
There are a number of reasons you may have received this error message. We've outlined some of the more common ones below.
Name or Address Format Information on Basic Info Step
Name or Address Format Information on Basic Info Step
Sometimes typos or mistakes with personal details like first name, last name, middle name, date of birth, and SSN will cause the information on the consumer profile and the application to not match, resulting in an inability to authenticate with Experian.
Common reasons that the information may be misformatted:
Spaces in your First Name or Last Name, try editing these to make them only one name or remove the space
Special characters in your name or address. Periods and hyphens should be omitted.
Failed Questionnaire
Failed Questionnaire
If you were asked to complete the Experian questionnaire or 2FA text code and failed to authenticate after several retries, you may receive this error.
Experian will block the report from being generated and retried for 24 hours. Please try again the next day.
Credit Report Block or Freeze
Credit Report Block or Freeze
Victims of identity theft or users of certain identity theft prevention services may receive this error with Experian because of the block on their credit report or the report may return and N/A or blank result.
Other Reasons
Other Reasons
There are other potential reasons that one would be prompted to manually verify, like having too limited credit history to generate a questionnaire, but these are rare.
Review Reports
You will be able to proceed through to review the reports generated by Experian directly in your Application prior to sharing them with the Leasing team.
You can also review your reports after submission at any time by logging into your VERO account at renter.sayvero.com and clicking VIEW on the application associated with your report and then selecting the Background & Credit tab. You can find more information on viewing your applications here.
Requesting a Copy of Your Report
If you need a hard copy of your Credit & Background report, there are three ways for you to obtain a copy.
Print or print to save as PDF your Application that contains your report from your computer's browser while viewing your application on your VERO profile.
Contact the agent or landlord you applied to and ask them for a PDF copy of your report and application.
You will be sent a copy of your application and report via email in the event of a decline decision, to ensure you can review the information used in your application.
Criminal Report & Housing Records Report
During the Background and Credit Check process, Criminal and Housing Court Records are checked. You may encounter the Criminal Report and the Housing Records Report screen if the reports are not immediately available. VERO will display the following screens, depending on which part of their report is still pending.
You must wait for the report to be completed before viewing the results. However, you can still navigate to a different step in the application using the "View Progress Summary" page. After completing another step, the system will automatically return you to the Background and Credit Check step.
Email Notification for Completed Reports
The report typically takes 1 to 2 business days to complete. Once it is ready, you will receive an email notification and can proceed with submitting your application.
