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PeopleWhiz Review

Tuesday, March 19th

2024 People Search Provider Reviews

PeopleWhiz Review 2.5 Star Rating

PeopleWhiz

2.5 Star Rating
  • "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
  • In business for 5+ years
  • Customer satisfaction guaranteed

PeopleWhiz relies on tantalizing warnings and promises of "real criminal records" to hook your attention from the first moment you land on their website. It's a little limited compared to some of its rivals: you can only search by name, city, state and age, with no options for reverse phone, email, or address searches.

Faster search than most - at first

On the other hand, PeopleWhiz's initial search ran much faster than most other platforms': with just a name and a state, we got a preliminary list of matches in under a minute, and the person we researched was the seventh one on that list. The info shown there was more accurate too: it had all of the known relatives correctly entered and all previous addresses, where some sites were missing family members and had incorrect former residences.

More time required to get to the report

When you click to select the report you'd like to view, PeopleWhiz will take a few more minutes to scan through possible matches on social media platforms, criminal records and other public data sources. You'll have to create an account to save your progress - and then it takes another couple of minutes to scan through the remaining databases.

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Monthly plans only, no trial

To see the report, you'll have to choose a payment option - and this is where things start to go a little sideways. You'll be offered three choices: a one-month plan for $27.99, a three-month plan for $68.85, or a six-month plan for $89.70. So far, so good, and pretty comparable to other services. But, in the fine print on the checkout page, it says that your membership comes with "the ability to run premium comprehensive in-depth background screenings" - for an additional, undisclosed fee. PeopleWhiz doesn't come right out and tell you the amount, but user reviews lead us to believe it's about $20.

Costs

  • $27.99 for one month of unlimited reports
  • $68.85 for three months of unlimited reports
  • $89.70 for six months of unlimited reports

Subscribers unhappy with "premium" upcharge

Is it worth it? Maybe, maybe not. If this is the first time you're ever using a people search service, your reports might include just enough information to be interesting. But, if you've already got some details sleuthed out and you're going for deeper info, you may be disappointed here. We didn't see as many reports of incorrect details listed with PeopleWhiz results as we found with a few other services, but plenty of people were unhappy to be paying extra for a "premium" report. That part definitely comes off as bait-and-switch, to be honest.

You'll love it or hate it

Reputation-wise, PeopleWhiz is good enough. They've got an "A+" and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau and over 9,000 five-star reviews (though many of those were from users who had just barely signed up for the service and maybe hadn't had time to be disappointed yet). Feedback is mixed, though: there were almost 5,000 users who gave this people search platform just one or two stars out of five after not getting the level of detail they were expecting. PeopleWhiz invites you to give them a call if you're not happy with the service, saying that your satisfaction is guaranteed but stopping short of spelling out what they'll do to make it right.

Better options are available

In short, PeopleWhiz is probably going to cost you more than most services, if you want the highest level of detail in your people search results. Their BBB grade and their satisfaction guarantee should reassure you that you've got options if it doesn't work out the way you expect, but we'd still invite you to look at the higher-ranked providers in our review first.

Which People Search Platform Offers the Most Accurate Results?

There are hundreds of sites out there that promise to connect you with long-lost relatives, childhood friends, former classmates and coworkers - or to help you look into the background of someone on your radar. Most of these services utilize the same public records databases to deliver results.

So, what makes one people search platform different from the next? None of them guarantee the accuracy of their results - after all, databases can have incorrect information. But, the best services give you enough of a preview before you pay for a report that you can determine for yourself if you've found the right individual. They also may include a trial period of a few days to a week, letting you conduct multiple searches to see if you'll get what you need from their results.

The Best People Search Providers Compare People Search Providers Compare People Search Provider Reviews What are the best People Search Providers Best People Search Provider Reviews

People Search Provider FAQ

The breadth and depth of these services vary, but you can expect to find everything from basic address and phone number information to social media accounts and even criminal convictions. Your search results will depend on the service you select.
It's true that some services use public records databases to return details you might find on your own. But, if you want the most comprehensive reports possible in the least amount of time, it's worth it to let a people search platform do the work for you.
You can typically pay for a single report, a month of access, or an ongoing membership. Single reports tend to cost around $30, a month of access for around $20, or a month-to-month subscription for around $12.
A people search can only be as specific and accurate as the search terms provided. If you search for "Jason White" in New York City, you'll probably come up with thousands of matches. But, add on a date of birth, last known address, or email address and you're more likely to narrow down the results to the right person. However, one of the biggest complaints from users of many people search platforms is that the information isn't always up-to-date.
No. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) restricts such information from being used for those purposes. It also can't be used to determine eligibility for insurance coverage or creditworthiness. Stick to searching for your high school sweetheart or your new neighbors and you'll be fine.
Searching for your own information is a great way to test out a people search service! After all, you'll know if the results returned are accurate. But, that does raise the question: do you want people to be able to find you? You may be able to ask a service to remove your information, but you'll have to dig around in the fine print to find the process required to do so. And, for information coming from public records databases (such as home sales and property tax rolls), there might not be a way to keep that private.
Yes, most of them provide the information they advertise: background checks, contact information, and so forth. For extra reassurance before you sign up for a people search service, be sure to check out their Better Business Bureau listing. There, you'll see how the BBB rates the company, any complaints that have been registered, and if there are any alerts regarding the business.
You don't have to sign a contract to use a people search platform, so just cancel your membership. Unfortunately, most services don't offer any satisfaction guarantee or refunds on fees you've already paid.
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Continued from above...

Those trials typically convert to a monthly membership unless you cancel first. As you might guess, some people search providers make that cancellation more difficult than others - or they make it less likely you'll realize that you're opting into a monthly plan with your trial. Be sure to read the fine print.

Another thing to watch out for is the difference between a basic people search and a comprehensive one. What you'll get with almost every platform's initial search is just the basics of phone, address, known relatives and email addresses. More detailed information like criminal records and property ownership will almost always require an upgraded plan, either as a one-off fee for each report you want to run in-depth or as an extra monthly fee.

If you're concerned about having your own personal information available to other people conducting searches, you've got one good reason to visit every people search site, even the lowest-ranked ones: removing your own data from their records. You'll usually find that function at the bottom of the site, worded as "Opt-Out" or "Do Not Sell My Information" . Typically, you'll either enter your information and perform a basic search (no paid membership required), then click on your matching profile to request that it be removed. Finally, expect to get a confirmation email; after you've clicked on the link in it, your info should be removed within 48 hours (though, in our experience, some sites had our results gone almost immediately).

When you're trying to choose among people search providers, they all start to look the same. Confused? Don't worry! You can use these criteria to decide which one to use:

  • Preliminary Results. Try searching for your own report and see how it goes. How quickly did the service return the right information (if at all)? Did you get enough details to confirm the accuracy?
  • Value. All people search services come with a cost. What will you get for what you pay? Is it worth it?
  • Customer Service. Can you get help if you need it? Some people search platforms include assistance with conducting searches, above and beyond the usual support for billing issues.
  • Reputation. What do people say about their experience using the people search platform, besides complaining about monthly charges they missed in the sign-up process? Does the company have a good rating from the Better Business Bureau, at the very least?

To help you find out more about virtually anyone, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked the most popular people search providers available today. We're confident that this information will make it possible to track down a long-lost relative, learn more about your prospective love interest, or see what your high school classmates are up to!

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