Airbnb Background Check Lawsuits: Was Your Account Deactivated?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org want to hear from Airbnb users who were denied rentals or had their accounts deactivated due to the findings of a criminal background check.

It’s being investigated whether the company supplying the reports is using faulty data and careless processes that have wrongfully caused some users to be denied rentals and banned from using their accounts.

Why Does Airbnb Say I Have a Criminal Record?

It’s possible that the background check supplied to Airbnb included incomplete or inaccurate data that led the homestay rental giant to believe you have a criminal record.

For instance, attorneys are investigating whether the background check company is including duplicative entries on their reports, making it seem like an individual has committed the same crime over and over again.

They are also looking into claims that the company lists the current status or final outcome of some arrests and prosecutions as “unknown.”

If the company doesn’t update this status as needed, those who had their charges dropped or who were acquitted may appear “worse” to the rental agency and be wrongfully denied or blocked.

Failure to provide up-to-date information can also mean expunged records, which cannot legally show up on a background check, may still be getting reported.

Complaints from Airbnb Users Regarding Account Deactivation

The following is a sample of the complaints posted online from Airbnb users who say they had their accounts disabled and their trips wrongfully canceled because of a criminal record (sic throughout, emphasis ours):

Had my account deleted for similar reasons (expunged criminal record that was incorrectly reported); also had a London reservation that starts on July 6th cancelled, and another in the states that starts next week cancelled. I was able to get Airbnb's background check company to update their erroneous report, and now their report is showing my record as clean. But, obviously, the damage is already done.”
— anonposter000, reddit.com

Airbnb had a background check run on me and shut down my account with no recourse. I was arrested in 2012 when I was 18, more than 8 years before. I was trying to get into my own home but had left my key and my family was not home…We got the arrest EXPUNGED ENTIRELY, so it should not have appeared on any background checks, in mid-2017… Anyway, I am wondering if anyone else has had this issue…”
— kinglax, reddit.com

I am a guest with probably 30+ stays and a rating of 4.93 stars. I have never received a complaint or bad review…Last week I signed in to my account and booked an apartment for an upcoming work trip…Then about one minute later I got a text from Airbnb saying the trip was canceled and refunded, and I should check my email…The email informed me that my account was deactivated, due to 'Criminal Records Match' and that I’m now banned from the format…The thing is, outside of a DWI a couple years ago (a misdemeanor where I live), I have no criminal record of any kind…I have previously volunteered teaching job skills in prisons for over ten years and had multiple background checks to do so, without any problems. So idk what criminal record they are matching here…”
— Anonymous, Tumblr.com

How a Class Action Lawsuit Could Help

If filed and successful, a class action lawsuit could help Airbnb users who were locked out of their accounts recover compensation for the harm they’ve suffered. It could also force the company running the background checks to change the way it collects, processes and distributes information. 

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