Sterling, a First Advantage company, specializes in comprehensive background check services designed to enhance the hiring process for businesses across various sectors. The company provides a range of solutions including criminal background checks, identity verification, drug screening, and post-hire monitoring. By leveraging advanced technology and extensive data, Sterling aims to help organizations make informed hiring decisions, ensuring compliance and promoting a trustworthy workplace environment. Targeting employers and human resource professionals, Sterling offers services that cater to the needs of businesses looking to streamline their pre-employment screening processes. With a focus on accuracy and efficiency, the company supports clients in mitigating identity fraud and improving onboarding procedures, thereby fostering confidence in the hiring process.
Sterling, A First Advantage Company, faces overwhelming criticism from consumers, with a staggering 98% of reviews rating it poorly. Many reviewers express frustration over the company's disorganized processes, citing repeated requests for the same information and significant delays in background checks.
Customers report waiting weeks or even months without resolution, leading to lost job opportunities and financial strain. Communication issues are rampant, with many stating that emails go unanswered and phone support is ineffective. While a few reviewers mention that they found some aspects of the service acceptable after reading through the requirements, these positives are overshadowed by the overall dissatisfaction. The consensus is clear: Sterling's operational inefficiencies and poor customer service make it a company to avoid.
Summary generated with AI from recent reviews
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
| Source | Rating | Reviews | Weight | 6-mo | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trustpilot Imported Trustpilot reviews | 1.1 | 60 | 100% | +0.2 | ● Low |
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Aug 2025.
| Month | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 24 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Jan 25 | 1.2 | 5 |
| Feb 25 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Mar 25 | 1.0 | 11 |
| Apr 25 | 1.0 | 10 |
| May 25 | 1.1 | 7 |
| Jun 25 | 1.8 | 6 |
| Jul 25 | 1.0 | 13 |
| Aug 25 | 1.0 | 2 |
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 60 most recent reviews.
“Going through a background check like most people here, Mine took 4 weeks and had to be re sent”
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Electronics & Technology.
| Company | Overall | Legit | Service | Website & app | Trend | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.1 out of 5 (poor) | 100 out of 100 | 1.1 out of 5 (poor) | 1.0 out of 5 (poor) | −5% | 60 |
| 4.1 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | 4.1 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,060 | |
| 4.5 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.8 out of 5 (good) | 4.3 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,060 | |
| 4.7 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 4.6 out of 5 (good) | 3.5 out of 5 (good) | — | 1,000 | |
| 4.0 out of 5 (good) | 100 out of 100 | 3.7 out of 5 (good) | — | −1% | 1,000 |
Bottom line: Sterling, A First Advantage Company is #5 of 5 on overall rating in this group. On service, Mazuma Mobile scores higher (4.8 vs 1.1).
60 reviews of Sterling, A First Advantage Company. Filter by what matters to you.
I would rate this zero stars as all it does is lie to you, they take your money and say they will be 12 to 15 days when it has been over 2 months these frauds have cost me 2 jobs and taking myoney for nothing.
Calls are recorded for quality services. Well, service is absolutely crap. No person answers, all automated. If you know your parties extension press, etc I was never provided an extension number or a comprehensive report on my back ground screening. I was left with a lot of guesswork work. My SSN screening came back "unperformable" without any reason why this was. Navigating the phone prompts was a nuisance and so was the online bot service. (I understand this is a new trend for non person interaction). I did get a voicemail after endless calls to their directory; a challenging tone, questioning why I would give a zero star. You qualify for a zero star because trafficking people's info for profit" and then not satisfying the consumer needs is a Zero!!
Hopeless. They contacted me about a former employee by phone. So far so good - I provided them with my e-mail adress and double checked they had written it down correctly. Next thing they e-mail the company's generic e-mail account (rather than me). I respond - it bounces back. I try responding from a different account - it bounces back again. I call them and they give me a different e-mail address to use. Then I get another e-mail to the company's generic e-mail account. I am not going to reply again.
Anyone can write a CrowdTrust review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they'll be displayed as long as an account is active.
They have been processing my background check for a month. It’s still not ready to this day. They allowed me to come into America because I was promised that an express tag would be applied to my check which would ensure that is ready by time I got to the United States. However I’ve been here for 4 days now, I have to be staying in a hotel as I can’t move into company housing without a clear background check and they are asking me for all the documents that were previously submitted and accepted. If you want to be stressed out and taken for a fool, use Sterling, that’s the only thing this company guarantees. I’ve never come across a business and a set of associates so unprofessional. They lack empathy and integrity.
Repeatedly didn't read or lost emails and accused me of not sending them. Or didn't even bother telling me that had lost them and just held up the process, and told someone else I hadn't sent them.
They used to be efficient, but ever since they got acquired by Sterling, their service started becoming lame and disorganized. very disappointed to them now.
1. Their form is a joke, they can't even specify properly which documents are mandatory and which are optional 2. They then keep spamming you with emails for the so called "optional" documents which suddenly became mandatory 3. Most incapable and poorly trained employees I had to deal with, probably ever, they do "background checks" in countries where they don't even know the simplest rules and regulations and ask for the most absurd things and don't have the capacity to understand that not all countries are the same in terms of laws and regulations An absolute nightmare to deal with them!
Horrible platform, horrible customer service. You will never be able to contact them. In addition to making several mistakes, it is impossible to resolve issues.
Drawn out process with incompetent staff
Sterling background check had me jump through hoops, waiting over a month for results. Claimed 7 days. Meanwhile, my potential employer planned a start date. Sterling requested employment verification on a background check! Employment from 7 years ago in another state! I gave exact information and they never checked any of it. They made my background check ten times worse than anything I've ever experienced. I waited a month for their fraudulent dates, charges etc from 15 years ago! They didn't even try to verify. I know because I speak to my previous boss in South Carolina EVERY DAY. Meanwhile, I put in my 2 weeks at my current (now previous) job... Thinking I'd be working soon. Regardless, they've more or less starved a family of 5. Beyond upset. Their customer service claims a day to respond to emails. It takes at LEAST 7. Just heartbreaking and I don't want others to have this experience. Sterling is not a good company. Nor does it employ any good caring people. Thank you for your time.
Sterling is the worst background check company I’ve ever encountered with. A job I used them to do my background and they send the job back completely wrong information that prevented me from getting the job. It’s even took them a whole 30 days to complete a dispute case. It’s was no apology or anything. I’ve just completely lost out because of the bogus company!
I have no felonies. No charges ever. I gave them the paperwork on my name change with exact dates. Start mid March. Now turn around says end of April. Extended date 3 times now. I need to work and make money. Not keep waiting on something I could google and have done in 5 minutes for a dollar. I told my employer if I don't get an answer from them or notice that it's done I will leave for another company and its all Sterlings fault.
Wasted 40 hours over a few weeks time on website trying to enter past addresses & employment. Finally Sterling told me that no info you input is saved & you have to enter all your info within 15 mins or you get logged out. (with no message telling you what happened) Horrible website. Don't bother wasting your time like I did:(
Anytime I apply at a company that utilizes Sterling I give it a week and move onto another job. If you have lived in numerous states I suggest doing the same as I have had Sterling get back to me more than two months later! Ive had other companies perform higher Tier NATIONWIDE Background Checks in less than 60 seconds so take that into account as anyone using Sterling is attempting to save money, not saving money and doesn’t care whatsoever about your well being as a job candidate. Background checks are useless to begin with. Some people have spotless background checks and still are let’s say, the worst of the worse kinds of people.
This company is an absolute JOKE! I work for a staffing agency and have to use their services to onboard new employees. Their system is not user-friendly whatsoever! Their customer service is worse! They also send emails that are condescending and unprofessional. Last but certainly not least, they are extremely overpriced and will try to charge you for items you didn't request.
Hi I applied for uber account in 2023 untill now i couldn't go online for delivery after while i contact uber support they said to me missing some documents in my Sterling account when i emailed them About my issue this lady from customer service her name Laila Jumarang was very rude she said to me I have to contact the homoffice Very bad service
Pathetic customer service!! I applied for Uber eats background check and they rejected my application without even informing or getting in touch for correction, as there policy they wll be in touch,but no they dont even rply to your mails , pathetic customer service! Now i have already paid the amount and they are blaming uber eats for this problem even before i tried requesting them but they blame each other( uber- sterling) uber eats confirms that i needed to contact sterling but they when i contact them they keep rotating .
I’d give Sterling -1 if I could! Submitted two background checks - one for Just Eat and one for Uber. Both quoted as 10-14 days. Uber took 4 weeks. Just Eat’s has taken more than 60 days with no end in sight. They go silent and ignore emails. You call them and get vague half answers that doesn’t help you understand why it’s being delayed. The only assumption I can make is that they are deliberately delaying it for an unspecified reason. Tried everything including trying to make a complaint - it’s impossible to get anywhere with it.
Supposed to start a new job and life changing pay and benefits on Monday morning. Sterling originally claimed their background checks were completed within 1 hour up to the next day. Now it’s been over a week and they keep pushing my expected completion date back every day!!! Initially this will push my start date back, which will domino effect my first paycheck, which in return delay my child support and bills getting paid on time, resulting in late fees, or contempt of court orders and court dates for late payments for child support, trickling down to having to miss work when they finally do get my background check in, because now I’m having to take days off of work to be in court to answer for charges and contempt in late fees, all caused by the delay in my background check!!! In short; THIS COMPANY SUCKS BUTT!!!
I had just gotten hired into a position that was going to change my life. We were about to start day two and I was excited for a new change and something new. I had just received a call from my boss who had stated I would no longer be able to continue as the background check had reported a charge that I received 2 years ago that was ultimately pleaded down to a much lesser charge and I was let off with a fine. This company just ruined my shot at a life changing experience and an experience to better myself because of an inaccurate report they had obtained that reflected a charge I never was charged with.
Sterling, a First Advantage company, specializes in comprehensive background check services designed to enhance the hiring process for businesses across various sectors. The company provides a range of solutions including criminal background checks, identity verification, drug screening, and post-hire monitoring. By leveraging advanced technology and extensive data, Sterling aims to help organizations make informed hiring decisions, ensuring compliance and promoting a trustworthy workplace environment. Targeting employers and human resource professionals, Sterling offers services that cater to the needs of businesses looking to streamline their pre-employment screening processes. With a focus on accuracy and efficiency, the company supports clients in mitigating identity fraud and improving onboarding procedures, thereby fostering confidence in the hiring process.
This profile hasn't been claimed by the business owner.
