denied work because of bad credit?

Hi!

This is so crummy! I am an HR rep for a large national utility company. We don't do credit checks for laborers, but anyone on a management level is subject to one. Basically, it's to determine an applicant's level of responsibility. At my company, it's not necessarily the amount of bad credit, but the age of it. Also, in many management positions the employee has access to company funds, and we need to check for potential money mis-handling.

It's something I hate..I think it's awful. Unfortunately it's a growing trend.

Heavens finsfan13! first of all thanks so much for your reply, i've always wanted some insight into that. really that's the first company that's ever done a true consumer credit check. now that i think about it, the position i applied for could easily have access to information on company funds...
I'm 28 so my credit history is relatively short but not great :( am trying to repair

Sometimes we look back at what we wanted and realize if we got what we wanted then, we would not have what we have now. Your young, donkt worry so much, it will all work out, I know so.

I agree with Luke. It will work out.

Perhaps next interview you go to you could explain to them that you were young & made some money mistakes. Point out that you did finish credit counseling & that you are trying to improve yourself.

Not sure it will help, but I don't think it can hurt either.

I'm really sorry that happened to you. :-( It seems so unfair. They probably missed out on an excellent employee.

I agree. I can see the point about working with money & having access to funds. It makes me sad that a persons actual work history & work ethnic means so little these days.

i don't think that was fair, either. I know some VERY responsible people, who just came out of divorces,etc., and their CR's ARE messed up from that. How can you REALLY tell anyone, from a CR? I can understand the position of the company...however, obviously you 'climbed the ladder ( with responsibilities with it) to get to the 'position' for that interview. Hope this makes sense.

If the credit report was the reason you were not offered the job, you are entitled to a copy of it.

If you only have a couple of charge offs that are 4 years old, I don't think that would be the reason for not being hired. In the future, when a prospective employer wants to do a credit check, be up front with them about your past issues.

I was just going to say what Morningstar did there...very good point. Did they tell you that was the reason you didnt get the job?

Hi All, no they did not tell me that was the reason. I am going to ask the firm but I wrote to see if anyone ou there had a situation where they were not hired because of a bad report and was also wondering how long a credit report takes to come back on a person. I appreciate all the support! I was really wowed when i came back to this thread, thanks so much to all of you. So many folks out there just had bad breaks and are great workers! If and when i hear from the firm i'll repost and let all of you know. thanks again

K guys, i have to apologize the last response was from me and i'm still learning how to use this forum.

I think this whole practice is just ridiculous. I can understand if you are going to be in some sort of position where you are handling money, but for an admin position??? It's crazy what people are getting away with now. Life used to be so much easier. Now companies feel they have the right to dig into all sorts of personal information about you for some job that pays $10 an hour. Give me a break.

Sorry for the vent, but I have seen this type of situation before and it makes me SO MAD!

A credit report can be gained instantaneously. How it works is a company has an account with one of the credit bureaus. They can connect to the agency and instantaneously get your credit report.

I used to work in the banking industry, so running CRs on applicants was normal.

I know that some companies use a third party to look over the info, but that is for a complete background check.Hubby had to fill out those papers to give the third party the ok to get the info. So I was a bit concerned because we have 2 paid judgments on our record and a credit report that sucks big time. But hubby explained the situation then they said ok, got the report and he still got the job. So I don't know if him telling them had anything to do with it or it really didn't matter much as long as he didn't come up as a killer or something.

I have been checked on for jobs before and they always are required to make you sign a release.On this paper it will list who you are authorizing to run a credit check.I think it is a load of pure bull to base a job on credit except in certain jobs where someone has access to money or private personal information.

I think it stinks too, more and more employers are doing it. I recently found out that local gas drilling companies are starting to do it. My response is that they have a high turnover any way "goodluck" getting employees. I think this is because they put the company gas cards and such in many more peoples hands and it is a trust factor. In some cases such as this companies feel it is a necessary demon. My hubbies company has had people use their company gas cards to refuel the whole family. I don't agree with it, but you know what they say about a few bad apples. this policy was only put into place at his company after they got burnt.
I think a criminal background and drug screening would be enough to tell you the persons character, I don't think a credit report should have ANY thing to do with it.

Yes Fedup!!! I agree, to do a criminal and drug screening should tell you all you need to know. Now, if you're actually handling company funds, then yes perform a credit check. Also, I did sign a consent form and they did send me something in the mail verifying that they were doing a consumer credit check. I've signed those things before for positions but this was the first that actually checked my credit. I think they wanted me despite that from their actions. And ultimately, I think they couldn't pay me enough to relocate for I was asking for their median salary. For an entry level job they wanted a bachelors degree and i have a little more than that. So, I think there were many factors that were integrated into their decision not to hire me. But when I found this forum, I just had to ask how prevalent credit checks are, and apparently they are becoming more popular by companies...
Fedup, i think i know the gas company you're talking about! how rediculous, how does the company, who has high turnover, to get quality applicants if they're integrating credit checks??? oh this job market today. that's another forum though.
I appreciate the responses from previous posters. I have gained some insight as to how this works.

I just think all around it is not fair to the person if they are just looking at credit score and not the report. You can take years to build up a good record with a cr after making bad decisions. Most of my awful junk is from 3, 4, 5 years ago. And in your case where you went through debt management, you are showing responsibility in trying to do something positive about your situation. Goodluck and hang in there, something good will come along.

THanks so much, credit counseling was the best decision I ever made and am still in debt with accounts here and there. You have to be careful though with credit counseling, you have to get one that's reputable. Mine ended up being sued and taken over by another non-profit. it's an ongoing learning process. this forum helps tremendously.

life is a learning process, some of us are just hard learners, I swear when it comes to debt, I have a learning disability. I learned by watching my aunt, she wasn't real good at it. My problem is I spend more than I have.

Well, the main thing is we all realize where our weaknesses are with debt. our 'mistakes' are helping others, not to mention ourselves, to learn and that's what this forum is all about.

Thanks debtstinker, you are going to be an awesome addition to this forum, I hope you stick around.

I was just reading all these posts. I am sooo angry at employers that do a credit check and base that on a decision whether to hire or not.

I lost 4 good jobs due to my credit.Only one asked an explanation, then turned me down after I signed my acceptance letter but a few days before orientation.

They didnt see that I worked at a job for 10yrs making 22,000 a yr supporting a family , and paying all the bills myself, then was forced to move because I couldnt pay my bills and I had to do what I had to survive.
I was soo mad that they didnt take into consideration that a majority were medical expenses that racked up that insurance didnt pay when my kids had gotten sick and were in the hospital or when one broke their arm and insurance wouldn't cover certain things.

They also didnt care that where a few things were on there for 5 or more years that I disputed. and it said on my credit report that I disputed and why...
Here is the kicker, none of my jobs were working with $$$ only documentation review.

I was livid. they sit in their posh offices, driving their BMWs and I was driving a beat up jeep barely getting by. While they give their people min. salaries to barely squeek by with while they are eating at the nicer places, with nice homes, and nice cars , they have no clue how rough some of has it.

bottom line, I got really lucky after 6 months found a good job, and I just sit back and thank my lucky stars. but still It makes me so angry that they can get away with it.

what a joke.


Thanks for letting me vent. I feel sorta better..
I just feel for those , I have been in your shoes.
Just keep the faith I say. It's hard to believe but really , God has plan for everyone.

Hey Lorim,
vent all you want, this isn't fair but we have each other to help when needed! I'm sorry to hear that you were turned down for 4 jobs, that's horrible. i do hope that God's plan for you is in place, sounds like you got a great job! you give us hope, congratulations

Thanks.. I am not sure about giving hope LOL I feel like I just got lucky.. but seriously, I was just flabbergasted on how coldhearted some places are.

They don't know a persons circumstances, you can't judge a person based on a credit report. Everyone makes bad choices. and goes through hardships, I did.

I probably should have paid some of those things off, but I had other priorities. Lame excuse but I would have never thought I would be denied a job because of it.
oh well, I think of it as their loss now.You trumped me up in my interviews of being exactly what you wanted and needed, and with "your knowledge and skills you would make an valuable asset to our team" to a "L"oser because I struggled for a few years.. but I never stole any money from the bank I worked at or any other job I worked at to help pay my bills ..so maybe that was what they feared.. LOL!!!!

but anyway, I don't have the job I exactly wanted, but I feel like I am contributing and learning a whole new thing and I really do like it now...and most importantly, I have one. And that is ok ...

:wink:

I once applied for a job, and when they told me they would be running a credit check, I told them all the bad stuff that was on there and explained what happened. I actually got hired!

But - And this is a TERRIBLE example to use, I quit that job the first day because I hated it and I'd got a much better offer paying a lot more money. So in the end, if they were looking at credit to determine responsibility, I probably messed things up for anyone with bad credit that applies there. But in general I'm very responsible. It was just a really crappy job!

Goudah, you were very right to be forthcoming about your credit situation when they warned you that a credit check would be conducted! I'm sure that the business you were interviewing with respected you highly for that. And, you may never know, but you may not have been hired had you not been so truthful. I'm glad you got a better job too :) things work out in the end i've learned

Sometimes things happen for a reason, a better job comes along that does involve that part of your life. I think these employers will find out in the long run that they do eliminate so pretty good perspective employees by using this method. Sometimes people just need a second chance and doing a credit check in a lot of cases does not give that person the opportunity to start over, sad but true. Hopefully this will not be a growing trend, unfortuneatly it seems to be heading in that direction.

This reminds me of the ole saying:
"Bad credit does not equal bad driving habits or poor driving record. Life just happens sometimes"

hang in there, I think it is a bunch of crap too, there isn't even any room for explanation, there may have been good reason for the bad credit, like medical problems or something to that affect. I think if the reason could be given in a good explanation then the credit report should be waived. I don't think it should reflect on a persons work ethic at all. I just think the whole practice stinks.

Thanks fedup :) it can be crap I could see if you were handling funds or have access to company funds, other than that, the credit check provides a 'lifestyle' type of report. Whatever, the interesting thing is this firm called me for another job! so my credit couldn't have factored in that much if at all. consequently i turned them down because it was a temporary out of state job...so maybe in this case it didn't have as much bearing as i thought. my advice: keep plugging away at it (job searching that is) and don't let credit reports scare you, if they want you, they'll find an excuse to get you!

That is a practice that is becoming more common and I think it stinks. Being unemployed can mess up your credit and that should not prevent you from getting re-employed. I have heard that there is legislature out there to ban the practice except for certain jobs. I will try to find out!

The federal government is the biggest one for wanting a credit report.

An employer is required under the FCRA to tell you if there is an adverse action taken because of the credit check. That way you have the right to dispute it. So if you were not hired and this is the reason you are supposed to be told. I copied the below from an equal rights website.

Before the adverse action is taken, the employer must give the applicant a "pre-adverse action disclosure." This includes a copy of the report and an explanation of the consumer's rights under the FCRA.


After the adverse action is taken, the individual must be given an "adverse action notice." This document must contain the name, address, and phone number of the employment screening company, a statement that this company did not make the adverse decision, rather that the employer did, and a notice that the individual has the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any of the information in the report.

Hi all

I think a person should be always given a second chance in life. One can have a bad score due to various reasons ...and trust me its not always irresponsible behavior tat hurts your score.

Take care
Nelly

:roll:i think that credit has nothing to do with your ability to do a job, we all have bills and some which we cant pay because we dont make enough...how are we suppose to better our self if you and others put us down for past mistakes lol you all are loosers

Applied a way ago to a huge company all over the country. When i got turned down for the job it was cause i have a very bad credit. The company is Nordstrom has a store in Aventura, FL. If people knew what it took to get a job today they would be aware of how people get jobs. also who are turned down cause of their credit scores.