diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/VerifyConsumerRebalance.scala b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/VerifyConsumerRebalance.scala
index aef8361b73a..d4e5e248248 100644
--- a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/VerifyConsumerRebalance.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/tools/VerifyConsumerRebalance.scala
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ object VerifyConsumerRebalance extends Logging {
           // check if the owner is a valid consumer id
           consumerIdsForTopic match {
             case Some(consumerIds) =>
-              if(!consumerIds.contains(partitionOwner)) {
+              if(!consumerIds.map(c => c.toString).contains(partitionOwner)) {
                 error(("Owner %s for partition [%s,%d] is not a valid member of consumer " +
                   "group %s").format(partitionOwner, topic, partition, group))
                 rebalanceSucceeded = false